An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe

Announcing Flash Fiction Contest to Win Dinner Tickets for Gene Wolfe Event

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:41:46 +0000

WIN TWO DINNER TICKETS FOR AN EVENING TO HONOR GENE WOLFE!

Wolfsword Press and the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame are sponsoring a contest to win 2 dinner tickets for An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe held on March 17, 2012, at the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills, IL.

The evening celebrates the lifetime literary achievement of writer Gene Wolfe as he receives the first Fuller Award. The steampunk scifi literary extravaganza features performances by Terra Mysterium and R. Jelani Eddington. Special guests for the evening include: Gene Wolfe (of course!), Peter Sagal, Gary K. Wolfe, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, Michael Dirda Audrey Niffenegger, Luis Urrea, Kyle Cassidy, and so many more! (For more information on the event click here.)

GENE WOLFE WILL SELECT THE WINNER FROM THE FINALISTS!

The winner will be announced on our website by March 1. This will give everyone else time to purchase their tickets (Ticket sales end on March 5, 2012!)

THE CONTEST: Write a flash fiction story that features a wolf (or a Wolfe). This “theme” can be interpreted as broadly as you wish. The story must be at least 100 words but no more than 250 words (that includes the title). The story can be of any genre. It must be previously unpublished (that means in print or online).

The deadline is Friday, February 24, 2012 at 11:59pm CST. Any email submissions sent after that time will be deleted without consideration.

Send your submission in the body of the email (EMAILS WITH ATTACHMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!) along with your name, address, telephone number, and email address to wolf_flash@wolfswordpress.org

A FEW FLASH FICTION TIPS

Sometimes called sudden fiction, microfiction, or short shorts, the length of flashes can vary. For our purposes, the flash cannot exceed 250 words. Flashes should still contain classic story elements: protagonist, conflict, and resolution. The limited word length, however, dictates that some elements will remain unwritten or implied in the written story.

DISCLAIMER AND OFFICIAL INFORMATION:

Winner must provide his/her own transportation: airfare, bus fare, train fare, llama, airship.
If you are unable to attend, there is no substitution prize. You may, however, gift your tickets to someone else.
Only one entry per person please.

Good luck to you! We look forward to reading your stories and hope to see you on March 17th!

Buy a Table for Eight and Save

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:19:41 +0000

Tickets are selling fast for An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe!

Join our special guests Neil Gaiman, Peter Sagal, Sam Weller, Audrey Niffenegger, Luis Urrea, Peter Straub, Kyle Cassidy and more for this Steampunk SciFi Literary Extravaganza!

Save $25 per ticket if you purchase a Table of 8!

http://genewolfesanfilippo.eventbrite.com/

Hope to see you there!

Meet Our Chef for the Fabulous Steampunk SciFi Literary Gala of the Year!

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:04:56 +0000

We carefully selected our caterer and chef for an Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe. Chef Jeramie Campana of Wild Asparagus has the talent, creative vision, and culinary flair that set him apart from the others—fitting for our one-of-a-kind evening.

The former Sous Chef for prominent Barrington caterer Tastefully Yours, Jeramie worked alongside acclaimed chef Don Yamauchi who ran the storied Le Francais in Wheeling. Jeramie established Wild Asparagus in July 2008 and has built his business based on exceptional customer service, extraordinary cuisine, and a dedication to his clients.

Guests attending the dinner will enjoy Chef Jeramie’s culinary delights while Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s news quiz show ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” introduces Special Guests who will give toasts and share tributes during the meal.

Order your tickets and make your meal selection today.

For more information on Chef Jeramie and Wild Asparagus, go to their website: http://www.wildasparaguscatering.com/

Also check out the article in the Daily Herald here.

Sam Weller and Bill Fawcett Join Other Literary Stars at Sanfilippo Event to Honor Gene Wolfe

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:35:50 +0000

Sam Weller and Bill Fawcett join Neil Gaiman, Peter Sagal, Luis Urrea and other Special Guests participating in An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe.

Sam Weller is the authorized biographer of Ray Bradbury. Weller’s book The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury was a Los Angeles Times best seller, winner of the 2005 Society of Midland Authors Award for Best Biography, and a Bram Stoker Award finalist. The companion book, Listen to the Echoes: The Ray Bradbury Interviews, was published by Melville House/Stop Smiling Books in 2010.

With Mort Castle, Weller co-edited the forthcoming anthology Shadow Show: All-New Stories in Celebration of Ray Bradbury (William Morrow Paperbacks, July 2012). You can read more about the anthology at his website: http://listentotheechoes.com/

Bill Fawcett has been writing and editing SF since his years at Mayfair Games in the early 80. He has been a professor, teacher, corporate executive, college dean, game designer, and computer game designer. As an anthologist Bill has edited or co-edited over 40 anthologies. His non-fiction books include Making Contact: a UFO contact handbook, Hunters and Shooters, and The Teams (two oral histories of the Navy SEALs). Bill also edits and writes in a series of books about great mistakes in history. You can hear his podcasts at http://historymistakes.squarespace.com/ .

You read about all of our Special Guests on our website: http://chicagoliteraryhof.wordpress.com/special-guests-2/

Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Unveils 2012 Commemorative Poster

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:04:03 +0000

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame has just released the 2012 Fuller Award Poster! With beautiful artwork by Chicago artist Madeline Carol Matz, the Commemorative Poster celebrates An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe to be held at the Sanfilippo Estate on March 17, 2012.

Inspired by iconic French Art Deco Exhibition posters and heavily influenced by Art Nouveau elements of the Sanfilippo Estate, the poster was designed to commemorate the 1st Fuller Award Ceremony (read about the Fuller here). The poster shows the Fuller Award with the fantastic stage at the “Place de la Musique” in the background.

List of Special Guests to Honor Gene Wolfe Keeps Growing

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:18:31 +0000

We’re continuing to update our list of Special Guests, which now includes writer and editor Bill Fawcett, Pulitzer Prize finalist Luis Urrea, and photographer and author Kyle Cassidy.

Check out our Special Guests page for more information.

Peter Sagal Added as Celebrity Host for Gene Wolfe Event

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 22:05:19 +0000

Peter Sagal joins the star-studded line-up honoring Gene Wolfe on March 17, 2012, at the Sanfilippo Estate.

The host of NPR’s news quiz show ‘Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” will be the toastmaster during dinner in Sanfilippo’s Carousel Pavilion, introducing Special Guests as they offer up speeches and toasts in honor of Gene Wolfe.

Peter Sagal is a writer, actor, author of plays and books, and host of NPR’s popular news quiz show. He was recently among the authors recognized at the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 25th Anniversary Carl Sandburg Literary Awards Dinner.

You can read the Q&A he did for Forest Leaves before the Sandburg Awards Dinner here.

David G. Hartwell to Honor Gene Wolfe

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:34:09 +0000

David G. Hartwell joins friends and colleagues on March 17 to honor Gene Wolfe when he received the Fuller Award. David is the author of Age of Wonders and the editor of anthologies including The Dark Descent, The World Treasury of Science Fiction, and nearly twenty others co-edited with Kathryn Cramer.

Senior Editor at Tor/Forge Books and publisher of The New York Review of Science Fiction, David received his first Hugo Award in 2006 (after 33 nominations) and won the 2008 Hugo for Best Professional Editor, Long Form. He has also received the Eaton and World Fantasy Awards.

Here’s an clip from an interview that David did in Locus for your reading pleasure.

The full interview, with biographical profile, is published in the September 2004 issue of Locus Magazine.)

Michael Dirda Joins Special Guests to Honor Gene Wolfe

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:15:21 +0000

Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post, is confirmed to attend An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe on March 17, 2012, at the Sanfilippo Estate.

Michael received the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for criticism. He is the author of the memoir An Open Book and of four collections of essays: Readings, Bound to Please, Book by Book and Classics for Pleasure. His latest book, On Conan Doyle (2011), is part of Princeton’s “Writers on Writers” series.

He is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, the online Barnes & Noble Review, and several other periodicals, as well as a frequent lecturer and an occasional college teacher.

You can read an interview with Michael (“Washington is a Terrific Place If You’re a Serious Reader“), as well as “Michael Dirda’s Picks for Books That Will Last” in this month’s Washingtonian.

(I was delighted to see that Gene Wolfe’s novel The Book of the New Sun is among the books chosen.)

Peter Straub Added as Special Guest

Valya Dudycz Lupescu — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:28:03 +0000

We’ll continue to update our star-studded literary line-up of Special Guests coming together to honor Gene Wolfe on March 17, 2012, at the Sanfilippo Estate. Our newest confirmation is Peter Straub, award-winning author of Julia, Ghost Story, In the Night Room, and A Dark Matter, and editor of the Library of America’s H.P. Lovecraft.

Get your tickets to An Evening to Honor Gene Wolfe before they sell out!

For your listening pleasure, I’ve attached a link to a conversation between Gary K. Wolfe and Peter Straub that was featured on the first Locus Roundtable podcast last January, 2011. Listen as they discuss topics such as: James Tiptree Jr., Peter’s stories, time travel, and David Foster Wallace.

Gary K. Wolfe and Peter Straub in Conversation