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Welcome to The Genre Traveler! Please sign up using the form to the right so that you'll get all the latest updates to the site. You also might want to sign up for the RSS feed, which you can do via email or your favorite RSS Reader. I heard about this from The North Orange County Harry Potter Meetup Group:

Scholastic has announced that seven lucky U.S. Harry Potter fans, under the age of 21, will be selected in a sweepstakes and flown to London to join J.K. Rowling at a midnight launch event for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows leading up to the book release at 12:01 a.m. on July 21, 2007.

The winners will attend "J.K. Rowling and the Moonlight Signing" at London's Natural History Museum and will join 1,700 fans who will have the opportunity to meet J.K. Rowling and have their book signed. They will also be among the lucky 500 fans who will be selected to attend a midnight reading with their favorite author. The Scholastic sweepstakes winners will be given a copy of the U.S. edition of the book.

But hurry: Entries must be received by June 15, 2007.

For more information: www.scholastic.com/harrypotter/events/sweepstakes.htm

Sorry for the late notice, but I found this in my email just now.

Emerson Spartz and Ben Schoen from MuggleNet.com will be signing their New York Times Bestselling book, MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 tomorrow at the Barnes and Noble in Newport Beach, Calif.

This appearance is part of a tour of bookstores all over the country they are making this summer. Apparently, their sprint break tour was quite successful.

"We really hope you'll come out and see us," the authors say. "As always, we'll be giving away sweet prizes courtesy of our sponsor Alivan's and tons of free stickers (how can you say no to free stickers?!). Seriously though - we'll be fun."

Here are the details -- and remember, if you go, please let them know The Genre Traveler sent you:

What:
MuggleNet's Ben and Emerson Book Signing

When:
Sunday, May 27, 2007
2pm

Where:
Barnes and Noble
401 Newport Center Drive
Newport Beach, Calif. 92660

About the Book:
In this book, Spartz and Schoen present a wide range of facts and predictions about the most popular storylines, favorite characters, and final outcome of the Harry Potter saga. They draw on their intimate knowledge of the previous six books, as well as tips and suggestions made by millions of MuggleNet.com fans, as well as a personal interview with J.K. Rowling.

If you're going to be in the Charleston, WV, area this Saturday. You might want to stop by Borders in the Charleston Town Center (2nd Floor). Edward A. Holsclaw II and Wendy M. Easton will be signing their books, Twist of Fate, Origin: Unknown and Laid to Rest: A Collection of Horror, from 2-5 p.m.

If you do, tell Ed that The Genre Traveler sent you. I met him at HorrorFind a couple of years back and have been on his email list every since. He came across as a shy, but very creative, guy.

Maybe one day I'll get around to reading one of his books. Tiburon sounds interesting.

DETAILS:
What: Book Signing

Where:
Borders
Charleston Town Center
Charleston, WV

When:
Saturday, May 5, 2007
2-5 pm

If you're going to be near Pasadena, Calif. next weekend, you might want to stop by the headquarters of The Planetary Society. On Saturday, April 21, science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson will be there to sign copies of his latest book, Sixty Days and Counting. This book is the conclusion to his trilogy about a not-too-distant future when Earth is coping with disastrous effects of climate change.

DETAILS
What:
Book Signing, Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson

When:
Saturday, April 21, 2007, 4pm - 7pm

Where:
The Planetary Society
65 N Catalina Avenue
Pasadena, Calif.

For more information: www.planetary.org/participate/events/

Books may be reserved or purchased in advance by calling Linda Wong at (626) 793-5100.

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Hint: The Planetary Society Headquarters is an interesting looking building and might make a great photo to enter in The 1^st Annual Genre Traveler Photo Contest.

I found this website that I thought would be of interest to all my readers in the U.K. The UK SF Book News Network covers "science fiction, fantasy and horror book and comic news from UK authors, creators, publishers and retailers." Although there is a lot on non-travel news on the site, it does include information on book signings, conventions and other genre events.

For example, Joe Hill, a horror and dark fantasy author, will be signing copies of his first novel, Heart-Shaped Box, at the Forbidden Planet Megastore in London on March 29, 2007.

For more information, visit www.uksfbooknews.net/2007/02/24/joe-hill-and-star-wars-events-at-forbidden-planet-london.