BULL SPEC

09/04/2024

Nathan Ballingrud is coming to LitFest!
Nathan is the author of The Strange, Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell, and North American Lake Monsters. He’s twice won the Shirley Jackson Award, and has been shortlisted for the World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Bram Stoker, and Locus Awards. His stories have been adapted into the Hulu limited series Monsterland and the film Wounds.
Crypt of the Moon Spider is Ballingrud's first novella, and his next step towards horror stardom.

Join Nathan and other amazing authors by getting your tickets now https://i.mtr.cool/ldwlkdcelx

08/13/2024

🎉 🎂 HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY TO , book 1 in Natania Barron's new trilogy!

💜🔮Your next fix of magical regency romance. Pride and Prejudice and Witches.

Release day is your last chance to grab it in eBook for only 2.99: https://geni.us/NetherfordH

"After a mysterious fire at their home in Regency London displaces Gentlewitch Edith Rookwood and her now much-reduced family to their ancestral seat of Netherford Hall in Kent, she faces a new threat in the form of her tenant—the chaotic and lovely Poppy Brightwell.

The repairs on the old pile are prohibitive, Edith’s standing is uncertain, and her inheritance has been challenged by a forgotten American branch of the family. It is clear she needs to marry, soon and wisely—but the lively girl from Harrow House gradually comes to occupy all of her thoughts.

As tenants, rivals, suitors and enemies start to circle Netherford, and dark secrets about both women’s pasts come to light, Edith and Poppy must confront what it means to fight for love and family, and to be their authentic selves."

06/17/2024

Proud to announce this list of 6 finalists for this year's Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy including Nathan Ballingrud's The Strange, DJ Molles Author's A Harvest of Ash and Blood, Melissa Scott's The Master of Samar, Cadwell Turnbull's We Are the Crisis, Adrienne Young's The Unmaking of June Farrow, and Donna Glee Williams' The Night Field. The winner will be announced at ConGregate 10 / SAGA 2024 on Friday, July 12:

The Manly Wade Wellman Award Announcing the shortlist for the 2024 Manly Wade Wellman Award 2024-06-17 admin The North Carolina Speculative Fiction Foundation is proud to announce this list of 6 finalists for the 2024 Manly Wade Wellman Award for North Carolina Science Fiction and Fantasy, presented...

05/21/2024

Chapel Hill author Natania Barron's Arthurian novel QUEEN OF NONE is out in a new edition from Solaris Books (and Tantor Audio)!

🎂 🎉 Happy book birthday to QUEEN OF NONE, the first book in Natania Barron's QUEENS OF FATE Arthurian trilogy!

Out in the US today and the UK on Thursday. Buy/preorder now: https://geni.us/queenofnone

When Anna Pendragon was born, Merlin prophesied: “Through all the ages, and in the hearts of men, you will be forgotten.” 👑💙

"Married at twelve, and a mother soon after, Anna - the famed King Arthur's sister - did not live a young life full of promise, myth, and legend. She bore three strong sons and delivered the kingdom of Orkney to her brother by way of her marriage. She did as she was asked, invisible and useful for her name, her status, her dowry, and her womb.

Twenty years after she left her home, Anna returns to Carelon at Arthur's bidding, carrying the crown of her now-dead husband, Lot of Orkney. Past her prime and confined to the castle itself, she finds herself yet again a pawn in greater machinations and seemingly helpless to do anything about it.

Anna must once again face the demons of her childhood: her sisters Morgen, Elaine, and Morgause; Merlin and his scheming Avillion priests; and Bedevere, the man she once loved. To say nothing of new court visitors, like Lanceloch, or the trouble concerning her own sons.

Carelon, and all of Braetan, is changing, though, and Anna must change along with it. New threats, inside and out, lurk in the shadows, and a strange power begins to awaken in her. As she learns to reconcile her dark gift, and struggles to keep the power to herself, she must bargain her own strength, and family, against her ambition and thirst for revenge."

03/29/2024

Chapel Hill author Natania Barron is now Hugo Award nominated! for her work on the fancast "Worldbuilding for Masochists"!

We are absolutely gobsmacked, chuffed, delighted, and honored to be a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Fancast once again! Thank you to our amazing WFM posse.

https://worldbuildingformasochists.podbean.com/p/press-and-news/

03/13/2024

We're looking for stories for our next family friendly anthology, Terrific Tomorrows! We're looking for science fiction with positive visions of the future, stories that leave the reader excited about the possibilities ahead.

By "family friendly," we mean stories an adult can enjoy, but also share with a 10-year-old. No gore, no cursing, and no stories where violence is a solution. We're looking for tales where people think their way out of problems.

We're now open for submissions under 3000 words. Query with a short pitch if you have something longer that you think is a great fit for the theme.

We accept original stories and reprints. We'll pay 3 cents a word for original stories and a 1 cent a word for reprints, plus a contributor's copy of the paperback.

Email submissions to [email protected]. Our deadline is May 31, 2024.

03/02/2024

Day 2 of Ret-Con 2024 really getting started with a Jay Requard “Wooo!” to kick off a “Wrestling and Storytelling” panel: (also with John Hartness)

03/01/2024

Nicole Givens Kurtz giving a quick guest of honor speech at opening ceremonies of Ret-Con 2024 here in Cary:

02/26/2024

Early registration for is open! Secure your membership and be part of an unforgettable experience. Don't miss out on special early bird rates. Visit https://www.con-gregate.com/individual-registration now to register and join us for a celebration of creativity, innovation, and community.

02/19/2024

Coastal NC author Garrett Boatman's THE MIRROR OF ETERNITY is coming in mid-March from Crossroad Press Audio & Digital Books:

Pre-order the thrilling conclusion to the Night Trilogy, THE MIRROR OF ETERNITY, by Garrett Boatman. Purchase your eBook or TPB copy today and have it delivered on March 12.

Amazon eBook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTDSFL6B

All eBook retailers: https://books2read.com/u/3L5rYJ

TPB: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVPWJWK4

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In the Desert of Dudael, the demon Az**el is freed from the pit where he has dwelled for millennia. On the frozen world of Abyss, fallen angels banished from earth in the time of Enoch, prepare for their return.

But the world is vanishing. Soon there will be battleground for neither man nor demon.

Rick Scott has sworn off magic, but when he receives a summons from his former mentor, he must travel the ravaged wasteland of time and gaze into the mirror of eternity before the world plunges into the white-hot singularity of creation.

But there are creatures that dwell within time’s labyrinth who would sate their unspeakable hunger on the unwary traveler.

02/19/2024

10 days left to back Raleigh author T.G. Joye's debut adventure fantasy novel, Sword of the Voivode:

02/07/2024

Our own world has been shaped by fashion, both in the historical and the literal sense. But how does that translate to writing SFF? What do you need to think about in terms of textile technology? Do fashion trends matter? What does it take to achieve metallic cloth? How about different color dyes? A...