SF Minnesota HOME
The SPECULATIONS READINGS SERIES continues monthly, mostly on Wednesdays, at DreamHaven Books, 2301 38th St E, Minneapolis. Each Speculations Reading event runs from 6:30-7:45 p.m., including a post-reading reception with free soda pop and cookies.
On Wednesday, January 6 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., TERRY FAUST will read his short play submitted to Redshift 2 Radio Theater, Sons, Daughters, and Green Tuna. Terry Faust writes a wide variety of fiction including urban fantasy, mainstream young adult novels, satirical science fiction, and humorous stage and radio plays. Dirt in Duplicate, a comic detective story, was produced by Lakes Area Radio Theatre and aired across the prairies and woodlands of this fair state. Several of his stories have appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated and the first two Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writer's Network Anthologies. He is primarily an editorial and special event photographer with a background in film making.
On Wednesday, February 3, LOIS McMASTER BUJOLD reads from her new Vorkosigan novel, Gentleman Joel and the Red Queen, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Ms. Bujold has published over 30 volumes of fiction (including omnibuses of earlier work). Her fiction has won the Minnesota Book Award, the Mythopoeic Award, the Minnesota Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievment, two Nebulas, and four Hugos. She is best known for the science fiction Vorkosigan family saga, set about 1,000 years in the future, and mainly centering on the life and adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, a man who masters severe physical disabilities through inventiveness, charisma, and sheer force of will. The Vorkosigan novels include Shards of Honor (1986), The Vor Game (1990), Barryar (1991), Mirror Dance (1994), Cetaganda (1995), Memory (1996), Komaar (1998), A Civil Campaign (1999), Diplomatic Immunity (2002), Cryoburn (2010) and Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance (2012). She has also written several fantasies, including The Curse of Chalion and its two sequels, and the four-book “Sharing Knife” series, beginning with Beguilement (2006) and running through Horizon (2009). Visit her at The Bujold Nexus.
On Wednesday, March 2, S.N. ARLY reads from her fiction. S.N.Arly writes adult and young adult fantasy, science fiction, and dark fiction from her basement in St. Paul, MN. She has had several short stories published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. She is currently working on novels, with the exception of the occasional short story her brain foists upon her.
On Wednesday, April 27, LYDA MOREHOUSE reads from her fiction at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Morehouse writes about what gets most people in trouble: religion and politics. Her first novel, Archangel Protocol, won the 2001 Shamus, the Barnes & Noble Maiden Voyage Award for best debut science fiction, and was nominated for the Romantic Times Critic’s Choice Award. Her fourth book in that series, Apocalypse Array, won the Special Citation of Excellence Philip K. Dick Award. She lives in Saint Paul with her wife and their amazingly adorable son, Mason. Lyda also writes bestselling romances as TATE HALLAWAY.
On Wednesday, May 25, ELEANOR ARNASON reads from her work at 6:30 p.m. Ms. Arnason was born in Manhattan and grew up in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Washington DC, Honolulu, Saint Paul, and Minneapolis. She received a BA in art history from Swarthmore College and did graduate work at the University of Minnesota, before quitting to learn about life outside art museums and institutions of higher learning. She made her first professional sale in 1972 while living in the Detroit inner city. Since then she has published five novels and over 30 novellas, novelettes, short stories, and experimental short forms. Her fourth novel, A Woman of the Iron People (1991), won the James Tiptree Jr Award for gender-bending science fiction and the Mythopoeic Society Award for adult fantasy. Her fifth novel, Ring of Swords (1995), won a Minnesota Book Award. Since 1994 she has devoted herself to short fiction. Her story “Dapple” won the Spectrum Award for GLBT science fiction and was a finalist for the Sturgeon Award. Other stories have been finalists for the World Fantasy, Hugo, and Nebula Awards. She lives in Minnesota, where for several years she made her living as the financial manager for a small arts nonprofit. Aside from accounting and science fiction, her interests include politics, economics, bird-watching, driving down two-lane country highways, and exploring the remains of the Great Lakes industrial belt.
On Wednesday, June 22, ROB CALLAHAN reads from his work beginning at 6:30 p.m. Rob Callahan started working as a journalist back in the Twentieth Century. He took a break for a few years to write novels, then came back in 2009 as an arts and culture writer. His work in journalism has garnered a Marconi award, Associated Press awards, and recognition from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Last year, he dialed it back a bit on the journalism to focus on writing fiction again. His next novel, Duplicity, will tell the story of an underachieving young professional temping for the Devil, who ’s accidentally promoted to project manager over the impending apocalypse.
On Thursday, July 28, JESSICA AMANDA SALMONSON and NAOMI KRITZER read from their respective works beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Ms. Salmonson is a recipient of the Lambda Award, World Fantasy Award, and ReaderCon Certificate. She is a novelist: Anthony Shriek, The Golden Naginata, The Swordswoman, Tomoe Gozen, etc.; short story writer: “The Deep Museum”, “A Silver Thread of Madness”, “The Complete Weird Epistles of Penelope Pettiweather, Ghost Hunter” and poet: “The Death Sonnets”, “The Ghost Garden”. She has edited a number of horror and/or fantasy anthologies (Heroic Visions, Tales by Moonlight), and single-author weird fiction collections such as of Marjorie Bowen, Julian Hawthorne, Sarah Orne Jewett, Vincent O’Sullivan, Mary Heaton Vorse, Fitz-James O’Brien, Harriet Prescott Spofford, and others. She lives with her spouse, artist and potter Rhonda Boothe, and their dogs, on a hillside in a Pacific Northwest military town overlooking Puget Sound from her crumbling spooky looking Edwardian manse.
Ms. Kritzer’s short stories have appeared in Asimov’s SF, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, and Tales of the Unanticipated. Her novels Fires of the Faithful, Turning the Storm, Freedom’s Gate, Freedom’s Apprentice and Freedom’s Sisters are available from Bantam. Since her last novel came out, she has written an urban fantasy novel about a Minneapolis woman who unexpectedly inherits the Ark of the Covenant; a children’s science fictional shipwreck novel; a children’s portal fantasy; and a YA novel set on a dystopic seastead. She has two e-book short story collections out: Gift of the Winter King and Other Stories, and Comrade Grandmother and Other Stories. Naomi lives in St. Paul with her husband and two daughters.
On Wednesday, August 31, CONRAD ZERO reads from his work beginning at 6:30 p.m. If you take the glow of 70’s psychedelic rock, add the sparkles of 80’s goth glam, inject it with 90’s grunge rock nihilism—then take away the music—you’d end up with something like the writings of dark fiction author, Conrad Zero. Former front man for Minneapolis bands String Union and Jagged Spiral, he converted a recording studio into a writing studio in 2013. The dress code is the same, but no one’s ever called the police to stop him from writing at 2AM. Conrad writes paranormal fiction, urban fantasy, classic horror, monster stories and gothy YA comedy, best summarized as “Dark Fiction.” He utilizes his BA in Philosophy to add interesting moral situations (without being preachy) and his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science to add a dash of tech-pop geekery (without being too nerdy) to his writing. His published stories include “Big Game,” “Homeward Through Darkness,” and “Invisible Flying Pony vs the Giant Carnivorous, Poisonous, Exploding Spider Leeches.” He is currently working on two novels and seven short stories… all at the same time. His latest work, The Gloom Queen is described as Carrie crossed with “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and will be available later this year.
On Wednesday, September 21, CATHERINE LUNDOFF reads from her fiction. Catherine Lundoff is an award-winning author, editor and (soon to be) publisher from Minneapolis, where she lives with her fabulous wife and cats. She toils in IT by day and writes all the things by night, including articles for SF Signal and Nightmare Magazine on the history of LGBT science fiction, fantasy and horror, as well lots of tales about things going bump in the night. Her recent stories have or will appear in Respectable Horror, The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Tales and The Mammoth Book of the Adventures of Professor Moriarty. Her novel Medusa’s Touch (written as Emily L. Byrne) is forthcoming from Queen of Swords Press.
Website: www.catherinelundoff.com
On Wednesday, October 26, JOHN CALVIN REZMERSKI reads his poetry. Mr. Rezmerski was born in Pennsylvania, and again in Ohio, then again in Kansas, and three times more in Minnesota. By some accounts he has three lives left, but he is not taking any bets because he doesn’t believe in cats. He is a member of Lady Poetesses from Hell by virtue of the fact that he channels Grace Lord Stoke (via email), from whom he has learned a great deal. He has published 20 books, chapbooks, and anthologies, including The Frederick Manfred Reader, a screenplay, and three plays. He has performed his work for schools, libraries, bookstores, science fiction conventions, clubs, professional organizations, senior centers, museums, festivals, fairs, coffee houses, bars, and on television, and on radio, including National Public Radio’s Wha’d Ya Know?, and collaborated with painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, dancers, theatrical troupes, and scientists. Over 35 years, he taught creative writing, journalism, linguistics, science fiction, and storytelling at Gustavus Adolphus College. His poetry includes 22 from TOTU and Breaking the Rules: Starting with Ghazals. He will be reading a single long poem—the complete text of his recently published chapbook, “Cataloging the Flow: Elegy” published by Red Dragonfly Press.
On Wednesday, November 16 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. JASON D. WITTMAN reads from his fiction. Jason D. Wittman, three time winner of the Diversicon Flash Fiction Contest, lives and works in Minnesota. His fiction has been published in SCIFI.COM and Baen’s Universe. He also has two games published by Steve Jackson Games.
On Wednesday, December 7 from 6:30-7:30 p.m., there will be a special Speculations memorial edition celebrating the life and work of JOHN CALVIN REZERSKI (1942-2016), Also known as Rez. Mr. Rezmerski was born in Pennsylvania, and again in Ohio, then again in Kansas, and three times more in Minnesota. He was a member of Lady Poetesses from Hell by virtue of the fact that he channeled Grace Lord Stoke (via email), from whom he learned a great deal. He published over 20 books, chapbooks, and anthologies, including The Frederick Manfred Reader, a screenplay, and three plays. He performed his work for schools, libraries, bookstores, science fiction conventions, clubs, professional organizations, senior centers, museums, festivals, fairs, coffee houses, bars, and on television, and on radio, including National Public Radio’s Wha’d Ya Know?, and collaborated with painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, dancers, theatrical troupes, and scientists. Over 35 years, he taught creative writing, journalism, linguistics, science fiction, and storytelling at Gustavus Adolphus College. His poetry includes 22 from TOTU and Breaking the Rules: Starting with Ghazals. He had been planning to do a Speculations Reading this fall, consisting of a single long poem—the complete text of his recently published chapbook, “Cataloging the Flow: Elegy” published by Red Dragonfly Press. For the December 7 memorial, people are invited to bring a favorite poem or poems by Rez to read, and/or an anecdote about him to share.
Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven Books and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural speculative fiction organization that also hosts a midsummer SF convention, Diversicon, the 24th edition of which will be held July 29-31, 2016, in the Twin Cities, with Guest of Honor JESSICA AMANDA SALMONSON and Special Guest NAOMI KRITZER.
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