Wednesday, December 5, The Speculations Reading Series at DreamHaven Books presents a book release event for SCOURGE OF THE SEAS OF TIME (AND SPACE), a new multigenre anthology of pirate stories, edited by CATHERINE LUNDOFF and published by Queen of Swords Press, featuring special guest and anthology contributor, MICHAEL MERRIAM. Michael and Catherine will be reading from the anthology and there will be refreshments.

Catherine Lundoff is a Minneapolis-based award-winning writer, editor and publisher. Her recent stories have appeared in Tales of the Unanticipated, Curious Fictions, Callisto, Respectable Horror, The Cainite Conspiracies: A Vampire the Masquerade V20 Anthology, The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Tales and The Mammoth Book of the Adventures of Professor Moriarty. Her books include Silver Moon, Out of This World: Queer Speculative Fiction Stories and, as editor, Scourge of the Seas of Time (and Space). She is the publisher at Queen of Swords Press (www.queenofswordspress.com)

Michael Merriam is an author, actor, poet, and playwright. He has published ten books and over 90 pieces of short fiction and poetry.. His novel, Last Car to Annwn Station, was named a Top Book by Readings in Lesbian & Bisexual Women’s Fiction. His scripts have been produced for stage and radio, and he has appeared on stage in the Minnesota Fringe Festival, Tellebration, and StoryFest Minnesota. Michael is a co-founder of the Minnesota Speculative Fiction Writers. Visit his homepage at www.michaelmerriam.com

Speculations is a co-production of DreamHaven Books and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a midsummer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held July 22-24, 2019 in the Twin Cities, with Guests TBA.

On Wednesday, January 9, from 6:30-7:45 p.m., Speculations presents its fifth annual ROUND ROBIN READINGS. Writers are encouraged to bring from one to three pieces, each running five to seven minutes, to read. The readings will conclude at 7:30 or when readers run out of material, whichever comes first, allowing time for a brief reception, and an 8:00 p.m. expedition to Parkway Pizza, 4359 Minnehaha Ave, Minneapolis.

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held in the Twin Cities on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.

Wednesday, February 6, DAMIAN SHERIDAN reads from his work from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Mr. Sheridan has written and produced one science fiction play and one speculative musical. He is in discussion with a local backer to write and produce a third play. He has published short stories with several small presses and is presently working on two different novels. In addition, he has presented short sketches at CONvergence, Balls Caberet, and Merlin’s Rest and Kieran’s Irish Pub. He has a back catalog of short stories and self published poetry and graphic novellas. He lives in the Twin Cities.

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held in the Twin Cities on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.

Come down to DreamHaven Books to see the team of artists from The Subverted Fairy Project working on new fairies for their next book! This is a great opportunity to preview what they’re doing and get to know them better. They’ll be drawing, painting, and socializing all afternoon.

Who are The Subverted Fairy Project and what do they do? This is from their website:

The Subverted Fairy Project has little interest in fairies as they’ve evolved in popular Western imagination over the last 200 years. Fairies also have a deeper history as elemental forces, capturing the brutal innocence of nature. Their dark, delicious folk mythology is a rich tradition. However, our Project is not directly concerned with with the historical roles of fairies, either. Instead, we abandon both those traditions of the fairy concept and forge ahead into contemporary territory.

To create our fairies, The Subverted Fairy project pairs artists and writers together around uncommon, naturalistic words. The first phase of the Project centers around words from Mr. McFarlane’s lexicons. The artist illustrates (in any media) a fairy in response to a specific word (like blinter, or feorrain, or cairrag). The illustration is informed by the word and its meaning. That word becomes the fairy’s name. The artist is encouraged to pull from their own personal background as much as from the word. That’s the crucial part of the project. The intersection of the personal drawing, the uncommon word, and the fairy cliche. Once the drawing is done, a writer creates a one-page poem or short story in response to the word, its meaning, and the artwork. Taken together, the word, art, and writing define a new kind of fairy born through collaboration and naturalist language. We have built dozens of fairies like this, each a unique creature. Look for more coming in 2019 as we expand our horizons to words from SE Asia, the US state of Kansas, and scientific jargon.

On Wednesday, March 6, S.N. ARLY reads from her work. 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.

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held in the Twin Cities on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.

Catherine Lundoff, publisher at Queen of Swords Press, joined us back in November of 2017 for a first presentation on the topic of running a small publishing company. (If you missed it, the video can be found here.) Now she’s back with another year of experience under her belt to tell us how things are going.

Queen of Swords Press is a Minneapolis-based small publisher of genre fiction, with 7 titles out
so far and more on the way. Catherine will be talking about how she got started in independent
publishing, what she’s learned so far and what’s next. Q&A to follow. Queen of Swords Press titles
will be available for sale and light refreshments will be served.

On Wednesday, April 3, ROB CALLAHAN reads from his work. Rob Callahan is a former journalist and author now working in language and culture revitalization with Ojibwe and Dakota youth in Minneapolis. His journalism career garnered awards and recognition from the Associated Press, the Hearst Foundation, and the NAB Marconi Radio Awards. Currently, he produces the weekly radio program ‘Indigenous Roots’ and in his spare time he programs Ojibwe language video games for children. His 2018 novel ‘The Hidden City Volume I: The Devil’s Descent’ tells the heartwarming story of an underachieving young professional temping in the Devil’s call center, who is accidentally promoted to Acting Vice President of the Impending Apocalypse.

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held in the Twin Cities on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.

On Wednesday, May 15, PATRICK W. MARSH reads from his work from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Patrick W. Marsh is an author, blogger, and screenwriter from Minneapolis. His work has appeared in multiple literary magazines, which include Calliope, The Quail Bell Quarterly, Under Construction, and Realities. His fiction has been featured on the podcast Bob’s Short Story Hour and his short film “The Smell” won best use of line in the 48 Hour Film Festival in 2018. Patrick is best known for his apocalyptic book series The Greenland Diaries, a journal of an unskilled bank teller trying to survive apocalyptic Minnesota. Since an early age, Patrick has been consumed with the suspense and mysteries of monsters.

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held at the Best Western Plus—Como Park, St Paul, on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.

It’s time for another BAG SALE! Remember how cool the last one was? Remember the feeling of bringing home a big bag packed full of some of the best science fiction authors out there? Or maybe you were a comic book person. Tell me, just how many comics *can* you fit into a grocery bag? Or perhaps you picked up a little bit of everything. Mysteries, DIY guides, children’s books…if it shows up and we don’t have a spot for it in the store, it eventually ends up in the garage.

Well, it’s time to do it again. On June 8th, we’re opening up the garage and spilling out to the sidewalk (weather permitting) with lots of stuff that needs to go home with YOU! The garage has had a constant influx of new items, and there will be yet more things coming up from the basement. $5 gets you a small bag and it’s $15 for a grocery bag. Fill it as full as you can, and take it away.

As a bonus, there are a lot of other things going on nearby. The area is having their neighborhood-wide garage sales, and you can stop by and see us at Print Matters at the Hook & Ladder Theater on Minnehaha from 10-4 as well.

On Wednesday, June 12 ABRA STAFFIN-WIEB reads from her work from 6:30-7:45 p.m. Abra Staffin-Wiebe loves optimistic science fiction, cheerful horror, and dark fantasy. Dozens of her short stories have appeared at publications including Tor.com, F&SF, Escape Pod, and Odyssey Magazine. She lives in Minneapolis, where she wrangles her children, pets, and the mad scientist she keeps in the attic. When not writing or wrangling, she collects folk tales and photographs whatever stands still long enough to allow it. Her most recent book, The Unkindness of Ravens, is an epic fantasy coming-of-age novella about trickster gods and favors owed. Enjoy an excerpt here: HTTP://WWW.ASWIEBE.COM/MOREUNKINDNESS.HTML

Speculations is a coproduction of DreamHaven and SF MINNESOTA, a multicultural organization that also sponsors a mid-summer speculative fiction convention, DIVERSICON, the 27th edition of which will be held at the Best Western Plus—Como Park, St Paul, on July 26-28, 2019, with Guest of Honor NISI SHAWL and Special Guest BEN HUSET.