Fantagraphics co-publisher Kim Thompson died at 6:30 this morning, June 19. “He was my partner and close friend for 36 years,” said Gary Groth.

Thompson was born in Denmark in 1956. He grew up in Europe, a lifelong comics fan, reading both European and American comics in Denmark, France, and Germany. He was an active fan in his teen years, writing to comics — his letters appeared in Marvel’s letter columns circa early 1970s — and contributing to fanzines from his various European perches. At the age of 21, he set foot, for the first time, on American soil, in late 1977. One “fanzine” he had not contributed to was The Comics Journal, which Groth and Michael Catron began publishing in July of 1976. That was soon to change.

“Within a few weeks of his arrival,” said Groth, “he came over to our ‘office,’ which was the spare bedroom of my apartment, and was introduced by a mutual friend — it was a fan visit. We were operating out of College Park, Maryland and Kim’s parents had moved to Fairfax, Virginia, both Washington DC suburbs. Kim loved the energy around the Journal and the whole idea of a magazine devoted to writing about comics, and asked if he could help. We needed all the help we could get, of course, so we gladly accepted his offer. He started to come over every day and was soon camping out on the floor. The three of us were living and breathing The Comics Journal 24 hours a day.”

Thompson became an owner when Catron took a job at DC Comics in 1978. As he became more familiar with the editorial process, Thompson became more and more integral to the magazine, assembling and writing news and conducting interviews with professionals. Thompson’s career in comics began here.

In 1981, Fantagraphics began publishing comics (such as Jack Jackson’s Los Tejanos, Don Rosa’s Comics and Stories, and, in 1982, Love and Rockets). Thompson was always evangelical about bandes dessinées and wanted to bring the best of European comics to America; in 1981, Thompson selected and translated the first of many European graphic novels for American publication — Herman Huppen’s The Survivors: Talons of Blood (followed by a 2nd volume in 1983). Thompson’s involvement in The Comics Journal diminished in 1982 when he took over the editorship of Amazing Heroes, a bi-weekly magazine devoted to more mainstream comics (with occasional forays into alternative and even foreign comics). Thompson helmed Amazing Heroes through 204 issues until 1992.

Among Thompson’s signature achievements in comics were Critters, a funny-animal anthology that ran from 50 issues between 1985 to 1990 and is perhaps best known for introducing the world to Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo; and Zero Zero, an alternative comics anthology that also ran for 50 issues over five years — between 1995 and 2000 — and featured work by, among others, Kim Deitch, Dave Cooper, Al Columbia, Spain Rodriguez, Joe Sacco, David Mazzuchelli, and Joyce Farmer. His most recent enthusiasm was spearheading a line of European graphic novel translations, including two major series of volumes by two of the most significant living European artists — Jacques Tardi (It Was the War of the Trenches, Like a Sniper Lining up His Shot, The Astonishing Exploits of Lucien Brindavoine) and Jason (Hey, Wait…, I Killed Adolf Hitler, Low Moon, The Left Bank Gang) — and such respected work as Ulli Lust’s Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of Your Life, Lorenzo Mattotti’s The Crackle of the Frost, Gabriella Giandelli’s Interiorae, and what may be his crowning achievement as an editor/translator, Guy Peelaert’s The Adventures of Jodelle.

Throughout his career at Fantagraphics, Thompson was active in every aspect of the company, selecting books, working closely with authors, guiding books through the editorial and production process. “Kim leaves an enormous legacy behind him,” said Groth, “not just all the European graphic novels that would never have been published here if not or his devotion, knowledge, and skills, but for all the American cartoonists he edited, ranging from Stan Sakai to Joe Sacco to Chris Ware, and his too infrequent critical writing about the medium. His love and devotion to comics was unmatched. I can’t truly convey how crushing this is for all of us who’ve known and loved and worked with him over he years.”

Thompson was diagnosed with lung cancer in late February. He is survived by his wife, Lynn Emmert, his mother and father, Aase and John, and his brother Mark.

Aluna, the Latin American superhero created by actress Paula Garces and her creative partner, Antonio Hernandez will be released as a trilogy starting with book one this Fall.

Aluna is the story of a young woman, taken from the New World by the Spaniards and raised as royalty in Spain during the 1500s. As if by fate, she is forced to travel back to the New World, only to discover that she has great powers that she must harness to defend her new homeland.

The creators tapped Seattle based Allegory to develop and publish the series.

“I’ve always been a fan of comic books but felt that strong female Latina leads were lacking, so along with my creative partner, Antonio Hernandez, we created Aluna. We’re so happy with how well the character has been received by fans playing the Aluna character in Heroes of Newerth that we can’t wait to release the first of three books this Fall” comments Paula Garces.

Allegory’s publishing imprint will develop the books and will eventually produce a portfolio of digital products and merchandise based on the title.

“We’ve wanted to create a compelling female heroine for two years now. A character who is strong and has a complex back story. When Paula and Tony shared the story of Aluna with us, we knew we needed to be apart of this franchise. This is a groundbreaking book and we feel honored to be apart of it” said Chad Smith, CEO of Allegory.

Dooma Wendschuh and Corey May, founders of sekretagent Productions, have been attached to write all three books. This writing duo is the creative force behind such popular game titles as Assassin’s Creed and Army of Two.

“This story is full of action, but it also has pretty epic romance elements. Aluna is a badass. She’s tough as nails given everything she’s been through. We’re going to help her find her softer side”, remarks Dooma Wendschuh.

Ibraim Roberson, whose recent credits include X-Men, Hellraiser and mostly recently, Max Brooks’s, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, has been attached to create the art.

“Ibraim Roberson is just the right artist for Aluna.  His work on The X-Men and Clive Barker’s Hellraiser has consistently demonstrated a pacing and organic style that is a perfect mesh to Dooma’s writing.  Giving the adventures of Aluna a whole new level of realism, action, and drama. Plus, the artwork produced by Ibraim is going to be lush and beautiful and will perfectly capture the majesty of the old world” remarked Lee Koshe, Allegory’s Creative Director.

Additionally, S2 Games, the creators of the popular online game series, Heroes of Newerth have partnered with Paula Garces’ Further Lane Productions and Allegory to develop an ongoing portfolio of avatars for the Heroes of Newerth game based on the Aluna character. The first avatar, Stardust Aluna, was recently released by S2 games.  The second avatar will be released at Comic Con International this July and will be followed by future avatars.

About Paula Garces

Paula Garces is well known as “Maria” from the hit 2011 film, “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas”, starring in all three installments of the Harold & Kumar franchise. Ms. Garces can been seen as Flora Hernandez in Marc Cherry’s new series “Devious Maids” on Lifetime network.  Paula will also appear as Lea Marquez on the legendary soap, “All My Children,” premiering on Sunday June 23rd at 10pm on Hulu.com. On the small screen, Paula began her career on the daytime drama, “Guiding Light”, and later earned Alma Award nominations for her portrayal of Officer Tina Hallon on FX’s “The Shield”.

About Allegory

Allegory is a transmedia company engaged in several aspects of entertainment including publishing, children’s education, games, applications, television and digital platforms. Allegory employs some of the most talented artists, writers and developers in the entertainment and interactive industry. Allegory is headquartered in Seattle and maintains offices in New York and San Diego.

Allegory is committed to design driven experiences and exceptional storytelling with a purpose. For more information about Allegory, please visit www.allegorymedia.co.

About sekretagent Productions

sekretagent Productions creates and/or produces the characters, worlds and stories behind some of the best selling and most critically acclaimed filmed and interactive entertainment on Earth. In the business of imagining and producing new, original IP, sekretagent works with the world’s leading publishers, studios and corporations, providing content creation, screenwriting, interactive development and film /video production services in the motion picture, video game and advertising industries. For more information about sekretagents Productions, please visit www.sekretagents.com.

About S2 Games

S2 Games is a game publisher and developer with a mission to identify, develop, evolve and unleash the future of online multiplayer games. Since its inception in 2003, S2 has been focused on driving innovation into the global online game space, through identifying and solving industry issues, listening closely to its passionate gamer base and incorporating features that gamers truly want.

Active in sponsoring and helping drive many global tournaments for their flagship title Heroes of Newerth, S2 is focused on providing the best online multiplayer gaming experience and opportunities for its fans to shine. For more information about S2, please visit www.s2games.com.

A press release from Michael Molcher of Abaddon Books:

The universe expands on 25 June (US & Can) and 4 July (UK).

Telepath Den Harper did the dirty work for the authoritarian Expansion, reading the minds of criminals, spies and undesirables, for years. Unable to take the strain, he stole a starship and headed into the void, a sector of lawless space known as Satan’s Reach. For five years he worked as a trader among the stars — then discovered that the Expansion had set a bounty hunter on his trail.

But what does the Expansion want with a lowly telepath like Harper? Is there something in the rumours that human space is being invaded by aliens from another realm? Harper finds out the answer to both these questions when he rescues a young woman from certain death — and comes face to face with the terrible aliens known as the Weird.

Eric Brown continues to expand the Weird Space universe, which he created for Abaddon Books, with a fastpaced action-adventure that pits humanity against unimaginable terror from beyond.

The mass market paperback will be released on 25 June in the US and Canada ($7.99/C$9.99; ISBN: 978-1-78108-131-0) and 4 July in the UK (£7.99; ISBN: 978-1-78108-130-3).

In an innovative combination of music and literature, bestselling science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson and Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart have collaborated to convert the legendary rock band’s latest album, Clockwork Angels, into a full-length steampunk novel.

The music throughout Clockwork Angels — the band’s 20th studio album — forms the backbone of a colorful adventure story, which is now fully realized in Clockwork Angels: The Novel.

The story tells of a young man caught between the grandiose forces of order and chaos. On a quest to follow his dreams, he travels across a lavish and colorful world of steampunk and alchemy, with lost cities, pirates, anarchists, exotic carnivals, airships and steam engines, and a rigid Watchmaker who imposes precision on every aspect of daily life.

Jack Templar: Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus. (The Templar Chronicles – Book One), Seven Guns Press, $10.95, 184pp, tp, 9780988425903. YA sf.

Orphan Jack Templar has no memory of his parents and only the smallest details from his Aunt Sophie about how they died.. The day before Jack’s fourteenth birthday, things start to change for him. At first it’s great: A sudden new strength helps him defend his nose-picking friend “T-Rex” from the school bully, and even his crush, Cindy Adams, takes notice. But then a mysterious girl named Eva arrives and tells him two facts that will change his life forever. First, that he’s the descendent of a long line of monster hunters and he’s destined to be in the family business. Second, that there’s a truce between man and monster that children are off-limits… until their fourteenth birthday! Jack has only one day before hundreds of monsters will descend on his little town of Sunnyvale and try to kill him.

As if that weren’t enough, things get even more complicated when Jack discovers that the Lord of the Creach (as the monsters are collectively known) holds a personal grudge against him and will do anything to see that Jack has a slow and painful death. To stay alive and save his friends, Jack will have to battle werewolves, vampires, harpies, trolls, zombies and more. But perhaps the most dangerous thing he must face is the truth about his past. Why do the other hunters call him the last Templar? Why do they whisper that he may be the “One?” Why do the monsters want him dead so badly? Even as these questions plague him, he quickly discovers survival is his new full-time job and that in the world of monster hunters, nothing is really what it seems.

Hunted by Kevin Hearne. (Book Six of The Iron Druid Chronicles), Del Rey, $7.99, 400 pages, pb, 9780345533630. Fantasy.

For a two-thousand-year-old Druid, Atticus O’Sullivan is a pretty fast runner. Good thing, because he’s being chased by not one but two goddesses of the hunt — Artemis and Diana — for messing with one of their own. Dodging their slings and arrows, Atticus, Granuaile, and his wolfhound, Oberon, are making a mad dash across modern-day Europe to seek help from a friend of the Tuatha De Danann. His usual magical option of shifting planes is blocked, so instead of playing hide-and-seek, the game plan is… run like hell.

Crashing the pantehon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok — aka the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living — and still have a world to live in.

Kill City Blues by Richard Kadrey. (a Sandman Slim novel), Harper Voyager, $24.99, 400pp, hc, 9780062094599. Fiction. On-sale date: August 2013.

James Stark, aka Sandman Slim, has managed to get out of Hell, renounce his title as the new Lucifer, and settle back into life in L.A. But he’s not out of trouble yet. Somewhere along the way he misplaced the Qomrama Om Ya, a weapon from the banished older golds who are also searching for their lost power.

The hunt leads Stark to an abandoned shopping mall — a multi-story copy of L.A. — infested with Lurkers and wretched bottom-feeding Sub Rosa families, squatters who have formed tight tribes to guard their tiny patches of this fake L.A. Somewhere in the kill zone of the former mall is a dead man with the answers Stark needs. All Stark has to do is find the deadman, get back out alive, and outrun some angry old gods — and a few killers — on his tail.

The Curiosity by Stephen P. Kiernan. William Morrow, $25.99, 432pp, hc, 9780062221063. Science fiction.

Michael Crichton meets Audrey Niffenegger in The Curiosity, Stephen P. Kiernan’s powerful debut novel about a man frozen in the Arctic for more than a century. Waking up in present day Boston, he must cope with an entirely new world, a cultural and political frenzy that not only questions our moral code but also throws him into uncharted and dangerous territory.

In present time, Dr. Kate Philo and her scientific exploration team make a breathtaking discovery in the Arctic: the body of a man buried deep in the ice. As a scientist in a groundbreaking project run by the egocentric and paranoid Erastus Carthage, Kate has brought small frozen creatures — plankton, krill, shrimp — back to life. Never have the team’s methods been attempted on a large life form.

Heedless of the consequences, Carthage orders that the frozen man be brought back to the lab in Boston, and reanimated. As the man begins to regain his memories, the team learns that he was/is a judge, Jeremiah Rice, and the last thing he remembers is falling overboard into the Arctic Ocean in 1906. When news of the Lazarus Project and Jeremiah Rice breaks, it ignites a media firestorm and massive protests by religious fundamentalists.

Thrown together by circumstances beyond their control, Kate and Jeremiah forge an unlikely bond. A gripping and poignant thriller, The Curiosity is a provocative debut novel raising disturbing questions about the very nature of life and humanity — man as a scientific subject, as a tabloid plaything, as a living being: a curiosity.

The Silver Six by A.J. Lieberman & Darren Rawlings. Graphix/Scholastic, $10.99, 190pp, tp, 9780545370981. Middle grades sf graphic novel.

Comic veteran A.J. Lieberman teams up with designer, animator, and illustrator Darren Rawlings to create The Silver Six, a futuristic full-color graphic novel about a group of orphans who are thrown together under mysterious circumstances and are fighting to save the world.

When a group of orphans discover they have more in common than they could have imagined, plucky heroine Phoebe leads her new friends in a daring escape from their orphanage to an uninhabited moon. But their idyllic paradise is shattered when the powerful corporate boss who caused the deaths of their parents sends a relentless henchman to track them down. Now, with nowhere left to turn and tired of being on the run, these resourceful kids decide there’s only one thing left to do: Fight back!

Spirit Animals Book 1: Wild Born by Brandon Mull. Scholastic, $12.99, 208pp, hc, 9780545522434. Middle grades fantasy. On-sale date: 10 September 2013.

In the world of Erdas, four children are about to discover if they have a spirit animal, a rare bond between human and beast that gives great powers to both. Separated by vast distances, Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan each see a flash of light… and then the animals emerge.

Wolf, leopard, panda, falcon. Each of the children has summoned a beast from legend. Now their fate is set. The four new heroes and their animals must band together on a dangerous quest. A dark force from the past is rising, and only they have the power to stop it.

The fate of Erdas has fallen on the shoulders of these brave strangers… and on you.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: On Board the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D by Denise and Michael Okuda. Barrons, $18.99, 4opp + CD, hc, 9780764166068. TV tie-in/Star Trek.

Famed for its original storylines, endearing and complex characters as well as the sheer enjoyment of watching, Star Trek is a serious hobby for some, a part-time job for others, and a rich source of fun for all. On Board The U.S.S. Enterprise is your golden ticket for a once-in-a-lifetime personal tour of the fabled corridors of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D.

In the pages of this book, you’ll find a vivid account of the Enterprise‘s history, notes on her most memorable voyages, her propulsion and tactical abilities, plus spectacular fold-out pages, showcasing the starship from all angles.

Adding to the excitement of this one-of-a-kind Star Trek experience is the accompanying CD-ROM that will take you on a virtual 3D tour of the ship. Wander around the engineering room, check out the sickbay, crew quarters and other famous locations, all of which have been painstakingly digitally recreated with the delivery of a master historian and rendered in 3D with fine attention to detail to get you as close as possible to the real thing.

Tommysaurus Rex by Doug TenNapel. Graphix/Scholastic, $10.99, 140pp, tp, 9780545483834. YA fantasy graphic novel.

Acclaimed artist and author Doug TenNapel creates a dinosaur adventure int he tradition of Old Yeller in Tommysaurus Rex about the heartwarming friendship between a boy and his Tyrannosaurus Rex. Originally published in black-and-white in 2004, this new edition of Tommysaurus Rex has been expanded with 32 new pages of art and is now in full color.

When Ely’s beloved dog, Tommy, is hit by a car, he goes to his grandpa’s farm for the summer to get his mind off things. While exploring a nearby cave one day, he discovers a full-grown but friendly Tyrannosaurus Rex. As the news of the dinosaur grows around town, so does the friendship between Ely and his Jurassic pet. But Randy, the mean kid down the street, decides he’s going to make life miserable for Ely and his dinosaur, to devastating effect.

The Scroll of Years by Chris Willrich. (a Gaunt and Bone novel), Pyr, $15.95, 270pp, tp, 9781616148133. Fantasy. On-sale date: 10 September 2013.

Persimmon Gaunt Imago Bone are a romantic couple, partners in crime. Persimmon is a poet from a well-to-do family, who found herself looking for adventure, while Imago is a thief in his ninth decade who is double-curse, and his body has not aged in nearly seventy years. Together, their services and wanderlust have taken them into places better left unseen, and against odds best not spoken about. Now, they find themselves looking to get away, to the edge of the world, with Persimmon pregnant with their child, and the most feared duo of assassins hot on their trail. However, all is never what it seems, and a sordid adventure — complete with magic scrolls, gangs of thieves, and dragons both eastern and western — is at hand.

NASA announced Tuesday a Grand Challenge focused on finding all asteroid threats to human populations and knowing what to do about them.

The challenge, which was announced at an asteroid initiative industry and partner day at NASA Headquarters in Washington, is a large-scale effort that will use multi-disciplinary collaborations and a variety of partnerships with other government agencies, international partners, industry, academia, and citizen scientists. It complements NASA’s recently announced mission to redirect an asteroid and send humans to study it.

“NASA already is working to find asteroids that might be a threat to our planet, and while we have found 95 percent of the large asteroids near the Earth’s orbit, we need to find all those that might be a threat to Earth,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver. “This Grand Challenge is focused on detecting and characterizing asteroids and learning how to deal with potential threats. We will also harness public engagement, open innovation and citizen science to help solve this global problem.”

Grand Challenges are ambitious goals on a national or global scale that capture the imagination and demand advances in innovation and breakthroughs in science and technology. They are an important element of President Obama’s Strategy for American Innovation.

“I applaud NASA for issuing this Grand Challenge because finding asteroid threats, and having a plan for dealing with them, needs to be an all-hands-on-deck effort,” said Tom Kalil, deputy director for technology and innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “The efforts of private-sector partners and our citizen scientists will augment the work NASA already is doing to improve near-Earth object detection capabilities.”

NASA also released a request for information (RFI) that invites industry and potential partners to offer ideas on accomplishing NASA’s goal to locate, redirect, and explore an asteroid, as well as find and plan for asteroid threats. The RFI is open for 30 days, and responses will be used to help develop public engagement opportunities and a September industry workshop.

To watch the archived video of Tuesday’s asteroid initiative industry and partner day, visit youtube.com/nasatelevision

For more information about NASA’s asteroid initiative, including presentations from Tuesday’s event and a link to the new RFI, visit www.nasa.gov/asteroidinitiative

Bundoran Press Publishing House is pleased to announce it has signed book deals with Alison Sinclair of Montreal, Quebec, and Al Onia of Calgary, Alberta.

The deal with Alison Sinclair is for two books. Breakpoint: Nereis and Contagion: Eyre are the first of a series of books about a starship on a mission to pick up the pieces after a catastrophic plague that collapsed an interstellar human civilization.

Alison has previously published a number of science fiction novels: Legacies (Millennium (Orion), UK, 1995; HarperPrism, US, 1996), Blueheart (Millennium (Orion), UK, 1996; HarperPrism, US, 1998), and Cavalcade (Millennium (Orion), UK, 1998), and collaborative SF novel Throne Price (with Lynda Williams, Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Canada, 2003), and a fantasy trilogy, Darkborn (ROC, US, 2009), Lightborn (ROC, US, 2010), and Shadowborn (ROC, US, 2011). Cavalcade was shortlisted for the Arthur C Clarke award in 1999 and her short story “Suspended Lives”, about a telepresence surgeon, appeared in the Aurora-award winning anthology Space, Inc (edited by Julie Czerneda, DAW, 2003).

Al Onia has agreed to a one-book deal for Javenny Pink (working title), a near-future science fiction novel of first contact and international intrigue.

Al is a geophysicist whose fiction fiction has appeared in On Spec, The Speculative Edge, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Spinetingler, eFantasy, Marion Zimmer Bradley and the anthologies Body-Smith 401, North of Infinity and Warrior Wisewoman 3 (his story “The Envoy” was a 2011 Aurora finalist).

Alison Sinclair’s books are scheduled for publication in April 2014 and 2015; Al Onia’s novel will be published in August 2014.

The World SF Blog was a near-daily blog operating continuously from February 2009 to June 2013, for over four years. Published by Lavie Tidhar, It was dedicated to highlighting international speculative fiction. Over its run it has published hundreds of posts, interviews, articles and, since 2010, over 60 short stories, many of them available in English for the first time.

Charles Tan was contributing editor. Fiction editors were Debbie Moorhouse and then Sarah Newton.

Initially set up to promote Tidhar’s Apex Book of World SF anthology, the blog had since spawned two further anthologies (with Volume 2 published in 2012 and Volume 3 due next year), as well as the annual World SF Travel Fund, for facilitating the visit of international genre people to a major convention.

In his farewell letter, Tidhar wrote, “It felt to me that we were able to partly-initiate, and to encourage, a conversation that the genre had not had before, and in a very real way is only now beginning to seriously engage in.” He added, “The change I have seen in the four years of the blog is heartening. In a way, I have decided to stop now because the blog has fulfilled everything I ever wanted it to, and so much more.”

The World SF Blog won a 2012 BSFA Award for Best Non-Fiction. It was also given a Kitschies Special Achievement Award, and was a 2011 nominee for the World Fantasy Award.

The blog archive remains online and will also be added to the Merril Collection archives.

World SF Blog main page: http://worldsf.wordpress.com

Tidhar’s farewell letter: http://worldsf.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/a-last-word

Bloomsbury is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Take Back the Skies, an edge of your seat, epic fantasy adventure by 18 year-old Lucy Saxon which will be published in early summer 2014.

Rebecca McNally, Publishing Director, acquired global publishing rights in all languages for three books in the Tellus World Series from Maggie Pearlstine of Maggie Pearlstine Associates.

“Lucy is an outrageously talented young woman; her writing is extraordinarily assured and her vision hugely imaginative and ambitious,” said McNally.

“In a long career in publishing, I have never encountered a writer as talented as Lucy Saxon. Writing of this calibre is remarkable achievement for a writer of any age – for someone so young it is unparalleled,” said Pearlstine.

Take Back the Skies is Lucy’s debut novel. It tells the story of a teenage girl desperate to escape an arranged marriage and the life her father has planned out for her. Disguising herself as a young boy she stows away on a smugglers’ air ship and discovers a world of excitement and danger with the crew of the Stormdancer. Each book in the series will be set in in a different land within the Tellus World Lucy has created.

Lucy Saxon has always been a keen reader, but her love of writing began at the age of 12 when she first suffered from ME. She found herself missing lengthy periods of school, giving her the opportunity to indulge in creative writing. She is also a keen West Ham fan and regularly coaches football and riding to children in the school holidays. Lucy can often be found attending comic and fantasy conventions and ALWAYS makes her own, very impressive costumes. Follow Lucy on Twitter @Lucy_Saxon

The editors of The Journal of Unlikely Entomology are pleased to announce the next evolutionary stage of their improbable little bugzine: beginning with Issue #6 of The Journal of Unlikely Entomology, we will be increasing our pay rates as follows:

Original fiction: $0.05/word
Reprints: $0.01/word
Existing art: $10
Original art: $25

Issue #6 is currently open for submissions and guidelines may be found here: http://www.unlikely-story.com/?page_id=4

The publication is also restructuring and shifting central focus to Unlikely Story, which publishes The Journal of Unlikely Entomology. Going forward, Unlikely Story will publish three Unlikely journals a year, one issue each of:

• The Journal of Unlikely Entomology
• The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography
• The Journal of Whatever Tickles Our Fancy This Year

The Journal of Unlikely Cryptography will open for submissions on July 1, 2013.

The first issue will be published in January/February 2014.Guidelines for the issue can be found here: http://www.unlikely-story.com/?page_id=6.

The editors of Unlikely Story would like to thank Avi Freedman and Havenco/ for making this evolution possible.

LoneStarCon 3, the 71st World Science Fiction Convention (“Worldcon”), is pleased to announce that the 2013 Hugo Award base will be designed by Texas-based artist Vincent Villafranca. Villafranca is a Chesley Award-winning sculptor who produces futuristic and fantastic bronzes using a traditional lost-wax casting process. Production of the 2013 bases is already well under way, although in keeping with tradition, the design will not be revealed until the convention.

The actual Hugo Award trophy takes the form of a silver rocket. The original concept by Jack McKnight and Ben Jason was inspired by the gleaming finned rocketships of Willy Ley. The exact design has become standardized in recent years and the rockets are currently produced by British fan Peter Weston. The base on which the rocket is mounted is, however, the responsibility of each Worldcon committee, and the design changes each year, usually inspired by the location of the convention.

LoneStarCon 3 is also pleased to announce that fans may now submit their final Hugo Award ballots online at lonestarcon3.org/hugo-awards. The voting deadline is Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre, honoring science fiction and fantasy literature, media, artists, and fans. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science Fiction Convention in Philadelphia, PA (Philcon II), and they have continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables annually for 60 years.

More information about the Hugo Awards is available at www.LoneStarCon3.org/hugo-awards.

These are the nominees for the British Fantasy Awards 2013. Four nominees in each category were decided by a vote of the members of the British Fantasy Society and the attendees of FantasyCon 2012, with up to two further nominees in each category being added by the juries as “egregious omissions”. The exception is the Best Newcomer category, in which all authors under consideration were put forward by voters.

Best Fantasy Novel (the Robert Holdstock Award):
Blood and Feathers, Lou Morgan (Solaris)
The Brides of Rollrock Island, Margo Lanagan (David Fickling Books)
Railsea, China Miéville (Macmillan)
Red Country, Joe Abercrombie (Gollancz)
Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce (Gollancz)

Best Horror Novel (the August Derleth Award):
The Drowning Girl, Caitlin R. Kiernan (Roc)
The Kind Folk, Ramsey Campbell (PS Publishing)
Last Days, Adam Nevill (Macmillan)
Silent Voices, Gary McMahon (Solaris)
Some Kind of Fairy Tale, Graham Joyce (Gollancz)

Best Novella:
Curaré, Michael Moorcock (Zenith Lives!) (Obverse Books)
Eyepennies, Mike O’Driscoll (TTA Press)
The Nine Deaths of Dr Valentine, John Llewellyn Probert (Spectral Press)
The Respectable Face of Tyranny, Gary Fry (Spectral Press)

Best Short Story:
“Our Island”, Ralph Robert Moore (Where Are We Going?) (Eibonvale Press)
“Shark! Shark!” Ray Cluley (Black Static #29) (TTA Press)
“Sunshine”, Nina Allan (Black Static #29) (TTA Press)
“Wish for a Gun”, Sam Sykes (A Town Called Pandemonium) (Jurassic London)

Best Collection:
From Hell to Eternity, Thana Niveau (Gray Friar Press)
Remember Why You Fear Me, Robert Shearman (ChiZine Publications)
Where Furnaces Burn, Joel Lane (PS Publishing)
The Woman Who Married a Cloud, Jonathan Carroll (Subterannean Press)

Best Anthology:
A Town Called Pandemonium, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin (eds) (Jurassic London)
Magic: an Anthology of the Esoteric and Arcane, Jonathan Oliver (ed.) (Solaris)
The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women, Marie O’Regan (ed.) (Robinson)
Terror Tales of the Cotswolds, Paul Finch (ed.) (Gray Friar Press)

Best Small Press (the PS Publishing Independent Press Award):
ChiZine Publications (Brett Alexander Savory and Sandra Kasturi)
Gray Friar Press (Gary Fry)
Spectral Press (Simon Marshall-Jones)
TTA Press (Andy Cox)

Best Non-Fiction:
Ansible, David Langford
The Cambridge Companion to Fantasy Literature, Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn (eds) (Cambridge University Press)
Coffinmaker’s Blues, Stephen Volk (Black Static) (TTA Press)
Fantasy Faction, Marc Aplin (ed.)
Pornokitsch, Anne C. Perry and Jared Shurin (eds)
Reflections: On the Magic of Writing, Diana Wynne Jones (David Fickling Books)

Best Magazine/Periodical:
Black Static, Andy Cox (ed.) (TTA Press)
Interzone, Andy Cox (ed.) (TTA Press)
SFX, David Bradley (ed.) (Future Publishing)
Shadows and Tall Trees, Michael Kelly (ed.) (Undertow Publications)

Best Artist:
Ben Baldwin
David Rix
Les Edwards
Sean Phillips
Vincent Chong

Best Comic/Graphic Novel:
Dial H, China Miéville, Mateus Santolouco, David Lapham and Riccardo Burchielli (DC Comics)
Saga, Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image Comics)
The Unwritten, Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Gary Erskine, Gabriel Hernández Walta, M.K. Perker, Vince Locke and Rufus Dayglo (DC Comics/Vertigo)
The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard (Skybound Entertainment/Image Comics)

Best Screenplay:
Avengers Assemble, Joss Whedon
Sightseers, Alice Lowe, Steve Oram and Amy Jump
The Cabin in the Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro

Best Newcomer (the Sydney J. Bounds Award):
Alison Moore, for The Lighthouse (Salt Publishing)
Anne Lyle, for The Alchemist of Souls (Angry Robot)
E.C. Myers, for Fair Coin (Pyr)
Helen Marshall, for Hair Side, Flesh Side (ChiZine Publications)
Kim Curran, for Shift (Strange Chemistry)
Lou Morgan, for Blood and Feathers (Solaris)
Molly Tanzer, for A Pretty Mouth (Lazy Fascist Press)
Saladin Ahmed, for Throne of the Crescent Moon (Gollancz)
Stephen Bacon, for Peel Back the Sky (Gray Friar Press)
Stephen Blackmoore, for City of the Lost (Daw Books)

The winners of these categories will now be decided by the following juries. Main jury, deciding the categories of fantasy novel, horror novel, novella, short story, collection, anthology, magazine/periodical, comic/graphic novel and screenplay: Esther Sherman, Matthew Hughes, Neil Williamson, Pauline Morgan and Ros Jackson. Best non-fiction: Djibril al-Ayad, Jason Arnopp and Roz Kaveney. Best artist: Daniele Serra, P.M. Buchan and Rachel Kendall. Best small press: Elaine Hillson, Elloise Hopkins, Dave Brzeski, Rachel Kendall and Rhian Bowley. Best newcomer: Adele Wearing, Alison Littlewood, Jim Steel, Lizzie Barrett and Peter Tennant.

The winners of each of these awards, as well as the winner of the Karl Edward Wagner Award (a special award decided by a vote of the British Fantasy Society committee) and the World Fantasy Awards, will be announced at the Fantasy Awards banquet at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton on Sunday, November 3, 2013.

The votes are in and Amazon customers have chosen Rysa Walker of Carey, N.C. as the Grand Prize winner of the sixth annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest for her young adult novel Timebound. The award was announced this evening during a ceremony at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle. Timebound will be released October 22, 2013 by Skyscape—an imprint of Amazon Children’s Publishing—and Walker will receive a publishing contract with a $50,000 advance.

Walker’s Timebound was inspired by her love of history and science fiction and explores how the choices we make affect our future. In the novel, 17-year-old Kate learns that she’s inherited a genetic license to time travel when her grandmother shares a strange blue medallion, an even stranger tale about future historians, and the unshakeable conviction that the fate of half the planet lies in Kate’s hands. The book is now available for pre-order in print and Kindle formats on Amazon.com at www.amazon.com/abna.

The remaining four category winners, Ken Moraff (General Fiction, It Happened in Wisconsin), Jo Chumas (Mystery/Thriller, The Hidden), Evelyn Pryce (Romance, A Man Above Reproach) and J. Lincoln Fenn (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror, POE), each received publishing contracts from Amazon Publishing with a $15,000 advance. Their books will also be released in print and Kindle formats in the fall and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.

“Rysa’s novel is one of those up-til-dawn reads that you just can’t put down, so it’s no surprise Amazon customers gave her this award,” said Daphne Durham, Editor-in-Chief, Amazon Publishing. “We are looking forward to sharing all of the 2013 ABNA winners’ books with readers this fall.”

For the complete Official Rules for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and more information, please visit www.amazon.com/abna.

The winners are:

Theodore Sturgeon Award: “The Grinnell Method” by Molly Gloss (first published in Strange Horizons, 3 September & 10 September 2012)

John W. Campbell Award: Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer by Adam Roberts (published by Gollancz)

Lifeboat to the Stars Award: Tau Ceti by Kevin J. Anderson and Steve Savile (published by Arc Manor)

We detailed the nominees for both the Campbell and Sturgeon awards in this article. The Lifeboat nominees were in this article.

The Horror Writers Association chose a historic hotel in the haunted city of New Orleans to announce the winners of the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards tonight. The presentations were made at a banquet held as the highlight of the Bram Stoker Awards Weekend, which this year incorporated the World Horror Convention.

Fifteen new bronze haunted-house statuettes were handed over to the writers responsible for creating superior works of horror last year. This year?s winners are:

Superior Achievement in a Novel: The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan (Roc)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel: Life Rage by L.L. Soares (Nightscape Press)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel: Flesh & Bone by Jonathan Maberry (Simon & Schuster)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel: Witch Hunts: A Graphic History of the Burning Times by Rocky Wood and Lisa Morton (McFarland and Co., Inc.)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction: The Blue Heron by Gene O’Neill (Dark Regions Press)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction: “Magdala Amygdala” by Lucy Snyder (Dark Faith: Invocations, Apex Book Company)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay: The Cabin in the Woods by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard (Mutant Enemy Productions, Lionsgate)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology: Shadow Show edited by Mort Castle and Sam Weller (HarperCollins)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection (tie): New Moon on the Water by Mort Castle (Dark Regions Press)
Black Dahlia and White Rose: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates (Ecco Press)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction: Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton (Reaktion Books)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection: Vampires, Zombies & Wanton Souls by Marge Simon (Elektrik Milk Bath Press)

Works can be recommended by any member of the HWA. Juries in each category also compile their top picks, and members with Active status then vote on works from both the member recommendations and the jury selections in a preliminary ballot. From there the field is narrowed to the final ballot and a list of nominees, from which Active members vote to choose the winners. The award is named for Bram Stoker, best known as the author of Dracula. The trophy, which resembles a miniature haunted house, was designed by author Harlan Ellison and sculptor Steven Kirk.

In addition, HWA presented its annual Lifetime Achievement Awards and its Specialty Press Awards. Robert R. McCammon was on hand to accept his Lifetime Achievement Award, and Mark Miller accepted on behalf of Lifetime Achievement Award winner Clive Barker. The Specialty Press Award went to Jerad Walters of Centipede Press.

The Silver Hammer Award, for outstanding service to HWA, was voted by the organization’s Board of Trustees to Charles Day. The President’s Richard Laymon Service Award was given to James Chambers.

Samhain Publishing served as the Platinum Sponsor for the event.

For more information, visit www.horror.org.

A press release from Jon Weir at Gollancz:

Gollancz are delighted to be publishing an updated edition of Matthew De Abaitua’s Arthur C. Clarke Award-shortlisted debut novel The Red Men in eBook for the first time. The release will coincide with Film4′s worldwide digital release of “Dr Easy”, a short film based on The Red Men‘s opening chapter, starring Tom Hollander and the voice of Geraldine James.

Marcus Gipps, editor at Gollancz, has acquired the UK and Commonwealth (ex Can) digital e-book rights to Matthew De Abaitua’s cult novel The Red Men from Sarah Such of Sarah Such Literary Agency, who has also recently sold The Red Men feature film rights to Warp Films, producers of This is England, Four Lions, and The Stone Roses: Made of Stone amongst many others.

Set in tomorrow’s Hackney, the novel’s ambitious executives and new technology satirise the modern workplace, where the Red Men of the title are an alluringly strange and prescient vision of the human cost of digital culture.

“Dr Easy” is written and directed by Shynola, multi-award-winning animators and directors of music videos for international bands including Coldplay, Radiohead, Beck and Blur. It is produced by Warp Films and shot by DOP Barry Ackroyd. It will premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2013 the day before Film 4.0′s simultaneous worldwide online release on 21st June on film4.com and Vimeo, from where it can be embedded into other sites, with both platforms promoting its release heavily as part of a sustained digital marketing campaign to reach wider audiences. Gollancz publish The Red Men (eBook) on 13 June 2013 at an introductory price of £2.99.

Marcus Gipps says: “We’re delighted to welcome Matthew to Gollancz, and thrilled that his remarkable novel will be available in eBook for the first time. With the forthcoming release of the very exciting short film ‘Dr Easy’, this is the perfect time to rediscover Matthew’s chilling vision of the near-future.”

Matthew De Abaitua says: “It’s a great honour for me that The Red Men is appearing on the Gollancz imprint. I am always inspired by their SF Masterworks list, from Theodore Sturgeon’s More Than Human to Philip K Dick’s Ubik. And as the novel explores the outer possibilities of digital culture, I’m very pleased that Gollancz are making The Red Men available as an eBook for the first time.”

BROOKLYN GOES HOLLYWOOD as Kicks Books heads West to present author Harlan Ellison at the esteemed La Luz Gallery and Soap Plant for a reading/signing/blowout spectacular unlike any the world has witnessed… the event begins at legendary hangout and sheer salon to greasers and pomp hoppers everywhere! Coif sculptor impressario Sweeney Todd has created, especially for Mr Ellison and this day in history, the “Cheech Beldone” cut. Get one for the occasion! Then run the half block gauntlet to the Soap Plant to experience Mr. Ellison reading, for the first time in history, from his 1959 writings, collected now by Kicks Books in the twin volumes Pulling a Train and Getting in the Wind!

HARLAN GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
Saturday, July 13, 2 – 5 pm
An Afternoon Reading, Signing and Haircut Party with Author Harlan Ellison

La Luz de Jesus Gallery and Soap Plant
4633 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027

www.laluzdejesus.com

The event begins at Sweeny Todd’s Barber Shop
4639 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
www.sweeneytoddsbarbershopla.com

Join the greatest living JD author (a/k/a “writer of juvenile delinquent fiction” for non-teen gangster types) Harlan Ellison for this rare event as he arrives in grand style at La Luz de Jesus’ neighboring vintage clip joint, Sweeny Todd’s Barber Shop, for a specially designed trim by shop curator Sween Lahman and is then escorted to the gallery for a reading, and signing of his Kicks Books releases, Pulling a Train and Getting in the Wind. Limited edition 11 x 17 posters of the book covers will be available at this event. It will be an afternoon of pizzazz and vinegar with a true living legend!

Ellison was hatched in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1934 and grew up in aptly-named nearby Painesville. He ran away from home many times, and worked a colorful string of odd-jobs, including tuna fisherman, crop-picker, nitroglycerine truck driver, door-to-door salesman, and short-order cook. He enrolled at Ohio State from which, after a year and a half, he was promptly expelled for punching out a lit prof. His writing career began at age 11 with a couple of newspaper serials and the sale of a tale to EC Comics. He relocated to New York City in 1955, went underground, and joined a teenage gang in Red Hook, Brooklyn, traveling under the name “Cheech Beldone.” The experience in a black leather jacket and motorcycle boots would affect his work throughout his long and sturdy career. It was filmed for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as “Memos from Purgatory”. Where his early delinquent books like The Deadly Streets and Web of the City have been reissued over the years, the extremely scarce and desirable Sex Gang, a collection of early men’s magazine fare and delinquent-tinged tales, has remained unavailable and unacknowledged until now. Ellison has allowed Kicks Books to issue the stories from Sex Gang in two volumes, with several additional stories from the late Fifties and early Sixties. Pulling a Train and Getting in the Wind, together, encompass all the action, traction and raunch that formed a genre all its own, a style populated by several fiction and science fiction scribes alongside Ellison, but Ellison was, and is, the king of the heap. He continues to rule the kingdom from his typewriter-infested abode in an undisclosed wooded area in Southern California, The Lost Aztec Temple of Mars.

California artist Les Toil’s two torrid cover paintings form a seamless image of the true Sex Gang pack– street vixens who won’t take “no” for an answer, alley rats who find the flash of a blade intoxicating, boulevard dolls who delight in the muffled cry of a face crushed beneath scuffed stiletto heels. This is real life set to the sounds of sirens echoing down the dead end streets of America. The edge of forever… starts at the waterfront.

Kicks Books is an independent publisher based in Brooklyn, New York, whose “hip pocket paperback” line reflects the pulp obsessions of founder, Miriam Linna. A longtime collector of printed matter, and paperback books in particular, Linna fulfilled a promise to a friend by publishing his rehab writings in book form. Kicks Books’ roster features titles by music legends Kim Fowley, Andre Williams, Sun Ra, journalist and novelist Nick Toshes, British beat hero Royston Ellis and American road poet laureate Charles Plymell.


Kicks Books Website

Kicks Books Blogspot

HarlanEllisonBooks.com

Following on from Julian Pavia’s acquisition of US rights in the Arthur C Clarke Award-winning science fiction novel Dark Eden and its sequel Gela’s Ring by Chris Beckett for Broadway Books (part of the Crown Publishing Group) from Michael Carlisle at Inkwell Management and Vanessa Kerr, Rights Director at Atlantic Books UK for a high five-figure sum in US dollars, Random House US has also acquired US audio rights.

And translation rights to Dark Eden have sold to these four territories in recent days, via Atlantic Books UK: To Presse de la Cite in France (after an auction), AST in Russia,  Mag Jacek Rodek in Poland and Kolektif in Turkey.

A press release from Carlos Martinez of Scribe Services Public Relations:

Actresses Amber Benson, Whoopi Goldberg, noted writer/producer Neil Gaiman and a number of entertainment industry veterans are rallying to make ailing filmmaker Michael Reaves’ final film Blood Kiss, a reality.

Michael Reaves, who is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease, announced the crowd-funding campaign for his film on May 15th, with an initial goal of $50,000. Blood Kiss, set in 1940s Hollywood, is the classic film noir tale of a sexy jazz singer in distress and a Private Investigator who takes on a little more than he bargained for when he discovers this case involves mysterious vampires.

Award-winning writer/producer Neil Gaiman is among those rallying behind Michael Reaves and will be starring in the film as eccentric movie director, “Julian Cross”. “I’m willing to pretend that the prospect of acting doesn’t terrify me in order to help Michael Reaves make his film” said Gaiman, who is known for his work on such series as Dr. Who, Babylon 5, the film Beowulf as well as the popular comic book series, The Sandman, Coraline, American Gods, and others.

Actress Amber Benson is slated to play “Ruby Day”, the sexy jazz singer in Blood Kiss, is pleased with fans’ support so far, but more is needed to make the high-quality film the team is aiming for. “Michael has been a great supporter of not just his friends, but many, many others in the industry, with his encouragement, advice and his hands-on help,” said Benson who is known for her work on the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Supernatural, and others, “but now is our turn to give back and make Michael’s dream of making his final film a reality.”

Others notables who have come forth to back the project include legendary animation writer, Paul Dini, best-selling author David Brin, famed comic book artist Tom Mandrake, actress Leah Cevoli, and actress/TV host Whoopi Goldberg who had this to say, “Can’t wait to see… feel the Blood Kiss!”.

Reaves is known for his prolific writing and producing which included scripts for such shows as Batman The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sliders, The Flash, Father Dowling Mysteries, He-Man, Dungeons and Dragons, Gargoyles and many others. He has received an Emmy Award, a Howie Award, and the prestigious Hampton’s Prize, for his contributions along with many other nominations. In recent years, Reaves’ health has been impacted by advanced stages of Parkinson’s Disease, forcing the once vibrant and active writer/producer into a wheelchair and unable to speak other than through an electronic voice box.

To date, Reaves’ friends have collected more than the $65,000 in donations from fans through their campaign on Kickstarter.com, a crowd-funding website used by independent filmmakers. The campaign ends on June 14, which leaves very limited amount of time to donate to this film, and contribute to Blood Kiss. To access the site or to donate, please visit www.PledgeBloodKiss.com.

“Our fans rally behind Neil, Amber, and Michael. They love the concept! Now we shoot for our stretch goals to make an entirely fan funded film with major talent,” said veteran composer David Raiklin, who is also a producer on Blood Kiss.

Since the beginning, the fans have come out in full force, rallying for this project, giving it placement on Kickstarter’s “Most Popular” page, as well as publishing dozens of fan-written blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and even a Blood Kiss inspired drink and a book-sale fundraiser. “When it’s meant to be you don’t have to try to sell it,” said producer Daniela Di Mase. “The fans know what they want to see and they know that Blood Kiss is a great film in the making.”

A press release from Art You Grew Up With:

Join us for a very special Open Day on Saturday 15 June, when we’ll be launching SUPERHERO, an awesome art show featuring artworks of legendary superheroes from the Marvel and DC Universe comics including, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, Thor, and Captain America. Monday to Saturday: 10am to 6pm. Sundays: 10am to 1pm.

This month celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Superman and fans of all ages will have the opportunity to see for the very first time a very rare, signed, and original Superman drawing by none other than Joe Shuster –- the Canadian-American comic book artist best known for creating Superman.

The Open Day on Saturday 15 June will give superhero fans a chance also to meet superhero artist Des Taylor, famous for his comic creations and his books How to Draw Comics and Manga, who will be on hand drawing superheroes live.

And, we’ve just heard Batman, Batgirl and The Joker will be there causing chaos, so bring your cameras!

This free exhibition held at the Art You Grew Up With gallery at 12 Station Approach, Radlett, Hertfordshire WD7 7AP, just 20 minutes train from Kings Cross Station.

A press release from Kyle Good of Scholastic:

In celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the U.S. publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Scholastic is inviting public libraries all across the country to enter to win a fabulous Harry Potter party pack for young readers in their communities. To enter, librarians should describe in 500 words or less the ultimate Harry Potter celebration they would throw to welcome a new generation of readers to the world of Harry Potter. Fifteen winning public libraries will be announced on Harry Potter’s birthday, July 31st, 2013. Celebrations will be held on August 27, 2013 -– the date when new U.S. trade paperback editions of all seven Harry Potter books, with spectacular new covers illustrated by #1 New York Times bestselling author/artist Kazu Kibuishi, will arrive in communities nationwide.

The fifteen winning public libraries will receive:

• 100 copies of the new trade paperback edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, with the new cover illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, to give away at the celebration.

• One new paperback boxed set of all seven Harry Potter books signed by Kibuishi for the library.

• A $100 gift card towards the Harry Potter celebration.

• A Harry Potter event kit with sticker sheets, name tags, bookmarks, activities, and more.

“Throughout the past fifteen years, librarians have introduced millions of children to Harry Potter, and helped young readers discover the joy of reading,” said Ellie Berger, President of Scholastic Trade Publishing. “Today we celebrate librarians, the magic of Harry Potter and all the future readers who are getting ready to start their journey to Hogwarts.”

Librarians can enter here. Deadline to enter is July 17, 2013. (NO PURCHASE NECESSARY). Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are public librarians and ages 18 and over entering on behalf of their public library. Entrants must have permission from their public library to enter this contest. Only one entry per public library. Void where prohibited. Complete rules can be found here. To learn more about Harry Potter and to view or download the new cover art by Kazu Kibuishi, visit http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/harrypotter.

Fifteen years after the first U.S. publication of J.K. Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in September 1998, there are more than 150 million Harry Potter books in print in the United States alone and the series still hits bestseller lists regularly. The seven Harry Potter books are published in over 200 territories in 74 languages and have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide.