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Speculative Fiction Lecture/Workshop

Lecture: CMU McConomy Auditorium, 10am-11am
Workshop: CMU Connan Room, 1:30-3:30pm, Carrie Ann DiRisio

Join us for the Parsec-CMU Speculative Fiction Lecture Series to be held in McConomy Auditorium in the University Center at CMU on Saturday, March 31st. The lecture by a national author will be 10 to 11 am with a book signing following. The 2-hour writing workshop will be held at 1:30 in the Connan Room and run by Carrie Ann DiRisio (BROODING YA HERO: Becoming a Main Character). These events are free and open to the public, including free parking in the East Campus Garage next door. The series is sponsored by the CMU student club Partners in Speculative Fiction (PSF) and Parsec.

Workshop: 1:30pm – 3:30pm

© 2017 Powder Blue Photography. www.powderbluephoto.com

Carrie DiRisio runs multiple popular social media accounts including @BroodingYAHero, and is the social media intern for Serial Box Publishing. Her speaking engagements include talks at the Carnegie Library System of Pittsburgh, Western PA SCBWI workshops, and the upcoming YALSA national symposium. She proudly considers herself a Slytherin and aspiring Disney villainess, who also loves the color pink and making people laugh with funny GIFs. She resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she is currently pursuing her MBA in Digital Marketing.

Lecture: 10am – 11am

Jessica Cluess is a writer, a graduate of Northwestern University, and an unapologetic nerd. After college, she moved to Los Angeles, where she served coffee to the rich and famous while working on her first novel. When she’s not writing books, she’s an instructor at Writopia Lab, helping kids and teens tell their own stories. She is the author of the KINGDOM ON FIRE series, which features magic, monsters, and mayhem in Victorian London.

Parking: The East Campus Garage, at the corner of Beeler and Forbes Ave at CMU, is free on weekends.

For more info, contact: Joe Coluccio  / president@parsec-sff.org
If you would like to be on a mailing list for further announcements, please Contact Us.

To volunteer to help with the lecture series, please send Diane Turnshek a message using the Contact Us form.

 

Parsec Meeting Date Changes

The Parsec meeting date has changed to the third Sunday of the Month 12:00 Noon to 4:30 PM at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Squirrel Hill Branch, starting this month, March 18, 2018, and moving forward.

At this month meeting, we will discuss possible topics for the Parsec annual science fiction conference, Confluence. https://parsec-sff.org/confluence/
Please come to meet, discuss, and propose topics for consideration on Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror in all guises and forms. Yes, even haiku, board games, and pop-up books are fair game.

The hard copy mailed edition of Sigma will no longer be produced or mailed after the April 2018 issue. The cost of reproduction and postage has not been covered by the Parsec budget for many years. To keep costs manageable it is necessary to keep the mailing edition size to five pages double-sided. The amount of ink required for the print Sigma requires that images must be desaturated and reduced, or in many cases eliminated entirely. Further, the workload to collate and send the monthly mailing falls to the same small group of people which is a monthly scheduling and financial burden. We thank them so much for their dedication and work for all these years.

If you do not receive a copy of the Digital Edition of Sigma and wish to receive one, please send your email address and name to Sigma@parsec-sff.org. Thanks for your understanding and we are working to make Sigma a great publication to represent the ongoing mission of Parsec.

Alpha open for applications

Alpha, the Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Workshop for Young Writers (ages 14 – 19) will be held at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg Campus between Wednesday, July 25 and Sunday, August 5, 2018. Alpha’s guest authors for 2018 are:

TAMORA PIERCE
N. K. JEMISIN
MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
MAGGIE STIEFVATER

Applications consist of a form to be filled out, a $10 fee and an original genre story between 2000 and 6000 words. Applications are open until Sunday, March 4.

alpha.spellcaster.org/alpha@spellcaster.org

Writers Workshop at Confluence

The 2018 Confluence writers workshop will by run by Hugo-winning SF writer David D. Levine this year. You’ll have the chance to have a professional writer critique your work, along with several of your peers. Please submit a 2,000 to 8,000 word SFF short story or novel excerpt, in .rtf or .doc format, to David Levine by midnight PST on Friday June 1, 2018. You may send your story ahead of time; only the first six manuscripts received will be accepted. For more information, go here: 2018 Confluence writers worshop.

January 13, 2018 at Parsec

Saturday Januray 13, 2018

East Asian Archaeoastronomy

Presented by Wendelin Gray

The History Of Science And Some Mythology Of The Region.

A look at measurements of time, organization of the heavens, and the meanings derived from all of that. The presentation will include comparisons with ancient Western conceptions and star charts. Of course, with the concepts of science back then three will be a heavy dose of astrology involved.

Tamora Pierce and E.C. Myers at B&N 7/29/17

Event

  • Who: Tamora Pierce and E.C. Myers will read and sign books at the Greensburg Barnes & Noble (and others, see below, click “read more”)
  • When: 7 to 9 pm on Saturday, July 29, 2017
  • Where: Greensburg Barnes & Noble, 5155 Route 30, Greensburg, PA 15601 (724-832-0622).

Buying during the event sends a donation to Alpha*

Our B&N bookfair ID is 12178612.  The bookfair is scheduled in the store from July 24 through July 30, which means we will get a share of any purchase made at any Barnes & Noble with our bookfair ID number during that time period. The same with online, except the dates are longer: July 24 through August 4! Please use this ID number when making sales in store or online.

CMU’s “Life in Space” Team at Parsec Meeting April 8th

CMU’s “Life in Space” student team led by Diane Turnshek made the final round! Their design to make life better for astronauts is now in competition with designs from teams at the University of Texas and OSU. The three teams already won laptops. Can you help the CMU team win a trip to Cape Canaveral? Vote once a day until Monday, April 3.
http://www.cmu.edu/piper/briefs/2017/march/march-30/news-briefs.html#astronaut

The team will also be speaking about their design at 2 pm on Saturday, April 8 at the Squirrel Hill Branch of the Carnegie Library (corner of Murray and Forbes) hosted by Parsec, Pittsburgh’s premier science fiction and fantasy literary organization. Free and open to the public.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEsKZhMeWJo

Nebula Awards Conference in Pittsburgh

51st Annual Nebula Awards Conference

May 18, 2017 (Thursday) through May 21, 2017 (Sunday)
Marriott City Center, Pittsburgh

 

SFWA members and other individuals who are interested in science fiction and fantasy are welcome to attend SFWA’s Nebula Conference. People who purchase memberships for the Nebula Conference may participate in workshops, programming and special events throughout the weekend. You do not need to be a member of SFWA to buy a membership for the Nebula Conference; all are welcome. You can buy Nebula Conference memberships and Nebula Award Banquet tickets at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2017-sfwa-nebula-conference-tickets-27153384504