Saturday, June 11th

Nick Mamatas & Lisa Goldstein

We’ll be celebrating new book launches with two fantastic local authors!

6:00PM doors and cash bar open
7:00PM Event begins

Each author will read a selection from their work, followed by Q & A from the audience moderated by Terry Bisson; books for sale courtesy of Borderlands Books.

All bar and tip proceeds benefit Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California — to date, we’ve helped raise over $20,000 for the kids in our community!

Nick Mamatas is an American horror, science fiction and fantasy author and editor for the Haikasoru line of translated Japanese science fiction novels for Viz Media. His fiction has been nominated for several awards, including several Bram Stoker Awards, while he has also been recognised for his editoral work through World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award nominations. He is also online, with his own inimitable take on things, at Nihilistic Kid on Live Journal. (And, may we mention, he met his fiancee at SF in SF!! We love them both.)

Sensation, out from PM Press, tells the story of what happens when a woman slips out of the world she knew and into the Simulacrum — where human history is retold within conflict between a species of anarchist wasps and a collective of hyper-intelligent spiders. This allegorical novel plays with the elements of the Simulacrum apparent in real life, posing the fascinating idea that displaces human beings from the center of the universe and makes them simply the pawns of two warring species.

Starve Better, out from Apex Books, is not your usual writers guide, promising riches and fame. Those just want to feed you a (near) impossible dream and take your money. Not Nick Mamatas. Well, he wants your money, but he won’t lie to you to get it. Starve Better is a no-nonsense survival guide by a professional writer who’s witty, acerbic, and full of truth. Starve Better is a must have for writers and fans of genre fiction.

Lisa Goldstein is the author of nine novels and two short story collections, including The Alchemist’s Door, Dark Cities Underground, and Travelers in Magic. She has published dozens of short stories in magazines such as Interzone and Asimov’s SF and in anthologies including The Norton Book of Science Fiction and The Year’s Best Fantasy. Winner of the American Book Award for The Red Magician, she has also been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Nebula Awards. She has published two fantasy novels, The Divided Crown, and Daughter of Exile, under the name Isabel Glass and is a founding member of the women’s speculative fiction cooperative, the Brazen Hussies. She lives in Oakland, California.

Lisa will be reading from her long-awaited new novel, The Uncertain Places, just out from Tachyon Publications. In The Uncertain Places, an ages-old family secret breaches the boundaries between reality and magic, revealing the places between them. A long-lost fairy tale straight out of Grimm’s…except that it mysteriously was never included in their printed books…perhaps because it was, in fact, real. The Feierabend women believe that luck is their handmaiden, and so it is, almost as though they are living in a fairy tale. The price for such gifts turns out to be extremely high, making efforts to unravel the riddle of a supernatural bargain risky, even while they hope to save them from what appears to be an inescapable fate. A **starred** review from the May Library Journal: “Graceful storytelling and a knack for making the fantastic all-too-believable make Goldstein’s latest novel a treat for fantasy lovers and folk/fairy tale enthusiasts alike.”

Thanks again to our podcaster, Rick Kleffel, who’ll be on hand to record the evening for posterity.

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

Saturday, June 11th

SF in SF welcome authors Nick Mamatas and Lisa Goldstein.

We’ll be celebrating new book launches with two fantastic local authors.

Nick Mamatas is an American horror, science fiction and fantasy author and editor for the Haikasoru line of translated Japanese science fiction novels for Viz Media. His fiction has been nominated for several awards, including several Bram Stoker Awards, while he has also been recognised for his editoral work through World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award nominations. He is also online, with his own inimitable take on things, at Nihilistic Kid on Live Journal.

Sensation, out from PM Press, tells the story of what happens when Julia Hernandez leaves her husband, shoots a real estate developer, and then vanishes without a trace, slipping out of the world she knew and into the Simulacrum — a place where human history is both guided and thwarted by the conflict between a species of anarchist wasps and a collective of hyperintelligent spiders. Told ultimately from the collective point of view of another species, this allegorical novel plays with the elements of the Simulacrum apparent in real life — media reports, business speak, blog entries, text messages, psychological-evaluation forms, and the lies lovers tell one another — and poses a fascinating idea that displaces human beings from the center of the universe and makes them simply the pawns of two warring species.

Starve Better, out from Apex Books, is, well, a different take on the usual writer-survival guides that promise riches and fame. They want to feed you a (near) impossible dream in order to take your money. Not Nick Mamatas. Well, he wants your money, but Nick’s not going to lie to you to get it. Starve Better is a no-nonsense survival guide by a professional writer who knows how to use small press publications and writing for everyone from corporate clients to friends and neighbors to keep himself out of the soup kitchen line. Witty. Acerbic. Full of truth. Starve Better is a must have for writers and fans of genre fiction.

Lisa Goldstein is a A Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Award-nominated fantasy and science fiction writer. Her 1982 novel The Red Magician won the American Book Award for best paperback novel, and has remained in print, currently available in mmpb from Starscape. An utterly compelling tale of the Holocaust, it starts on the eve of World War II, when a young magician arrives in a small Hungarian village, prophesying death and destruction — yet only 13-year old Kicsi believes him. She tries to help him warn the villagers, but the local rabbi, who also possesses magical powers, frustrates their attempts. Then the Nazis come, and everyone in the village, including Kicsi and her family, are sent to concentration camps. Can the power of the Red Magician help them survive?

In her long-awaited new novel, The Uncertain Places, now out from Tachyon Publications, an ages-old family secret breaches the boundaries between reality and magic, revealing the places between them. A long-lost fairy tale straight out of Grimm’s… except that it mysteriously was never included in their printed books… perhaps because it was, in fact, real. When Berkeley student Will Taylor is introduced by his best friend Ben to the mysterious Feierabend sisters, Will quickly falls for enigmatic Livvy, a chemistry major and accomplished chef. But Livvy’s family — vivacious actress Maddie, family historian Rose, and their mother, absent-minded Sylvia — are behaving strangely. The Feierabend women believe that luck is their handmaiden, and so it is, almost as though they are living in a fairy tale. The price for such gifts turns out to be extremely high, making the efforts of Will and Ben to unravel the riddle of a supernatural bargain risky, even while they hope to save Livvy from what appears to be an inescapable fate.

Wednesday, May 11

The Whole Wide World & Conan the Barbarian
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM — free popcorn!!
Candy for sale at the bar (what’s a movie without Red Vines?!)
Free Thor one sheet movie poster for each attendee!

Films start at 7:00PM – there will be a short intermission between films

The Whole Wide World

A most special film you won’t want to miss — it’s the biographical treatment of Robert E. Howard and his life and love with teacher Novalyne Price. Based on her autobiographical book, One Who Walked Alone, it’s the story of REH and Novalyne’s romance against the backdrop of small town Cross Plains, the beginnings of Howard’s literary career as the premier writer of sword & sorcery fiction, and the sad and tragic story of his relationship with his mother. Believe me — you don’t have to read Conan to love this movie. It’s one of the most respectful, involving, and amazing movies out there — the debut of Renee Zellweger, and the knock ’em dead acting of Vincent D’Onfrio as Bob Howard — and a true story of star-crossed love. The backstory of the author who brought us Conan, Red Sonja, Agnes the Sword Woman, and Solomon Kane is not to be believed!

Conan the Barbarian

Well, this one is just for fun — our way of saying, “goodbye Arnold!!!” Actually, it’s the “epic tale of child sold into slavery who grows into a man who seeks revenge against the warlord who massacred his tribe.” Or, if you prefer “He conquered an empire with his sword. She conquered him with her bare hands.” Whatever — we just know it’s a hoot. Come live the legend — campy, trashy, and an amazing transformation of the well-known and well-loved stories from the pen of Robert E. Howard. Swords will be confiscated at the door, but if you come dressed as Red Sonja, we’ll give you a free drink!

Suggested donation at the door $5 per person — it’s all for the kids folks! The need for services and help continues in our community, and money donated to Variety helps meet those needs — come have a great time while helping the Charity!

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

And we have two exciting events for you.

First up this coming Saturday (May 7th, doors open 6:00pm, start 7:00pm) we will be hosting a reading with Andrea Hairston and Howard Hendrix.

Andrea Hairston is a novelist and playwright, and a Clarion West 1999 graduate. In March, 2011, she was honored with the International Association of the Fantastic in the Arts Distinguished Scholarship Award for “distinguished contributions to the scholarship and criticism of the fantastic.” Ms. Hairston is the Artistic Director of Chrysalis Theatre and has created original productions with music, dance, and masks for over thirty years. She is also the Louise Wolff Kahn 1931 Professor of Theatre and Afro-American Studies at Smith College. Ms. Hairston has received many playwriting and directing awards, including an NEA Grant to Playwrights, and a Shubert Fellowship for Playwriting. Since 1997, her plays produced by Chrysalis Theatre and others have been science fiction plays.

Ms. Hairston’s first novel, Mindscape (Aqueduct Press, 2006) won the Carl Brandon Parallax Award and was shortlisted for the Phillip K. Dick Award and the Tiptree Award. She is a frequent attendee at WisCon, the longest-running Feminist Science Fiction Convention in the world. She has published numerous short stories and essays, such as “Griots of the Galaxy,” (So Long Been Dreaming: Postcolonial Visions of the Future), “Romance of the Robot: From RUR & Metropolis to WALL-E” (The WisCon Chronicles: Vol. 4) “Lord of the Monsters—Minstrelsy Redux: King Kong, Hip Hop, and the Brutal Black Buck,” (Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts) and “Octavia Butler—Praise Song to a Prophetic Artist,” (Daughters of Earth).

Redwood and Wildfire, her second speculative novel, was recently published by Aqueduct Press in April 2011. “At the turn of the 20th century, minstrel shows transform into vaudeville which slides into moving pictures. Hunkering together in dark theatres, diverse audiences marvel at flickering images. This “dreaming in public” becomes common culture and part of what transforms immigrants and “native” born into Americans.” We are delighted to welcome this wonderful artist to our SF in SF program for the first time.

Howard V. Hendrix is “one of the best novelists working in science fiction today” according to author Kim Stanley Robinson. Nominated for Nebula Awards, a Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award winner, and a 1st prize winner in the Writers of the Future Contest, Hendrix is a professor of English literature at CSU Fresno, and coordinates the annual Eaton Science Fiction Conference at UC Riverside. His many publications include dozens of shorter experimental and science fiction stories, political essays, book reviews, and works of literary criticism, including his book-length study of apocalyptic elements in English literature from Langland to Milton, The Ecstasy of Catastrophe (1990). Hendrix’s most widely available works of shorter science fiction and near-miss thrillers are available in the Full Spectrum series (Bantam Books) and in The Outer Limits, Volume 1 (Prima). His novels include Spears of God (2006) and The Labyrinth Key (2004), Empty Cities of the Full Moon (2001) Lightpaths (1997), Standing Wave (1998), and Better Angels (October 1999). Hendrix also created a stir among SFF fans and authors with an LJ posting on April 12, 2007, discussing authors who offer their works for free on the internet, either as written works, or recorded as podcasts. His comments have drawn discussion, compliments, and criticism, and resulted in “International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day.”

He lives with his wife Laurel in central California, where they enjoy backpacking in the Sierras and mushroom forays in the foothills. He is also, incidentally, one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet, and SF in SF is delighted to welcome him back.

Our other event is the May movie night on Wednesday May 11th (doors open 6:00pm, start 7:00pm) which features everyone’s favorite barbarian, Conan (as played, of course, by the former Gubernator). In addition to Arnie’s first Conan movie (Conan the Barbarian) we will be showing The Whole Wide World, a bio-pic about Conan’s creator, Robert E. Howard.

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor — entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive — BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

Wednesday, April 13th

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and Kick-Ass
Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM – free popcorn!!
Candy for sale at the bar (what’s a movie without Red Vines?!)
All donations and bar sales benefit Variety!
Raffle for movie and book freebies!

Films start at 7:00PM – there will be a short intermission between films

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – (112 mins., PG-13)
Simple premise, right? Scott Pilgrim, gamer, must defeat his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes in order to win her heart. We’ve all been there — remember what it felt like earning those power points?!! Showers of coins make you feel good? You’ll love this movie — it’s the best nerdy geek gamer love story out there.

Kick-Ass – (117 mins., R)
Just as most of us do, at some time or another in our lives, Dave Lizewski (an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan) one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so. It never stopped any of us, now, did it? The thrill ride that is this movie — sharp, sassy, funny, foulmouthed, and a kick in the pants — is not to be missed.

Suggested donation at the door $5 per person – it’s all for the kids folks! The need for services and help continues in our community, and money donated to Variety helps meet those needs – come have a great time while helping the Charity!

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor – entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive – BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

Our readings series is now pretty much set for the year, and we have some great writers for you to look forward to. Here’s what’s happening in the rest of the year.

• Saturday April 16th: Peter S. Beagle & Michael Blumlein
• Saturday May 7th: Andrea Hairston & Howard Hendrix
• Saturday June 11th: Lisa Goldstein & Nick Mamatas
• Saturday July 9th: John Shirley & Karen Haber
• Saturday August 13th: Tad Williams & Deborah Beale
• Sept. date TBD – Nancy Kress & Jack Skillingstead
• Friday October 14th: SF in SF Litquake; Urban Fantasy Panel & Discussion
• Saturday November 12th: Kim Stanley Robinson & Cecelia Holland

Wednesday March 23rd

The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc Sec and Steamboy

Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM — free popcorn!!
Candy for sale at the bar (what’s a movie without Red Vines?!)
Raffle for fabulous STEAMPUNK schwag!! Come in Costume!!!
Films start at 7:00PM – there will be a short intermission between films

The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc Sec — (102 mins., PG, subtitled; a film adaptation of the Franco-Belgian comics series of the same name, written and illustrated by French comics artist Jacques Tardi. Directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson (The Fifth Element)

Ah, Paris before the Great War! When museum professors had telepathic powers, dinosaurs could hatch from 136 million year old eggs, and the Museum of Natural History is the happening place to be. Adèle Blanc-Sec, a journalist, finds herself involved in all of it after returning from Egypt where she (but of course!) was on a quest to find the Pharaoh’s mummified doctor. Can she revive the mummy in time to save her sister Agathe, who is in a coma following an unfortunate incident? Only parasols and pocketwatches will tell! Don’t miss this stylish, smart, and polished steampunk feature film – unreleased commercially in the United States, SF in SF is delighted to present this film for you!

(This is being delivered via secret courier, as soon as the clock strikes midnight, the puff of the poison dart releasing the secret chamber wherein lies the only known print that will be able to be shown once before disappearing in a miasma of absinthe-scented powder… should anything go wrong with that scenario, we’ll be screening Vidocq)

Steamboy — (126 mins., PG, anime; directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Otomo, his second major anime release, following Akira.)

A steampunk SF epic, set in the alternate universe of 1860’s Victorian England. A young inventor, Ray Steam, receives an inheritance from his grandfather — a mysterious metal “steam ball” containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation. Does this prodigy use it to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction? Or does he join in the deadly conflict over a revolutionary advance in steam power? All the brass, steam, locomotives, leather and jet packs one could desire in a steampunk flick!!

We’ll be raffling off some awesome Steampunk Schwag before the films:

• a set of Steampunk I & Steampunk II: Reloaded, signed by Jeff & Ann VanderMeer
• a signed copy of the unreleased Steampunk Bible, edited by Jeff VanderMeer
• a set of Steampunk Wall Decorations
• a Steampunk brass necklace
• a trade paperback with matching poster of Joe Lansdale’s Flaming Zeppelins

Suggested donation at the door $10 per person – all door proceeds go to help Nova Albion bring back The Aetheric Calliope convention in 2012!!! Bar proceeds and tips go to Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California! Last year we raised over $800 for these nonprofits – come join us and let’s double that amount!!

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor – entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive – BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

Wednesday March 23rd

In conjunction with Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition Convention — It’s the Aetheric Calliope playing in the Bay Area!

This special event is being sponsored by SF in SF, Variety Children’s Charity of Northern California, and Nova Albion — $10 at the door benefits Nova Albion. A cash bar and candy sales benefit Variety. Last year we raised over $800 for these nonprofits — come join us and let’s DOUBLE that amount!!

Join us at the 2011 Nova Albion Steampunk Exhibition: THE WILD, WILD EAST! 3 days & 2 nights celebrating alternate history in the Near, Middle & Far East…taking place March 25th, 26th, 27th, at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. Special guests include authors Cheri Priest, Paul Guinan & Anina Bennet (authors of Boilerplate), and Maker GoH, Major Catastrophe and the Crew of the Neverwas Haul!

Join us in celebrating STEAMPUNK in film! Come in costume! We’ll have a place to check your top hat!

We’ll be showing Steamboy and The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec*

Doors open at 6:00PM, and films begin at 7:00PM – we’ll be holding a raffle for some signed Steampunk anthologies!!

(subject to availabilty – back up film will be Vidocq)

Monday, March 14th

SF in SF is delighted to announce a special event!

Jeff & Ann VanderMeer!

In town for FOGcon, a new local SFF convention taking place over the weekend of March 13th & 14th, Jeff and Ann will be speaking about their current projects, past projects, and what it’s like to be each one-half of a respected, admired, and talented artistic couple.

Based in Tallahassee, Florida, Jeff and Ann VanderMeer’s accomplishments literally span the globe. Widely published in international editions, their work together includes the delightfully droll The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals and editing projects as the World Fantasy Award-winning Leviathan series, the Hugo Finalist The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases (Nightshade Books), anthologies The New Weird, Steampunk, and Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded (all available from Tachyon Publications), the Best American Fantasy series (Prime Books), Fast Ships, Black Sails (Nighshade Books), and they are currently editing a “Steampunk Bible” (Abrams Books). They volunteer their time for a children’s science fiction workshop camp, Shared Worlds, and created the Last Drink Bird Head flash fiction anthology, and corollary volunteer award program – learn more here.

The two were recently honored as Guests of Honor at the 2009 World Fantasy Convention in San José, California.

Jeff VanderMeer is also the author of the best-selling City of Saints and Madmen, set in his signature creation, the imaginary city of Ambergris, and many other titles. The winner of two World Fantasy Awards, he has also been nominated for Nebulas and Hugos, as well as many other awards; his work has been translated into over twenty languages. VanderMeer’s reviews and essays have appeared in The Washington Post Book World, Publishers Weekly, and he is a regular columnist for the Amazon book-culture blog. His latest novel, Finch (Underland Books) was nominated for the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novel; his latest collection, The Third Bear (Tachyon Publications) and a new nonfiction collection, Monstrous Creatures (Raw Dog Screaming Press) have just been released.

Ann VanderMeer (née Kennedy) is also the influential fiction editor of the venerable horror magazine Weird Tales. In 2009, she was the well-deserved winner, along with editor Steven Segal, of a Hugo for Best Semiprozine for Weird Tales, the magazine’s first nomination and win. Weird Tales was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2009. She is also the founder of Buzzcity Press. Work from her press and related periodicals have won the British Fantasy Award, the International Rhysling Award, and appeared in several year’s best anthologies; they include the Theodore Sturgeon Award finalist “Dradin, In Love” by Jeff VanderMeer, and the International Horror Guild Award-winning “The Divinity Student” by Michael Cisco. Ann was also the founder of The Silver Web magazine, a periodical devoted to experimental and avant-garde fantasy literature.

Seating is limited, and first-come, first-seated.

Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM
Films start at 7:00PM

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor – entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

Don’t Drive – BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.

Wednesday March 9th

Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM – free popcorn!!
Candy for sale at the bar (what’s a movie without Red Vines?!)
Raffle for fabulous SFF literary schwag!!

Films start at 7:00PM – there will be a short intermission between films

MEGAMIND – (95 mins., PG)
The supervillain Megamind finally conquers his nemesis, the hero Metro Man… but finds his life pointless without a hero to fight. How does he resolve this existential dilemma, while pining for the gal of his dreams??? And he’s blue, too boot. 😉

GALAXY QUEST – (102 mins., PG)
By Grabthar’s Hammer, what’s not to love about this movie! Join us for our biennial showing of the classic flick, that reminds us all again just what we love about science fiction films!!!

Suggested donation at the door $5 per person – it’s all for the kids folks! The need for services and help continues in our community, and money donated to Variety helps meet those needs – come have a great time while helping the children of Variety!

No need to RSVP for either of these events – but seating is limited, and first-come, first-seated.

Doors and cash bar open at 6:00PM
Films start at 7:00PM

Both events take place at:

The Variety Preview Room Theatre
The Hobart Bldg., 1st Floor – entrance between Quiznos and Citibank
582 Market Street @ 2nd and Montgomery
San Francisco, CA 94104

DON’T DRIVE – BART/MUNI Montgomery Street station is right at our front door, and parking in San Francisco sucks!!! Street parking ($3.50 per hour) is metered M-Sat., til 6PM; find a parking garage here.