At the Stanley Milner Library downtown

Thursday, November 17th @ 12:00 p.m.

Join spec fiction authors Jo Walton, Dave Gross, Barb Galler-Smith, Eileen Bell and Billie Milholland as they talk about the exciting genre of speculative fiction. These talented writers will talk about classic works vs. new works and the trend of blending together genres and weaving diverse cultures into stories. They'll also share their insights about the business of writing speculative fiction in this one-hour panel discussion.

http://www.epl.ca/spec-fiction

On Spec Magazine is busy the last part of 2011! Kicking off the festivities is a book launch by our friends at EDGE publishing in Calgary of their annual anthology of short fiction.


1. Tesseracts 15 this Saturday, Oct. 15th @ 3:00 p.m. @ Greenwoods Books in Edmonton, AB
Co-edited by long-time editor Susan MacGregor with Julie Czernada, Tesseracts 15 features local Edmonton writers, Nicole Luiken, On Spec editor and layout/designer Cat McDonald, and Kate Boorman!

Other On Spec editors will be attending, plus a Publisher's Assistant!

2. The Pure Speculation Festival Nov. 19th and 20th with a party on the 18th for pre-registered members
www.purespec.org
At the Grant MacEwan Robbins Center downtown Edmonton, AB

With other members of the community, On Spec is part of hosting Edmonton's local science fiction, fantasy and horror event! Come down for an interactive weekend of guests, panels, gaming, readings, costumes, and more! Support the annual charity auction, the proceeds going to Crystal Kids (http://www.crystalkids.org/).

Meet these special guests:

Author Jo Walton (novel "Tooth and Claw")
Actor Will DeVry (Joshua Doors on Earth: Final Conflict, Aldwin on Stargate SG-1, and Brent Kallus on Beggars and Choosers. )
Actress Rebecca Staab (played Susan Storm in the original film version of THE FANTASTIC FOUR released in 1994, most recently starred in CRIMINAL MINDS, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, THE MENTALIST, CSI, CSI-NY, NCIS, NIP/TUCK, and THE CLEANER)
Artist Joe Wos (Executive Director of the ToonSeum)
Jason Kapalka (founder of PopCap Games, publisher of "Bejeweled" and "Plants vs. Zombies"
Costumer Holly Conrad (http://www.fyriel.com/)
And more!

3. The 11th Royal Bison Craft & Art Fair Nov. 26th and 27th
http://www.royalbison.ca/#

On Spec will be joining local crafters and artists providing goodies as gifts for the Christmas season. Entry is $2. We'll have a booth selling issues and other merchandise! We may also have some special posters by then... :)

Don't forget that Christmas will be just around the corner after Halloween! On Spec is available for gift subscriptions - just let us know by email or as a note via PayPal.

If there's anyone interested in these events, please pass the info! :D

Dear Subscribers,

In recent times, we've gone through some changes, resulting in delays to our regular production schedule. In addition to this, we now find ourselves at the mercy of Canada's postal delivery system and the current job action.

As we await the arrival of the print version of the Spring 2011 issue of On Spec, we're happy to send our valid subscribers a free pdf version of the issue on request.

Please contact onspec@onspec.ca and we would be happy to email you a copy.

Thank you,

The On Spec team

Award-winning Canadian SF author and former On Spec editor, Peter Watts (http://www.rifters.com/crawl/) is currently recovering in a Toronto hospital, following a near-fatal bout with necrotizing fasciitis. The editors and staff at On Spec wish Peter well during his long recovery.