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Because I Love Australia…

… and the UK, too. (Just in smaller font.)

I am going to be attempting an experiment which I have every reason to believe will have catastrophic results. That’s right: I’m going to invite technology to run amok in my home. For Australians, before anyone else, I will be doing a video chat on Saturday, October 8th at 1pm (Sydney time). Originally, I had hoped to just do one video chat because I have a strong suspicion it will just be me talking to myself. Then I realized that my main fan bases are on three equidistant points around the globe. So if I do a video chat at a reasonable time for me, my fans in either the UK or Australia would be getting screwed (I mean, I’m cool and everything, but I wouldn’t stay up until 3am to hear me talk. So I don’t expect you to do so, either).

So my elegant solution? Risk embarrassment and loneliness twice. Australia, you get the first chat, and possibly the technical difficulties. Then, the next day, I will host another video chat for my brethren across the pond, even if some of your ilk do call people like me “gingers”. The UK chat will be at 6pm, Saturday, October 8th (UK time).

Of course, I won’t be checking your IP address to see where you’re coming from and all are welcome. The chats will be held at:

3AM on Saturday October 8th (Greenwich Mean Time)

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and

5PM on Saturday, October 8th (Greenwich Mean Time)

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The video chat will welcome you to send in your questions via  a chat channel. My interviewer will then ask me the questions and we’ll do our best together to keep things organized and flowing. I expect each chat to last about an hour, but if the audience is reasonably small, I will do my best to answer all questions.

I’ll post the link on this page a few days before the chat, and you can always easily find it through my Ning pages here.

 

Mysterious Galaxy: Redondo Beach This Friday

To help celebrate the release of the mass market paperback of The Black Prism and the opening of the new Redondo Beach location of the justly-famed Mysterious Galaxy, I will be flying down to California this Friday to do a quick signing. If you’re in the area, please come and see me and check out the new store! If you haven’t heard, they’re kind of a big deal. If you’re interested in science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and horror, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a store with more knowledgeable staff or better selection.  I’ll be reading previously unseen chapters from my work, and signing your books at 7:30 pm at 2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278, on Friday, September 23rd.

 

Powell’s Signing — Thursday, September 8

Although I enjoyed my time at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, it’s always good to be home.  And what better way to celebrate the release of The Black Prism in mass market paperback than with fans in my own neighborhood?

So this Thursday, September 8, I’ll be reading from The Blinding Knife, answering questions, and signing books starting at 7pm. More details are here, and directions to Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing are here.

 

Updated Dragon*Con Schedule

Here is the best information I have for the events I’ll be attending at Dragon*Con. Note that I’ve added a nearby off-site KaffeeKlatsch/Literary Beer. (For those of you who’ve never heard of such strange things, this will basically be an opportunity to sit down with a group of 10-15 people and me and chat for an hour or two.)

Title: Crossing the line: Too much or not enough Attending Authors (besides Brent): Gary Kim Hayes, Shelly Shapiro, Elizabeth Moon, A.J. Hartley, Nancy L. Holder
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1 hour)
Description: How much violence, blood and gore is too much? Is there a limit? Are you flirting with that line?

Title: Blood & Steel Attending Authors (besides Brent): David B. Coe, Gail Z. Martin, Carole Nelson Douglas
Time: Sun 10:00 am PM Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length:1 hour)
Description: Tales of swords, sorcery, and grim adventure.

*NOTE: There is some confusion about whether this event is at 10 am or at 10 pm. I’ve asked the programming staff and will update this page as soon as I know.*

*UPDATE: The panel is at 10PM.

Title: Dragon*Autographs Attending Authors (besides Brent): Kevin J. Anderson, Rebecca Moesta, C.L. Wilson
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: M301 – M304 – Marriott (Length: 1 hour)

Please note that there will be NO books for sale at this signing, so please bring your own copies for me to sign. (I will sign bookplates  for those who forget their books… but let’s be honest, that’s not quite as cool as a signed book, is it?)

Where: M301-M304 (Marriott)

*We may also be adding a KaffeeKlatch/Literary Beer or booksigning at a nearby bookstore — will update with details as soon as they’re available!*

We will be having an unofficial KaffeeKlatch/Literary Beer off-site from Dragon*Con but nearby at 3pm on Sunday. We’ll likely limit the numbers so you can actually talk to me. I’ve never been to Dragon*Con or the bar where the event will be held, so I’m kind of feeling my way through the dark here. It’s free, but you must register. To register, simply email me (brent [at]brentweeks.com) with “DragonCon” or “Dragon*Con” in the subject line and I’ll email back where it will be. You can register for yourself and a guest. First come, first served.

Brent Goes to Dragon*Con!

After many emails from fans in the Southeast, wondering why I’ve never made a stop in the region on a book tour, I’m finally going to visit. That’s right: Brent Weeks is coming to Dragon*Con, from September 2 – September 5. Watch out, Atlanta!

For more details on the whole thing, go here. To register, click here. Look forward to seeing you there!

My panel and autograph schedule is below.

Title: Crossing the line: Too much or not enough
Time: Sat 08:30 pm Location: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong – Hyatt (Length: 1 hour)
Description: How much violence, blood and gore is too much? Is there a limit? Are you flirting with that line?

Title: Blood & Steel
Time: Sun 10:00 am 10:00 pm (NOTE: Yes, 10 at night. The original information I got was wrong.) Location: Montreal / Vancouver – Hyatt (Length:1 hour)
Description: Tales of swords, sorcery, and grim adventure.

Title: Dragon*Autographs
Time: Sun 11:30 am Location: M301 – M304 – Marriott (Length: 1 hour)

Please note that there will be NO books for sale at this signing, so please bring your own copies for me to sign. (I will sign bookplates  for those who forget their books… but let’s be honest, that’s not quite as cool as a signed book, is it?)

Where: M301-M304 (Marriott)

*We may also be adding a KaffeeKlatch or booksigning at a nearby bookstore — will update with details as soon as they’re available!*

 

Mr. Brent Goes to WorldCon

I’ll be attending WorldCon in Reno beginning in just a few days. As you can imagine, it’s jam-packed with sci-fi and fantasy goodness. For a full schedule, check out this page. For a handy-dandy pamphlet to consult as you decide between a Brent Weeks autograph session or a Kaffeeklatch with Harry Turtledove (wait, you’re skipping my autographing session?!) check out this link.  And if you’re interested in finding out where an individual author will be when, go here.

But if you want to go where the fun is…

New Pro Orientation – Understanding Publishing: Friday, September 19, 10am-11am

This panel has been arranged solely to help Brent understand publishing. Oh… no, nope, apparently, the man on the other end of this headset says I am supposed to be helping John Berlyne, Lucienne Diver, Sandra Tayler, and Ann C. Crispin tell you what to expect when dealing with publishers and why contracts are your friends. Everyone else on the panel has far more experience than I, but I will do my best to look natty.

Where: D04 (RSCC)

Postmodern Fantasy Panel: Friday, September 19, 2011 5pm-6pm

There’s been considerable discussion of Fantasy, Fantastika, and Post-Modernism.  What is this about, and why is it interesting for those who read, review, or critique present day fantasy? Brent will be discussing with other panelists N. K. Jemisin, William Lexner, Nick Mamatas, Peadar Ó Guilín and Brandon Sanderson.

Where: D03 (RSCC) 

Autographing: Saturday, August 20, 2pm – 3pm

Other authors signing books at the same time, in the same area include: Philippa Ballantine, Laurel Anne Hill, Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin, Tee Morris, Susan Palwick, and Carrie Vaughn.

Where: Hall 2 – Autographs (RSCC)

KaffeeKlatsch: Saturday, August 20, 4pm – 5pm

Chat informally with Brent Weeks in a small group! There are only 10 spots available, so make sure to sign up at the program desk. Although a few other authors are listed in the program alongside Brent, the authors have separate discussion groups. Brent will happily share his wide knowledge of… wait. Well, Brent will happily chat with you anyway!

Where: KK1 (RSCC)

And what happens when you gather thousands of introverted writers, trying to be extroverts? Yep, the real action will be at The Bar.

Book Tour 2011 Appearances!

Below is the list of my 2011 appearances as well as I know them today. I will update as necessary.

Renovation (WorldCon): Wednesday, August 17, 2011 –Sunday, August 21, 2011

Reno, NV

— Postmodern Fantasy Panel: Friday, September 19, 2011 5pm-6pm

Where: D03 (RSCC) 

–Autographing: Saturday, August 20, 2pm – 3pm

Where: Hall 2 – Autographs (RSCC)

— KaffeeKlatsch: Saturday, August 20, 4pm – 5pm (10 spots open, book now!)

Where: KK1 (RSCC)

Live Streaming Ning Video Chat: Saturday, August 27, 2011 12:00pm PST (Web Post with Details Upcoming) *UPDATE: We will be moving this Video Chat in order to accommodate my Australian fans. Because of the tightness of my schedule, that means the video chat will be put off probably until Saturday, September 10th. I will post the new date and time on the main webpage.*

University Book Store (University of Washington): Monday, August 29th, 2011 7:00pm

Seattle, WA

Dragon*Con: Friday, September 2– Monday, September 5, 2011

Atlanta, GA

— Panel: How much violence is too much/not enough? Friday, September 3, 2011 8:30pm – 10:30 pm

Where: Manila / Singapore / Hong Kong (Hyatt)

—  Dragon*Autographs: Sunday, September 5, 2011 11:30am-12:30pm

Please note that there will be NO books for sale at this signing, so please bring your own copies for me to sign. (I will sign bookplates  for those who forget their books… but let’s be honest, that’s not quite as cool as a signed book, is it?)

Where: M301-M304 (Marriott)

— Possible Signing at nearby bookstore TBA

Powell’s Signing: Thursday, September 8, 2011 7pm

Beaverton, OR

Mysterious Galaxy: Friday, September 23, 2011 7:30-9:30 pm

Redondo Beach CA

Live Twitter Interview with Bryan Thomas Schmidt at #sffwrtcht  — 6pm PST, Wednesday November 2, 2011

OryCon: Friday, November 11, 2011 — Sunday, November 13, 2011

Portland, OR

Powell’s Mass Signing: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 4pm or 5pm

Beaverton, OR

 

*UPDATE: NOTE CHANGES TO THE WEBSTREAMING EVENT ABOVE*

International Editions and Book Tour Dates Imminent

Just a few quick news items this week.

First, in my assistant’s slow quest to reach her level cap, she’s recently been grinding on a laggy server called WordPress tutorials. Most recently, she’s cast an AoE spell on the international editions page. Check it out. It looks spiffy.

Second, I will soon be able to announce some book tour dates for the mass market paperback release of The Black Prism, which has official release date of the 29th of August, but may be shipping up to a week early. You can order the book here, here, here, and here (or if you love e-books, you can grab the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or Sony eReader versions) or from your favorite book retailer.

I can’t announce specific tour venues yet, but I will be hitting Portland, Seattle, and L.A.  And in my continuing bid to not abandon any corner of the country, I’ll be doing my first ever event in the South around the time of DragonCon in Atlanta.

Third, we’re looking into celebrating the paperback release with some sort of open chat with those of you who are on the Ning forum. Not sure yet how we’re going to bring order to the chaos, but we’ll think of something!

Drinks with your favorite author(s)! — April 19th, 7pm

I’m delighted that I’ve been asked to join McMenamins and the SFWA as the host for the first in a cool new series of talks, helping foster the SFF community in the Portland area. On April 19 at 7:00pm,  I will be hosting great Northwest authors Jay Lake and Kay Kenyon at the McMenamins Kennedy School. Jay Lake is the author, most recently, of Green, and a host of other novels and short stories. Kay Kenyon is currently working on science fiction epic series The Entire and the Rose, the first book of which,Bright of the Sky is free on Kindle!

The way the night will work is what makes me really excited about this event. For those who may not be familiar with the iconic brew pubs, the McMenamin brothers operate a series of pubs, all housed in historic buildings throughout the Northwest. You can check them out here. They host all sorts of cool events from a UFO Festival to the Annual J.R.R. Tolkien Birthday Bash to History Mondays.

McMenamins’ take on the author reading is similarly off-beat and fun. Rather than duplicating the experience of a reading at a bookstore, the McMenamins’ event will be much more focused on meeting and talking with authors. We’ll have one author read (I get to go first), and then break for the attendees and authors to mingle, drink beer, and talk about fantasy. Then the next author will speak, we’ll have a break, and so on.

For more details and to RSVP (not required, but nice), go here — details on the entire SFWA event series are here.  To check out where we’ll be hosting the event, go to the McMenamins page here. For those of you who just want the address:

McMenamin’s Kennedy School Gym
5736 NE 33rd Ave
Portland, OR 97211

See you there!

*UPDATE*

This event is not only free — it’s open to all ages. So if you’re under 21 and eager to participate, please join us!