If you like the darker side of fantasy, you won’t want to miss this! These authors write horror, dark pulp and “grim tidings in the woods.”

Errick A. Nunnally

Born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, Errick A. Nunnally served one tour in the Marine Corps before deciding art school would be a safer—and more natural—pursuit. He strives to develop his strengths in storytelling and remains permanently distracted by art, comics, science fiction, history, and horror. Trained as a graphic designer, he has earned a black belt in Krav Maga with Muay Thai kickboxing after dark. Errick’s successes include: the novel, Blood For The Sun; a comic strip collection, Lost in Transition; and first prize in one hamburger contest.

The following are short stories and their respective anthologies: Welcome to the D.I.V. (Wicked Witches); Harold At The Halfcourt (Inner Demons Out); Penny Incompatible (Eulogies IV); The Last Apology (A Dark World of Spirits and The Fey); You Call This An Apocalypse? (After The Fall); Recovery (Winter Animals: stories to benefit PROTECT.ORG); A Hundred Pearls: PROTECTORS 2 (stories to benefit PROTECT.ORG) and The Elevation of Oliver Black (Distant Dying Ember). He also has two lovely children and one beautiful wife. Find him online at his website and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

The emergence of superhuman abilities appearing mostly among non-whites of the world, the political ramifications of such, and the fallout from those who would use those abilities for illicit gain. In a nutshell. I haven’t completed it yet, so there’s no simple pitch. BUT what’s most challenging is juggling the amount of characters and locations. It’s turning out to be the longest piece of fiction I’ve ever written–around the 100k length that I used to think was weird. As well, it’s something that’s been knocking around my head for decades.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

In general, more of Octavia Butler and Tananarive Due’s work, more women, more non-European derived narratives just to expand my earlier experience of stories.

What is it that you enjoy most about Boskone?

The critical mass of professional and deeply interested persons willing to reasonably discuss nearly everything genre.

KT Bryski

KT Bryski is a Canadian author and playwright. She has short fiction in “Tales from the Archives,” “Black Treacle Horror Magazine,” “Daily Science Fiction,” and forthcoming from “Strange Horizons” and “Apex.” She is the winner of the 2016 Toronto Star Short Story Contest—the largest such contest in Canada. Select playwriting credits include scripts for Black Creek Pioneer Village, East o’ the Sun and West o’ the Moon (Canadian Children’s Opera Company), and Key of D Minor (Sears Ontario Drama Festival).

Her audio dramas Coxwood History Fun Park and Six Stories, Told at Night (funded by the Ontario Arts Council) are available wherever fine podcasts are found. In 2014, her short story “Under Oak Island” was a Parsec finalist. KT is a SFWA member and graduate of the Stonecoast MFA in Creative Writing. She has a mild caffeine addiction. Find her online at her website and Twitter.

How would you describe your work to people who might be unfamiliar with you?

Hopeful angst. My work tends to go fairly dark (not in a blood-and-gore way, more in a grim-tidings-in-the-woods sort of way), but there is usually a tiny little ray of light at the end. It contrasts with the shadows, you know?

I work a lot with fairy tales, and I also draw from Canadian history and culture quite heavily.

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

So it’s 2011. I’m very wee. I’ve been working at a living history museum for about six months. I’ve just asked this really cool girl who ALSO works there to voice a character in this podcast novel I’m releasing. We chat about the project over dinner, and then talk eventually turns to our museum’s onsite brewery.

“Our Christmas events are so hard,”” she says, “”it’s a two-person job down there, but no one else has their Smart Serve Certificate*.”

“Um,”” I say hesitantly. “”I have my Smart Serve.”

And so I ended up in the brewery – for one night only – as an extra set of hands. Except that I fell in love with it the moment I saw it; the sweet smell of boiling wort, the gleaming copper kettle, the history and tasting notes of each beer style…

Five years later and I manage our brewery’s blog, I’ve given beer talks across the United States and Canada, and I’ve sampled/written tasting notes for over 400 different beers.

And it all started from that one chance comment…

*Editor’s note: Smart Serve refers to the The Smart Serve Responsible Alcohol Beverage Service Training Program for hospitality service workers in Ontario, Canada.

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

I’m looking forward to learning a LOT. This is a new con for me, so I’m stoked to meet new people, hear new points-of-view, and check out a slew of awesome programming! (Also looking forward to shenanigans. There are always shenanigans.)

 

Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix is a writer and film programmer living in New York City. His novel, Horrorstör, is about a haunted IKEA and it is currently being developed as a television series by Gail Berman (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich). He recently wrote the screenplay for the War of 1812 horror movie, Mohawk, starring Kaniehtiio Horn (Hemlock Grove), and his latest novel is My Best Friend’s Exorcism, out now.  Find him online at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

I’m just finishing up my new book, PAPERBACKS FROM HELL, that will be out in September 2017, just in time for Halloween. It’s a non-fiction book about the publishing horror boom of the 70s and 80s and it’s got more Nazi leprechauns than you might expect.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

Phoenix #1: Dark Messiah by David Alexander because I could have used a hero who fights post-apocalyptic mutants and draws his signature Phoenix with bullets from his machine gun.

From a fan perspective, what new book, film, TV show, or comic are you most looking forward to seeing/reading?

It was MEG until they moved it to 2018. Jason Statham fights a giant shark. Now I look forward to nothing and shall greet 2017 with hot tears.

Happy New Year, Boskone fans! We’re excited to present our annual Mini Interview blog series to help you get to know your favorite Boskone guests better. To kick things off, let’s hear from Boskone 54’s featured filkers, The Fabulous Lorraine & Lojo Russo, and Special Guest, Maryelizabeth Yturralde.

 

Lojo Russo

Lojo Russo has been orbiting the ‘Con biospheres since her first days in the awesomely, classic-jam-rock quintet known as, ‘Cats Laughing’. Three of the original members of ‘Cats Laughing’ – Emma Bull, Steven KZ Brust and Adam Stemple – are best known for their wonderfully crafted SF/F novels. Somewhere along this timeline she also fell in with the Fabulous Lorraine and has remained both friend and confidant as well as one part of the peculiarly remarkable twosome, Mogg. (aka; Moggenahf, Mogguffaw, the “other” Flashgirl)

From those humble beginnings Lojo Russo has continued to provide soulful, fanciful and farcical music to her enduring fan. Her novelty album, Sweet Tooth, contains the Con-inspired hits, ‘Orbital Groove’ and ‘Blame It On the Jello’. She enjoys long walks on the beach, the smell of Hi-Karate and the way bandaid packets spark when you open them. Find her online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

How would you describe your work to people who might be unfamiliar with you?

Been making music most of my life and the music has changed with me over the years. Childish and idyllic, young and questioning, mature and introspective. Seems the older I get the more the music moves and shapes and growls. I’ve got a pocketful of novelty and SF/F based as well

What are you working on now? What excites or challenges you about this project?

Working on a new album; Fresh Oil, Loose Gravel. (Country themed – if it wasn’t already painfully obvious.) The writing process is not always as easy as I’d like but when I finally get the chance to work in the studio and start building and shaping the sound – woof!

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

Attending a new ‘con – this will be my inaugural flight! My family has roots in MA and I was out there once about 15 years ago. I am acquainted with a number of East Coast writers and fans so this aught to be a hoot!

 

The Fabulous Lorraine

The Fabulous Lorraine worked for author Neil Gaiman for 20 years until he moved east and she decided hey, why not go to collage, having missed that one in her youth. She is currently ALMOST a senior at University and plans on a Master’s as well. Once obtained, she will decide on a costume, and a super hero name, and go out into the Helping Profession and help everyone who crosses her path.

What event or experience stands out as one of those ‘defining moments’ that shaped who you are today?

I’d have to go with the moment Neil Gaiman said “Could you come over and put my books on the shelves of my new library.” I stayed for the next 20 years, doing all the things that needed doing. He taught me about work, about love, about compassion, about learning, about perseverance, about wonder and joy. He showed me how the world worked, and showed me his vision how how things might be. And when the time to change came around, he helped me on the path and said: go and be all that I know you can be.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

“I think I’ll go with the witches, the three wyrd sisters, in Macbeth. Mostly because they had awesome dialog, which excited me as far back as I can remember. Their opening lines were featured in some sort of anthology called (something like) “”Seriously Weird Stories about Witches, Ghosts, Goblins and Ghouls for your Child”” which was my favorite book back then. Dancing around in the dark around a fire, chanting some sort of magic spell, tossing all manner of spooky ingredients into a pot sounded to me like a fine way to spend an evening.

When I got a little older and read the play, and started seeing it on stage, it seemed to me that they were all about the idea that nothing is ever what it seems, and perspective is everything. And in life, weird shit happens and one needs to roll with it. Because you never know what happens next, and that is very exciting.”

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

The peoples!! I want to meet everyone. And talk to everyone. And give them as many hugs as seems appropriate.

 

Maryelizabeth Yturralde

Maryelizabeth Yturralde last attended Boskone in 1984, and spent the next decade working in chain bookstores. Maryelizabeth co-founded independent genre bookstore Mysterious Galaxy in Southern California in 1993; she is a regular contributor to programming at literary conventions all over the country, including Comic-Con International San Diego and New York Comic Con; and she is a regular writer of non-fiction, including critical and biographical essays, and reviews for Mysterious Galaxy, as well as Publishers Weekly.

She is passionate about connecting readers and stories. Find her online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Who is your all-time favorite fictional character? What is it about this character that you love?

Darkwing Duck. He is the terror that flaps in the night. Also, he wears a purple cape, and loves wordplay.

If you could recommend a book to your teenage-self, what book would you recommend? Why did you pick that book?

Ursula K. LeGuin’s THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, which I didn’t read until my 20s. I think I would’ve been a better friend and citizen of the world with an earlier, more nuanced understanding of gender.

What are you looking forward to at Boskone?

I am looking forward to talking books, books, and more books!

 

Come join the fun at Boskone 54’s Book Party, and meet the presses and authors who have new books coming out at Boskone! This is your chance to see what’s new from authors you already love as well as those you have yet to discover.

Boskone is once again holding a book party on Saturday night during the convention to give our authors and publishers the opportunity to show off their newly released titles.

The Boskone 54 Book Party

Day: Saturday, February 18th
Time: 6:30-7:30 pm
Location: Con Suite, in the Galleria Level, Westin Waterfront Hotel

Authors & Publishers: If you have a new book that was (or will be) published within a few months of Boskone, we invite you to participate in the Boskone 54 Book Party. Bring your books and swag to share with readers who come to mix, mingle, and talk fiction with Boskone’s authors.

Authors and publishers (with a new book and a membership for Boskone 54) who would like to join the party, should email us at Program@boskone.org with your book’s information, including:

• Title:
• Author Name:
• Release Date:
• Publisher:
• Cover Image URL (if available):

Please note that space is limited. So, please be sure to contact us as soon as possible to let us know that you’re interested in joining the party. The more the merrier!

The annual Boskone Book Club continues in 2017! Join us for a conversation that brings con-goers together to consider one noteworthy work at length. This year we are reading The Rithmatist by Guest of Honor Brandon Sanderson.

The discussion will also include a short Q&A with the author about the book. To participate, please read the book and come ready with your observations.

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

The Rithmatist is Brandon Sanderson’s New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure and a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of 2013.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.

 

If you wish to join the Boskone Book Club discussion, please read the book, and come ready with your observations. We look forward to seeing you at Boskone 54!

At Boskone 53, NESFA Press introduced its new hardcover science fiction anthology The Grimm Future, edited by Erin Underwood. We received a number of requests for an ebook, which is now available to purchase online for $9.95 at:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Smashwords (a variety of ebook formats)

Book Description:

Blending fresh new science fiction with a futuristic dash of magic, The Grimm Future is a unique anthology of reimagined Grimm fairy tales from some of today’s most exciting authors—along with the original stories that inspired them. The Grimm Future examines our humanity and what that term might come to mean through the eyes of future generations as society advances into an age when technology consumes nearly every aspect of our lives or has ultimately changed life as we know it. How might these timeless stories evolve? Given the relentless onrush of technology, there is even greater need for fairy tales and Grimm magic in our future. Read on!

Table of Contents:

• “Intrduction” by Erin Underwood
• “Pair of Ugly Stepsisters, Three of a Kind” by Garth Nix, based upon multiple Grimm fairy tales, including “Little Brother and Little Sister,” “Rapunzel,” “Little Red-Cap,” and “Cinderella”
• “The Iron Man” by Max Gladstone, based upon “Iron John”
• “Zel and Grets” by Maura McHugh, based upon “Hansel & Gretel”
• “For Want of a Nail” by Sandra McDonald & Stephen D. Covey, based upon “The Nail”
• “The Shroud” by Dan Wells, based upon “The Shroud”
• “Long-Term Employment” by Mike Resnick, based upon “Death’s Messengers”
• “Swan Dive” by Nancy Holder, based upon “The Six Swans”
• “The White Rat” by Dana Cameron, based upon “The White Snake”
• “Origins” by Carlos Hernandez, based upon “The Star-Talers”
• “Angie Taylor in: Peril Beneath the Earth’s Crust” by John Langan, based upon “The Brave Little Tailor”
• “The Three Snake-Leaves” by Jeffrey Ford, based upon “The Three Snake-Leaves”
• “The Madman’s Ungrateful Child” by Peadar Ó Guillín, based upon “The Bremen Town-Musicians”
• “Stories of the Trees, Stories of the Birds, Stories of the Bones” by Kat Howard, based upon “The Juniper Tree”
• “Be Still, and Listen” by Seanan McGuire, based upon “Little Briar-Rose”

Publishers. Book Stores. Authors. Fans. You still have time to reserve ad space in the Boskone 54 Souvenir Book. This publication is really lovely and a great way to get your books, events, and groups in front of an audience who loves speculative fiction, film, art, music…and science!

Souvenir Book Advertising Rates

Advertise in the Boskone 54 Souvenir Book! A printed edition of the souvenir book is printed and available to all members of Boskone at the convention, and is also available as a PDF after Boskone!

• Download: the Boskone 54 Ad Rate Sheet
• Pay for your ad today: Reserve Space & Pay Online
• Reservation deadline: December 1, 2016

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Advertising Rates

AD SIZE	PRO	FAN
Back cover (color):	$495	$350
Back cover (greyscale):	$400	$270
Inside Cover:	$330	$215
Full Page:	$260	$95
½ Page:	$160	$65
¼ Page:	$95	$35

For more information, contact Boskone 54 via email at b54ads@boskone.org.

Are you looking to reserve a table in the Boskone Dealers Room? If so, the information on where to go and what to do has been posted on the Boskone website. Here’s a quick summary of things, but you should visit the Boskone Dealers Room web page for all of the information that you will need.

The Boskone Dealers Room provides a varied shopping experience. Our attendees are, of course, fans of science fiction and fantasy, but we also have readers of literary hard science fiction, writers in the genre and science enthusiasts.

Please note that we are using a different process this year for registering tables in the Dealers Room. This new process streamlines the table reservation process, allowing dealers to make their space requests through the Boskone/NESFA store in one easy and convenient step.

For the full set of Dealers Room information and for the links to reserve your space in the Dealers Room, please visit Boskone Dealers Room web page.

Don’t miss a minute of Boskone 54! Consider a stay at the Westin Waterfront Hotel and stay toasty warm. Book your hotel room now at Boskone’s special rates since the hotel block is sure to sell out.

Westin Waterfront

425 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
(617) 532-4600

Boskone Rates

• Single/Double rate: $166
• Triple rate: $186
• Quad rate: $206

These rates are available until January 17, 2017.

• Reserve a Standard Floor Room
• Reserve a Party Floor Room

If you have any issues with your hotel reservation, contact hotel@boskone.org as soon as possible.

Are you interested in volunteering your skills, energy and time either helping with pre-convention work or at-convention work for Boskone 54? If so, please take a moment to fill out our super simple Volunteer Survey.

Boskone is the longest running science fiction and fantasy convention in New England. Our 54th convention takes place in Boston, MA at the Westin Waterfront Hotel from February 17-19, 2017. Boskone is known as one of the best, most low-key and cozy cons on the East Coast, not to mention an art show that offers a fantastic selection of spec fic art.

We are a 100% volunteer run convention that brings together 1,000+ fans, authors, scientists, artists, musicians, publishers, editors and more in order to enjoy an inspiring, entertaining, and unique convention that offers a warm and inclusive environment no matter the weather conditions outside.

We are looking for volunteers who are able to take on a variety of tasks that range from event planning to AV & IT tech work, volunteer wrangling, creative design, registration check in, packet stuffing, etc.

If you’re interested in giving your time to Boskone, please take a moment to complete the Volunteer Survey and let us know what you’re interested in doing and how much time you have available. Please fill out as much or as little of the form as is pertinent to your experience and interests.

Volunteering is a great way to make new friends, get to know more people, and to earn volunteer hours that can be used toward a free membership for Boskone 55 (next year’s convention, which takes place in February 2018).

Thank you so much!

Cheers,
Erin Underwood
Boskone 54, Chair
February 17-19, 2017
www.boskone.org

It’s May and we are starting to pull together the planning and logistics for next year’s Boskone. However, before we get too far along in the process, let’s take a moment to look back at Boskone 53 and some of the people who made the convention possible as well as some of the highlights from the convention.

Here is a picture of our volunteers unloading the truck that was packed full of Boskone 53 gear. This is one of those essential, yet thankless jobs that makes Boskone possible. So, THANK YOU!!!!

David Hartwell, we will miss you! The love and caring that filled the room was overwhelming and incredibly touching.

NESFA Press released The Grimm Future and Conspiracy! at Boskone53, and we celebrated both releases at the annual Boskone Book Party in the Galleria, which features authors and publishers who have new books coming out within a few months of the convention. It was a great event and the cakes were not only beautiful, but incredibly tasty!

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Boskone 53 was a fantastic convention thanks to all of our members, program participants, and volunteers. Great fun was had by all and even more is coming next year. We look forward to seeing you at Boskone 54 in February 2017 for another great convention.

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