Queen of Swords Press is doing a re-release/first time in print edition of Michael Merriam’s homage to early 2000s Minneapolis with a queer romance and the ghost of the old streetcar line, Last Car to Annwn Station in July,  and Jennie Goloboy and Catherine never got in person releases for their books last year so they’re making up for lost time!  The authors will be on hand and copies of the books will be available.

Join us for this Speculations event in conjunction with Diversicon and meet their guest of honor, T. Aaron Cisco.

T. Aaron Cisco is a Contemporary Afrofuturist author, television producer, and contributing writer for Twin Cities Geek. His literary works include Teleportability, Dragon Variation, The Preternaturalist, Simple Not Easy, Shadow of the Valley, Big Ass Aliens, and Black Nerd Blue Box: The Wibbly Wobbly Memoir of a Lonely Alien.

He will be joined by Diversicon special guest Sybil Smith, a lifelong reader and viewer of science fiction who has beern an active member of several SF groups, including the Minnesota Science Fiction Society. She was a founding member of SF Minnesota and Diversicon, and has served several terns as SF Minnesota president.

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural  speculative fiction organization that also sponsors DIVERSICON, a midsummer convention, the 29th edition of which will feature Guest of Honor T. AARON CISCO and Special Guest SYBIL SMITH, July 29-31, 2022.

On Wednesday, August 24, from 6:30-7:45 p.m., JASON D. WITTMAN reads from his fiction. Jason D. Wittman lives and works in Minneapolis. His story, “Femme Fatale,” was published in the hardcover anthology The Best of Baen Books, and his story “A Game of Knight Court” got an Honorable Mention in the 19th Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. More recently, he has published a story in Stupefying Stories #22.

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a midsummer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 30th edition of which will occur July 14 -16, 2023 with Guests of Honor T. STEVEN BARNES and TANANARIVE DUE.

On Wednesday, November 16, CATHERINE LUNDOFF reads from her work. Catherine Lundoff is an award-winning writer, editor and publisher. She is a recipient of a 2021 Ladies of Horror Fiction Award and was the Author Guest of Honor at Marscon 2022. Her books include Silver Moon, Blood Moon, Out of This World and Unfinished Business and, as editor, Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space). Her short stories and essays have appeared in such venues as Queer Weird Western Stories, Divergent Terror, Sherlock Holmes and the Occult Detectives, Fireside Magazine, Nightmare Magazine, the SFWA Blog and several World of Darkness anthologies and games. She is the publisher at Queen of Swords Press and teaches writing and publishing classes at the Loft Literary Center, the Rambo Academy and Clarion West Online. Websites: www.catherinelundoff.net and www.queenofswordspress.com

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a midsummer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 30th edition of which will occur July 14 -16, 2023 with Guests of Honor T. STEVEN BARNES and TANANARIVE DUE.

On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, Speculations holds its annual Round Robin Readings from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Readers bring from one to three pieces, each of wthem taking five-ten minutes. The group adjourns to a bistro when everyone interested has had the opportunity to read a couple of pieces or at 7:45, whichever comes first.

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a midsummer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 30th edition of which will occur July 14 -16, 2023 with Guests of Honor T. STEVEN BARNES and TANANARIVE DUE.

On Wednesday March 8th at 6:30 pm, MICHAEL MERRIAM reads from his work. Michael Merriam is an author, performer, poet, and playwright with ten books and over 100 pieces of short fiction and poetry published. His stories and essays have appeared in magazines such as Uncanny Magazine, Cast of Wonders, and Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. His scripts have been produced for stage and radio, and he has appeared in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, StoryFest Minnesota, and over the air on KFAI-FM and Minnesota Public Radio. Like most artists, he has worked a variety of odd jobs over the years, including short order cook, late night radio disc jockey, international freight specialist, and manager of a puppet troupe. He lives in Hopkins, MN with his wife and two exuberant cats.

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural  speculative fiction organization that also sponsors DIVERSICON, a midsummer convention.

Martha Wells, author of the Raksura, Ile-Rien and the Murderbot Diaries series, is Guest of Honor at Minicon this year.  The day before the convention starts she will join us here at the store for a signing. Bring your own books or pick some up here – we are fully stocked on the Murderbot Diaries.

Come out and see Greg at the comic show! He’ll be bringing comics and books with him that haven’t yet been for sale in the store.

Admission $6.00, Kids 9 and under free

$1.00 off with a Non-perishable Food Shelf donation

More info at MNCBA.org

The Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport is back for another year—pick one up at any of the participating metro-area stores listed on the Rain Taxi website between April 24 and April 29. Each store visit during this week earns you a passport stamp that activates a coupon you can use on another visit. Collect 12 stamps to activate all the coupons; collect all 23 stamps for a chance to win one of five literary prize packs or the grand prize: a set of books, one selected by each of the participating bookstores.

The Midwest Indie Bookstore Roadmap, created by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association (MIBA), is also back. Aside from this being a great tool for finding a bookstore near you, you can win prizes by shopping at any of the stores featured on the roadmap (either online or in person) between April 29 and next year’s Independent Bookstore Day on April 27, 2024. Take a picture of your purchase and post it on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook with the hashtag #BookstoreRoadmap, plus tag the store and MIBA in the post. MIBA will randomly select one entry each month to win a $50 gift card to the bookstore of the winner’s choice—and on next year’s Indie Bookstore Day, one grand-prize winner from all of the year’s entries will win a $500 gift card. The more stores you shop at and tag, the more likely you are to win the grand prize.