Events and News From Borderlands Books-
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Upcoming Events
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Coffee With a Cop at Borderlands Cafe, Wednesday, March 8th at 6:30pm
Kim Stanley Robinson, NEW YORK 2140 (Orbit, Hardcover, $28) on Wednesday, March 15th at 6:00pm
Erika Lewis, GAME OF SHADOWS (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) and Veronica Rossi, RIDERS (Tor Teen, Hardcover, $17.99) on Saturday, March 18th at 1:00pm
Richard Kadrey, THE WRONG DEAD GUY (Harper Voyager, Hardcover, $24.99) on Saturday, March 18th at 3:00pm
SF in SF with author Peter S. Beagle at the American Bookbinders Museum (355 Clementina) on Saturday, March 18th at 6:30pm
Steven Brust and Skylar White, THE SKILL OF OUR HANDS (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) on Sunday, March 19th at 3:00pm
Mishell Baker PHANTOM PAINS (Saga Press, Hardcover, $29.99; Trade Paperback, $15.99) and Seanan McGuire, MAGIC FOR NOTHING (DAW, Mass Market, $7.99) & the Circus! on Saturday, March 25th at 5:00pm
Drop-by signing with Ilana C. Myer, LAST SONG BEFORE NIGHT (Tor, Hardcover, $26.99) on Thursday, April 6th at 6:00pm
Griffin Barber, 1636: MISSION TO THE MUGHALS (Baen, Hardcover, $25.00) on Saturday, April 8th at 3:00pm
Writers With Drinks at the Make Out Room (3225 22nd St) with authors Peter S. Beagle, Hari Kunzru, Ilana C. Myer and Shelley Wong on Saturday, April 8th at 7:30pm
Yoon Ha Lee, NINEFOX GAMBIT (Solaris, Trade Paperback, $9.99) on Saturday, April 15th at 3:00pm
(for more information check the end of this newsletter)
And coming up in the Spring, we'll be delighted to host Cory Doctorow and John Scalzi, Marie Brennan, and many, many others!
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News
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* Overheard in the Store:
"I think I've been looking at too many catalogs. I just read 'The Four Tendencies' as 'The Four Tentacles'."
"[Actor] Jim Carrey is a skin suit filled to the brim with sentient weasels."
"I have the VERY best conversations about alcohol here!"
"There are lots worse curses to have, but she writes them SO SLOWLY, and I read them SO FAST!"
"It was not a consensual sing-along."
* If you love cats and "Star Trek", then this is the book for you . . . or it will kill your soul. Either way it's worth a look! http://nerdist.com/star-treks-original-crew-recast-as-cats-in-new-illustrated-book/
* Cory Doctorow's novel LITTLE BROTHER was pulled from a Florida high school reading list "following . . . concerns from the school's principal over its questioning of authority and its 'lauding' of hacker culture." Cory and his publisher, Tor, responded in the best way possible: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/10/cory-doctorow-novel-pulled-school-reading-questioning-authority
* Ursula K. LeGuin and Junot Diaz were among the authors recently voted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Letters. http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Ursula-K-Le-Guin-Ann-Patchett-voted-into-arts-10962614.php
* Philip Pullman announces new trilogy with ties to the His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra will return in the first and second volumes of this new trilogy, entitled The Book of Dust. First Lyra will appear as a baby in the first book and then in the second one, ten years after the conclusion of His Dark Materials. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/15/philip-pullman-unveils-epic-fantasy-trilogy-the-book-of-dust
* To celebrate the print release of BOOKBURNERS, a serial novel by Margaret Dunlap, Max Gladstone, Mur Lafferty and Brian Francis Slattery, the great folks at SerialBox.com have created a special discount code for Borderlands buyers! Anyone with the code "BorderlandsBookburners" will get 50% off a purchase of Bookburners Season 2 on SerialBox.com. All you have to do is navigate to https://www.serialbox.com/redeems, input the code, and follow on from there.
* R.I.P. Susan Casper, a dedicated and talented writer and editor. https://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/02/susan-casper-1947-2017/
* Remembering the brilliant writer Andre Norton on the 105th anniversary of her birth. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/monkeymind/2017/02/recalling-andre-norton-grand-dame-science-fiction-fantasy.html
* An interview with Hugo winner N.K. Jemisin on coming up with her ideas, and a number of other topics. https://www.wbez.org/shows/nerdette/the-past-present-and-future-of-sci-fi-with-nk-jemisin/3aed7a8c-4de4-4f97-8bb9-8dcd5044c450
* A great article on Afrofuturism: the history, the participants, the present and the future of it. Of course it's only a little bit of what Afrofuturism actually is in scope, but it's a fantastic place to start. http://atlantablackstar.com/2017/03/02/science-fiction-afrofuturism-african-americans-creating-deep-space/
* Cambridge University opens the UK's first ever SF/F center for university-based research! http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/update/2017-02-16/uks-first-sci-fi-and-fantasy-centre-opens-in-cambridge/
* A review of the new Latin@ Science Fiction & Fantasy Anthology - Latin@ Rising. http://www.themonitor.com/entertainment/article_f3275164-0028-11e7-adde-83efa1a298a8.html
* Why does science fiction almost always get shafted by The Oscars? A historical perspective - https://www.inverse.com/article/27692-oscars-scifi-science-fiction-arrival-star-wars-2001-kubrik
* Keanu Reeves has done a lot of science fiction, some good, some bad, and some so horrific we hear it turns your brain to mush like seeing the face of an Elder God. In any case here's a ranking from the latter to the former. http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-19-scifi-and-fantasy-movies-of-keanu-reeves-ranked-1792200545
* The Riverside Art Museum is holding an exhibition of Michael Whelan's iconic art. If you don't recognize the name, you'll absolutely recognize the art he's produced. http://boingboing.net/2017/02/08/beyond-science-fiction-the-al.html
* A fantastic interview with A.M. Dellamonica on the world of Stormwrack just as the third book in the trilogy, THE NATURE OF A PIRATE, is released. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ilana-teitelbaum/fantasy-of-the-high-seas-_b_14641446.html
* Finally a CW DC show that has us excited! They announced they will be doing a "Black Lightning" TV pilot, which we were sort of excited about, but then Deadline Hollywood announced that China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams have been cast as Black Lightning's daughters, Anissa a.k.a. Thunder and Jennifer a.k.a. Lightning. Now the show has gone from "sort of excited" to "OMG-give-it-to-us-now". There’s only a pilot order currently, but we have hope. https://blavity.com/china-anne-mcclain-nafessa-williams-cast-as-superheroines-thunder-lighting-in-dcs-black-lightning
* Joyce Corrington wrote the original script for "The Omega Man" in 1971 with her husband Bill. She was also an executive producer for MTV's "Real World" for over a decade. Hear her story: http://wwno.org/post/science-fiction-writers-valence-street
* A discussion on the state of science fiction in Australia featuring Australian SF authors Amie Kaufman, David Henley and Cat Sparks. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/booksandarts/the-state-of-science-fiction-in-australia/8313662
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Award News
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It’s finalist seasons for awards, it seems!
* The final ballot for the Bram Stoker Awards has been released! http://horror.org/2016-bram-stoker-awards-final-ballot/
* The Horror Writers Association has just announced the winner of its Specialty Press Award. http://horror.org/2016-specialty-press-award-winner-omnium-gatherum/
* The Reader Awards finalists for Asmiov’s magazine have been released. http://www.asimovs.com/about-asimovs/readers-awards-finalists/
* The British science Fiction Awards have announced their finalists as well. http://www.bsfa.co.uk/bsfa-2016-awards-voting-form/
* The Aurealis Awards which celebrate Australian speculative fiction have announced their finalists too! https://aurealisawards.org/
* Nebula finalists! Norton finalists! Bradbury finalists! http://nebulas.sfwa.org/sfwa-announces-2016-nebula-norton-bradbury-award-nominees/
* A new award for science fiction and related genres in Pakistan. Check out more details here: http://thesalamaward.com/
* Jo Walton has won the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Fiction, also known as the Skylark Award: https://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/02/walton-wins-skylark/ For a full list of all the previous years' winners, see http://www.nesfa.org/awards/skylark.html
* The winner of the 2017 Crawford award has been announced and it is Borderlands’ good friend Charlie Jane Anders. Congratulations Charlie Jane! Check out the other shortlisted authors at the link. https://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/02/2017-crawford-award/
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Best Sellers
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Borderlands Best-Selling Titles for February, 2017:
Hardcovers
1. NORSE MYTHOLOGY by Neil Gaiman
2. IN CALABRIA by Peter S. Beagle
3. INVISIBLE PLANETS edited by Ken Liu
4. A CONJURING OF LIGHT by V.E. Schwab
5. THE STARS ARE LEGION by Kameron Hurley
6. KINDRED: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL by Octavia Butler and John Jennings
7. PIRATE UTOPIA by Bruce Sterling
8. UNIVERSAL HARVESTER by John Darnielle
9. MIRANDA AND CALIBAN by Jacqueline Carey
10. CHASING SHADOWS: VISIONS OF OUR COMING TRANSPARENT WORLD by David Brin
Trade Paperbacks
1. THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM by Cixin Liu, trans. by Ken Liu
2. THE PAPER MENAGERIE AND OTHER STORIES by Ken Liu
3. STORIES OF YOUR LIFE AND OTHERS by Ted Chiang
4. THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M.R. Carey
5. PASSING STRANGE by Ellen Klages
6. BINTI: HOME by Nnedi Okorafor
7. THE INVISIBLE LIBRARY by Genevieve Cogman
8. WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE by Joseph Fink
9. DUSK OR DARK OR DAWN OR DAY by Seanan McGuire
10. THE BOOK OF ETTA by Meg Elison
Mass Market Paperbacks
1. THE HANGING TREE by Ben Aaronovitch
2. THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss
3. AURORA by Kim Stanley Robinson
4. THE DISPOSSESSED by Ursula K. Le Guin
5. IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE by Sinclair Lewis
6. FIRE TOUCHED by Patricia Briggs
7. THE GUNSLINGER by Stephen King
8. KUSHIEL'S DART by Jacqueline Carey
9. SHADOWS OF SELF by Brandon Sanderson
10. THE SEVERED STREETS by Paul Cornell
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Book Club Information
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The QSF&F Book Club will meet on Sunday, March 12th, at 5 pm to discuss BRILLIANCE by Marcus Sakey. The book for April will be THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL ANGRY PLANET by Becky Chambers. Please contact the group leader, Christopher Rodriguez, at cobalt555@earthlink.net, for more information.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club will meet on Sunday, March 19th, at 6 pm to discuss A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ by Walter M. Miller. The book for April will be THE PLAYER OF GAMES by Iain M. Banks. Please contact bookclub@borderlands-books.com for more information.
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Upcoming Event Details
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Coffee With a Cop at Borderlands Cafe, Wednesday, March 8th at 6:30pm - Borderlands is pleased to host a social meeting at the cafe with SF Police Department officers from the Mission District. This is a great opportunity to meet the officers that work in our district, ask any questions you have about policing in the Mission or in the City in general, and raise any concerns you may have, without a specific agenda. We'll hope to see you at this chance to have "Coffee with a Cop". We're certainly looking forward to seeing some of the officers, especially since a couple of them are regular customers at the store.
Kim Stanley Robinson, NEW YORK 2140 (Orbit, Hardcover, $28) on Wednesday, March 15th at 6:00pm - We're delighted to welcome Kim Stanley Robinson, author of The Mars Trilogy, AURORA, 2312, and many, many other titles amazing back to the store! Mr. Robinson will be showing off his newest novel, NEW YORK 2140. From the publisher's website: "As the sea levels rose, every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island. For the residents of one apartment building in Madison Square, however, New York in the year 2140 is far from a drowned city. There is the market trader, who finds opportunities where others find trouble. There is the detective, whose work will never disappear --- along with the lawyers, of course. There is the internet star, beloved by millions for her airship adventures, and the building's manager, quietly respected for his attention to detail. Then there are two boys who don't live there, but have no other home -- and who are more important to its future than anyone might imagine. Lastly there are the coders, temporary residents on the roof, whose disappearance triggers a sequence of events that threatens the existence of all-- and even the long-hidden foundations on which the city rests." Don't miss the opportunity to meet this visionary author and check out NEW YORK 2140!
Erika Lewis, GAME OF SHADOWS (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) and Veronica Rossi, RIDERS (Tor Teen, Hardcover, $17.99) on Saturday, March 18th at 1:00pm - We're happy to welcome these two Macmillan authors to Borderlands! From the publisher: "In GAME OF SHADOWS, a young man plagued by the ability to see ghosts races to save the mythical land of Tara from a terrible fate. GAME OF SHADOWS has been receiving glowing advance praise, with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee calling the book a 'riveting page-turner,' TV host and founder of Nerdist Industries Chris Hardwick called Game of Shadows 'smart, fun and addictive' and Booklist recommends the novel for 'fans of Rick Riordan and Celtic-mythology buffs alike.'" In Veronica Rossi's RIDERS, "For eighteen-year-old Gideon Blake, nothing but death can keep him from achieving his goal of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger. As it turns out, it does. Recovering from the accident that most definitely killed him, Gideon finds himself with strange new powers and a bizarre cuff he can't remove. His death has brought to life his real destiny. He has become War, one of the legendary four horsemen of the apocalypse. . . ." We hope you'll join us to meet two extraordinary authors!
Richard Kadrey, THE WRONG DEAD GUY (Harper Voyager, Hardcover, $24.99) on Saturday, March 18th at 3:00pm - It's always a treat to welcome local favorite Richard Kadrey to Borderlands! Richard's recently been writing some comedic fantasy along with his ultra-noir Sandman Slim series - "In this fast-paced sequel to THE EVERYTHING BOX -- the second entry in New York Times bestselling author Richard Kadrey's comedic supernatural series -- chaos ensues when Coop and the team at DOPS steal a not-quite-dead and very lovesick ancient Egyptian mummy wielding some terrifying magic. Coop, a master thief sort-of gone legit, saved the world from an ancient doomsday device -- heroism that earned him a gig working for the Department of Peculiar Science, a fearsome top secret government agency that polices the odd and strange. Now Woolrich, Coop's boss at the DOPS, has Coop breaking into a traveling antiquities show to steal a sarcophagus containing the mummy of a powerful Egyptian wizard named Harkhuf. With the help of his pals Morty, Giselle, and a professor that's half-cat, half-robotic octopus, Coop pulls off the heist without a hitch. It's not Coop's fault that when DOPS opened the sarcophagus they didn't find the mummy they were expecting. Well, it was the right mummy, but it wasn't exactly dead -- and now it's escaped, using a type of magic the organization hasn't encountered before. Being a boss, Woolrich blames his underling for the screw up and wants Coop to find the missing Harkhuf and make it right, pronto." You won't want to miss Richard and THE WRONG DEAD GUY!
SF in SF with author Peter S. Beagle at the American Bookbinders Museum (355 Clementina) on Saturday, March 18th at 6:30pm - Suggested donation $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.) Doors and bar at 5:30 pm, event begins at 6:30 pm. We're so happy to participate in the Science Fiction in San Francisco reading series! The author will read a selection from his work, followed by Q&A from the audience moderated by author Terry Bisson. The authors will schmooze & sign books after. Books available for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books. Seating is limited, so first come, first seated. Bar proceeds benefit the American Bookbinders Museum. Phone (night of event) 415-572-1015. Questions? Email sfinsfevents@gmail.com.
Steven Brust and Skylar White, THE SKILL OF OUR HANDS (Tor, Hardcover, $25.99) on Sunday, March 19th at 3:00pm - We're delighted to welcome these two distinguished authors back to Borderlands, where they'll show off the sequel to THE INCREMENTALISTS! From the publisher's description: "The new novel continues the adventure of the Incrementalists, the secret society of near-immortals that aspires to nudge the world into being just a little bit better. . . Just like THE INCREMENTALISTS, the new novel engages with highly salient issues. In this case, we see the post-9/11 militarization of local police departments and the deep racial divides that continue to grow in the Southwest's border country. With history and politics added to the magical mix, THE SKILL OF OUR HANDS is perfect for any speculative fiction and fantasy lover!" Do not miss the chance to meet Steven Brust and Skylar White.
Mishell Baker PHANTOM PAINS (Saga Press, Hardcover, $29.99; Trade Paperback, $15.99) and Seanan McGuire, MAGIC FOR NOTHING (DAW, Mass Market, $7.99) & the Circus! on Saturday, March 25th at 5:00pm - It's always a treat to welcome author Seanan McGuire to Borderlands! This round, she'll be joined again by the awesome Mishell Baker, and we know you're going to love this urban fantasy duo! Mishell will be showing off her novel PHANTOM PAINS, second of the Arcadia Project novels: "Four months ago, Millie left the Arcadia Project after losing a friend to the lethal magic of an Unseelie fey countess. Now, on what's meant to be a last visit to the scene of the crime, Millie and her former boss Caryl encounter what seems to be her friend’s tormented ghost. One problem: according to Caryl, ghosts don’t exist." Seanan will be showing off MAGIC FOR NOTHING, the newest InCryptid book. With this volume, we get to hear from Antimony, the youngest of the three Price children, as things go, as they tend to in any InCryptid novel, very dangerously out of control. We're also glad to welcome back the full-on musical Circus! If you've attended one of Seanan's events before, you know that they are a high-energy, music-filled delight. If you've never attended one before, now is the perfect time to start! There will be reading, raffle prizes and silliness guaranteed. Get your questions answered, bring your books to be signed, and prepare to sing along.
Drop-by signing with Ilana C. Myer, LAST SONG BEFORE NIGHT (Tor, Hardcover, $26.99) on Thursday, April 6th at 6:00pm - We're delighted to welcome Ilana C. Myer, author of LAST SONG BEFORE NIGHT, to the store for an informal signing. Don't miss this opportunity to meet and chat with the author in a low-key setting, and get your books signed!
Griffin Barber, 1636: MISSION TO THE MUGHALS (Baen, Hardcover, $25.00) on Saturday, April 8th at 3:00pm - We're so happy to welcome local author Griffin Barber, who will be showing off his first novel, co-written with Eric Flint! MISSION TO THE MUGHALS is the latest entry in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series, set in 17th-century Europe, in which the small fictional town of Grantville, West Virginia, in the year 2000 was sent to the past in central Germany in the year 1631, during the Thirty Years' War. "After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia go on a quest for the makings of medicines that have yet to be invented in 17th century Europe." We hope you'll join us to meet Griffin and check out the most recent installment of this major alternate history series!
Writers With Drinks at the Make Out Room (3225 22nd St) with authors Peter S. Beagle, Hari Kunzru, Ilana C. Myer and Shelley Wong on Saturday, April 8th at 7:30pm - Writers With Drinks is the most awesome spoken-word variety show in the world, hosted by Charlie Jane Anders, and we're always happy to participate! The amazing lineup this month includes authors Peter S. Beagle (IN CALABRIA, THE LAST UNICORN), Hari Kunzru (WHITE TEARS), Ilana C. Myer (FIRE DANCE), and Shelley Wong (RARE BIRDS). Cost: $5 to $20, no-one turned away for lack of funds. All proceeds benefit local non-profits. Doors open at 6:30 and Borderlands will be on hand to sell books.
Yoon Ha Lee, NINEFOX GAMBIT (Solaris, Trade Paperback, $9.99) on Saturday, April 15th at 3:00pm - We're happy to welcome author Yoon Ha Lee to Borderlands! NPR attempts to summarize the wonderfully complicated plot of NINEFOX GAMBIT here: "In the Fortress of Scattered Needles, a 'calendrical rot' has begun altering the fabric of reality. It is the result of heretical forces allied against this world's rulers, and someone is going to have to go in there and purge the non-conformist thought from the system. Two someones, actually. A living soldier named Cheris with an unlikely facility for mathematics, and Jedao, the centuries-old ghost of a brilliant general and known mass-murderer who lives in her shadow and in her head. I know, right? But stick with me here a minute, because here's where it gets cool. . . ." Please enjoy the excellent review from NPR in its entirety: http://www.npr.org/2016/06/25/482023715/beautifully-alien-ninefox-gambit-mixes-math-and-magic. We hope to see you here to meet the author and check out this mind-blowing novel!
This newsletter is distributed monthly free of charge and may be distributed without charge so long all the following information is included.
Dispatches from the Border
Editor - Na'amen Gobert Tilahun
Assistant Editor - Jude Feldman
All contents unless otherwise noted are the property of Borderlands Books, 866 Valencia St.
San Francisco CA 94110
415 824-8203
http://www.borderlands-books.com
Comments and suggestions should be directed to editor@borderlands-books.com
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