Category: Events
- Laura Fitzgerald - May 15th, 2013
Chat with author and podcaster Mur Lafferty next week in a live, interactive event brought to you by Shindig! You may know Mur as the host of the award-winning “I Should Be Writing” podcast or for her work with “Escape Pod,” which publishes audio science fiction short stories — now get to know her as an urban fantasy author.
This event will be live on Wednesday, May 22nd from 6:30-7:30 EDT. RSVP today.
Mur’s book THE SHAMBLING GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY (US | UK | AUS) will be out on May 28. Listen to an audio excerpt on Mur’s website.
by Laura Fitzgerald • Post a Comment • Posted in: Ebooks, Events, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Ellen Wright - May 7th, 2013
In two weeks, the Nebula Awards Weekend will be taking place in San Jose, CA. Best of luck to all the nominees, but especially Kim Stanley Robinson and N.K. Jemisin, who both have works nominated for Best Novel this year! Here are some of the other conventions and events where you’ll find Orbit authors this month.
May 18-19: John R. Fultz @ Big Wow Comicfest, San Jose, CA
May 22: Catch Mur Lafferty, author of The Shambling Guide to New York City, in an online event at Shindig! More details here.
May 24-26: Mira Grant (as Seanan McGuire) @ OASIS, Orlando, FL
May 24-27: Mur Lafferty @ Balticon, Baltimore, MD
May 30: Michael J. Sullivan @ Audie Awards Gala, New York, NY
May 31 – June 2: Gail Z. Martin @ ConCarolinas, Charlotte, NC
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Events, Orbit US, Uncategorized
- Anna Gregson - March 28th, 2013
Terry Brooks‘s latest epic fantasy book BLOODFIRE QUEST (UK | ANZ) has been released this month. It’s the second book in The Dark Legacy of Shannara series and is delighting fans everywhere:
‘Nearly every page is filled with tension and passionate storytelling . . . Bloodfire Quest is a fine follow-up to Wards of Faerie and continues to prove that The Dark Legacy of Shannara is one of the most exciting and satisfying trilogies that Brooks has written in years’ A DRIBBLE OF INK
‘Shannara fans will delight in Brooks’s twists, sorcerous action, skilled characterizations, and rapid-fire storytelling ‘ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
‘Shannara continues to deepen, and Brooks continues to color his world with new hues . . . BLOODFIRE QUEST is an epic adventure packed into 350 pages, delivering more of a punch than many trilogies provide in three books’ BOOK REPORTER
Don’t forget that if you live in the UK, there’s just under a week until Terry visits for the first time in over 5 years. There’s a facebook group here for his signing on 3rd April at 6pm at Forbidden Planet London.
And don’t fear if you can’t make it – UK fans still have time to submit questions and will receive an awesome dragon skull badge at the same time…
by Anna Gregson • Post a Comment • Posted in: Ebooks, Events, Fiction, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Signings and Events
- Anna Gregson - March 26th, 2013
In case you haven’t heard (. . . you’ve probably heard . . . ), there’s a film version of Orson Scott Card’s classic science fiction novel ENDER’S GAME coming out soon. It will be released in the UK on 25th October this year.
Very excitingly, a teaser poster has just been unveiled! It’s been posted on the official Ender’s Game film Tumblr.
Since the book almost always pops up in those “top 10 science fiction books of all time” lists, you can imagine how many people are eager to see how director Gavin Hood will present this tale of one boy and his destiny among the stars . . .
Things are at least looking promising, given that it’s starring the likes of Harrison Ford (STAR WARS, INDIANA JONES), Asa Butterfield (HUGO) and Ben Kingsley (SCHINDLER’S LIST, SHUTTER ISLAND and IRON MAN 3).
You should also check out the very cool battle school logos that got posted on io9 recently.
Anticipation is certainly building! So to celebrate the upcoming film release, we’re releasing new editions of all the books in the Ender Saga.
To the left you can see the new edition of ENDER’S GAME (UK | ANZ) we released recently. And please see the new look below for the exceptional and award-winning follow-ups: SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD (UK | ANZ), XENOCIDE (UK | ANZ) and CHILDREN OF THE MIND (UK | ANZ).
These new-look editions will be released on 2nd May this year. Look below to see them in their full glory!
And if you’re a big Ender fan, don’t forget that there’s also an omnibus edition of the parallel story to Ender’s Game, THE SHADOW SAGA (UK | ANZ) available now. Read the rest of this entry »
by Anna Gregson • 1 Comment • Posted in: Art, Commentary, Covers, Ebooks, Events, Fiction, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK
- Rose Tremlett - March 25th, 2013
Wednesday, April 3: Terry Brooks @ Forbidden Planet, London, UK
April 5-7: Gail Z. Martin @ Ravencon, Richmond, VA, USA
April 19-21:
Jesse Bullington @ StarFest, Denver, CO, USA
Mira Grant @ JordanCon, Roswell, GA, USA
April 25-28: Glenda Larke and Karen Miller @ ConFlux, Canberra, Australia
by Rose Tremlett • Post a Comment • Posted in: Events, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Ellen Wright - March 5th, 2013
Friday, March 15: Gail Z. Martin @ Lunacon, Rye Brook, NY
March 20-21: Marlene Perez @ Kennesaw State University Conference on Literature for Children and Young Adults, Kennesaw, GA
March 21-24: N.K. Jemisin and Mira Grant @ Vericon, Cambridge, MA
March 22-24: Gail Z. Martin @ Arizona Renaissance Festival, Gold Canyon, AZ
Thursday, March 28: Francis Knight at Fantasy in the Court, Goldsboro Books, London, 6 PM
Thursday, March 28: Amanda Downum @ Dragon’s Lair Comics, Austin, TX, 7 PM
March 29-30: Jaye Wells @ Dreamin’ in Dallas, Richardson, TX
March 29 – April 1: Eastercon, Bradford. Walter Jon Williams is a Guest of Honor; also attending will be Michael Cobley, Francis Knight, and Simon Morden.
March 29 – April 1: Swancon, Perth. Charles Stross is the International Guest; also attending will be Glenda Larke.
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Events, Orbit UK, Orbit US
- Rose Tremlett - March 4th, 2013
Orbit is so excited to announce that Terry Brooks will be visiting the UK for the first time in over 5 years! He will be in London on holiday but has spared an evening to schedule an event at Forbidden Planet – on Wednesday 3rd April at 6pm. He will be signing copies of the first in his new series, Wards of Faerie (now available in paperback) and his new hardback Bloodfire Quest (out 12th March). Like our Orbit UK Facebook page for full details and updates.
And for all Terry’s UK fans who can’t make it to London, never fear… whether you can attend the signing or not, every person who emails a question for Terry to orbit@littlebrown.co.uk will receive a Bloodfire Quest badge! We will film his answers so everyone gets to ‘meet’ him. Plus the top three questions will win a signed and dedicated book. (UK entrants only).
Join us to celebrate a great year for a legend of the fantasy genre! 2013 is an especially exciting year for Terry as his full Dark Legacy of Shannara series will available, with the last novel in the trilogy, Witch Wraith, publishing this July.
Wards of Faerie: The Dark Legacy of Shannara, Book One
Bloodfire Quest: The Dark Legacy of Shannara, Book Two
Witch Wraith: The Dark Legacy of Shannara, Book Three
by Rose Tremlett • 2 Comments • Posted in: Contests, Events, Giveaway, Orbit UK, Signings and Events, Uncategorized
- Ellen Wright - February 6th, 2013
A little late this month, but here’s what Orbit authors will be up to for the rest of February!
February 6 (today!): Jesse Bullington at Tattered Cover, Denver, CO, 7:30 PM
February 7: Miles Cameron at the Book Lover’s Ball, Toronto, ON
February 8-10:
Gail Z. Martin at ShevaCon, Roanoke, VA
Amanda Carlson at Olde City, New Blood, St. Augustine, FL
February 15-17: Jaye Wells at Con DFW, Addison, TX
February 15: Gail Z. Martin at Books-a-Million Cotswold, Charlotte, NC, 1 PM
February 16: Gail Z. Martin at B&N Carolina Place Mall, Pineville, NC, 2 PM
February 19: Kate Locke at John Fluevog Shoes for “Shoepunk: Fashion and Fantasy,” New York, NY, 6:30 PM
February 22-24: Gail Z. Martin at Mysticon, Roanoke, VA
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Events, Orbit US
- Ellen Wright - January 9th, 2013
January 11: Gail Z. Martin at B&N Birkdale, Huntersville, NC, 5 PM
January 12: Gail Z. Martin at Books-a-Million Concord Mills, Concord, NC, 1 PM
January 18-20: Brian McClellan and Michael J. Sullivan at Immortal Confusion, Dearborn, MI; Gail Z. Martin at Arisia, Boston, MA
January 19: John R. Fultz at Borderlands Books, San Francisco, CA, 1 PM
January 25-27: Gail Z. Martin at Chattacon
by Ellen Wright • Post a Comment • Posted in: Events, Orbit US
- Anna Gregson - December 7th, 2012
This week we’ve released UPLIFT (UK | ANZ), an omnibus edition of the first three award-winning Uplift books. It’s one of the most highly regarded classic science fiction series ever written. And it’s no surprise – because I can’t help but seeing signs everywhere that David Brin seems to get things so very right . . .
In the Uplift universe, humans have the technology to enhance the intelligence of other species – such as dolphins and apes – and they have raised these animals to our own level of consciousness. In fact, in these books no species has ever reached a level of sentience without being genetically “uplifted” by another race. But humans are the only ones who have seemingly never been helped out in this way . . .
This book raises some very interesting questions. Why does humanity seem to be the only species on Earth to have broken through what you might call a “glass ceiling” of sentience? What makes us so different to all the other species? And if we could genetically “uplift” other species – should we?
This question is much more pertinent now than you might think.
Recently, as reported by the New York Times, scientists have been experimenting with increasing the intelligence of monkeys by using brain implants. Granted, the research is aimed at helping people who’ve had their brain damaged through dementia, strokes or injury – rather than trying to help out the little furry dude involved. And for the moment, it’s just a case of the monkey being able to match up some objects and pictures a little better than usual – rather than hold a conversation about the meaning of life and the universe.
But the question arises – how long will it be until we really can raise an animal’s intelligence level to that of a human being?
Perhaps not that long, according to an article from the University of Edinburgh. It claims that a new gene has been discovered that might have played a crucial role in our development towards using tools and language. This gene is unique to humans, and seems to have developed after we evolved from apes. What’s more – it seems to have come from nowhere. It emerged fully-formed, over an incredibly brief period of time, from DNA thought to be “non-coding”, or else termed “junk DNA”. (David Brin asks, of course – might it have been “donated”?)
The very isolation of this gene, which brings us a step closer towards working out what makes us human, could also bring us closer to being able to artificially create it within other species. And if we can do this – what might these new, more intelligent animals be like? And what could we learn about the world and our place within it? But what risks might we also take by doing so? Planet of the Apes, anyone?
If this question interests you as much as it does me, check out David Brin’s Hugo, Locus and Nebula award-winning UPLIFT (UK | ANZ), an omnibus containing SUNDIVER, STARTIDE RISING and THE UPLIFT WAR – out now.
And don’t forget that in January we’ll also be releasing EXILES (UK | ANZ), an omnibus containing the three Uplift Storm novels BRIGHTNESS REEF, INFINITY’S SHORE and HEAVEN’S REACH.
And if you’re really keen, check out this awesome Uplift merchandise. A great Christmas present for a nerd near you!
by Anna Gregson • Post a Comment • Posted in: Awards, Events, Fiction, New Titles, Orbit Australia, Orbit UK, Uncategorized
