There will be a Ray Bradbury Tribute at Comic-Con in the 4,000 seat room on Thursday, July 11 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Bradbury biographer Sam Weller will be putting it together. More details as they become available.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]
Expected on the dais at Comic-Con this July for a discussion Shadow Show, a book in honor of Ray Bradbury, are editors Sam Weller and Mort Castle, plus contributors Margaret Atwood, Audrey Niffenegger, Jay Bonansinga and Joe Hill.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]
Add the city of Pomona, California to the long list of places that have selected a Ray Bradbury book for their Nation Endowment for the Arts Big Read program. Participants will be reading the classic sf novel Fahrenheit 451 between October 8 and November 13.
The goal of the Big Read is to restore reading to the center of American culture and highlight the importance of literature in daily life. The Big Read aims to directly address the decline of reading for pleasure by providing citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their community.
Pomona’s Big Read kicks off with an appearance by the author and his biographer at An Evening with Ray Bradbury and Sam Weller on October 8, 6 p.m., in the Western University of Health Sciences, Health Education Center, 701 East Second St., Pomona, CA 91766.
Sam Weller will discuss his books The Bradbury Chronicles and the newly released Listen to the Echoes: the Ray Bradbury Interviews. Both authors will sign books afterwards.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]
By John King Tarpinian: The book launch party for Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews on June 27 was a huge success. The three principals involved with the book were signing, Sam Weller (Ray’s biographer), Black Francis (of the Pixies, who wrote the introduction) and Ray Bradbury. Just about every copy of the limited edition of the book was snapped up. Those that got there late were happy with copies of the trade paperback. Pretty much the cupboards were bare by the end of the two plus hours. Just about everybody that Sam Weller thanked in the book were also in attendance. It was a party atmosphere all day long.
Sam Weller and Ray Bradbury discuss their book.
Update 06/28/2010: Video of Saturday’s launch at Mystery and Imagination Bookstore is here on YouTube. As a bonus, Tarpinian appears at the 2:25 mark.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the story.]
Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews is coming in June, a book described as “A definitive collection of interviews with one of America’s most famous writers, covering his life, faith, friends, politics, and visions of the future.”
Ray Bradbury and his interviewer, Sam Weller, are expected to attend a launch party at Mystery and Imagination Bookstore in Glendale, CA on Saturday, June 26 at 3 p.m.
Weller frequently writes about Bradbury:
Weller met Bradbury while doing a profile story for the Chicago Tribune, and the two struck up a close professional relationship. Weller continued to do magazine and radio pieces on Bradbury, and soon became interested in writing the author’s biography.
“I asked him simply one day, ‘Why is there no biography on you?’” Weller said. “And he said, ‘I think biography means you’re dead. I don’t want anyone to write on me until my life’s over.’”
Weller convinced him otherwise and the result was The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury which came out in 2005, made the Los Angeles Times bestsellers list, and became a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award.
[Thanks to John King Tarpinian for the flyer.]