ON – Shoplifter Launch Party

Cartoonist Michael Cho appears at The Central on Wednesday, September 3rd fro 6:00-8:00 PM for the launch of his new graphic novel Shoplifter! presented by The Beguiling and Random House Canada.

RSVP on Facebook!

The Central
603 Markham Street, Toronto, Ontario M6G 2L7

Random House Audio Invites Fan Fiction Authors to Record Their Stories at SDCC 2012

Press Release:

Random House Audio Invites Fan Fiction Authors to Record Their Stories at Comic-Con International in San Diego

One story will be selected by RH Audio producers to be recorded professionally and streamed online

NEW YORK, NY (July 2, 2012)—At this year’s Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA, Random House Audio will be recreating an audiobook studio right on the convention floor–inviting authors of fan fiction to record a sample of their work for a chance to have their story recorded and released as a digital audiobook.

Stories from the following fandoms are eligible for the contest:

* Star Wars®
* The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
* Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
* The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
* Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

Aspiring authors (who must be legal residents of the U.S. and 18 years or older) can sign up for a time slot to record their five-minute sample during the convention, July 12-15 at the San Diego Convention Center. Random House Audio producers will listen to the entries (no mashups, please) and select one to be professionally recorded and mixed by Random House Audio for streaming at www.randomhouseaudio.com. The grand prize winner and five runner-ups will have clips from their stories featured on the Random House Audio weekly podcast.

Sessions will be available Thursday through Saturday, July 12-14, from 10am-12pm and 1pm to 4pm at the Random House Audio booth #1515. Registration for morning slots is open now through July 10 at www.randomhouseaudio.com, and afternoon slots will be available for same-day sign ups beginning at 9am the first day of the con on a first-come, first-served basis.

Don’t see your fandom included on the list above? Sunday, July 15 is Open Mic Day! Fans of other series will get their chance to record their stories as well from 11am to 3pm and enter to win a collection of audiobooks.

Even if you’re not a writer, be sure to stop by the Random House Audio booth (#1515) for exclusive Comic-Con giveaways, including buttons, posters, headphones and mini microphone recorders.

For complete contest rules, click here.

ON – Habibi Signing

Craig Thompson appears on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 at the Toronto Underground Cinema, 186 Spadina Avenue, Btwn Dundas & Queen
Doors Open at 6:30pm, Event starts at 7pm sharp
Admission: $10* or Free with Purchase of Habibi

Press Release:

Craig Thompson’s long-awaited, highly anticipated follow-up to BLANKETS is will make its debut on September 20th, and just 2 days later he’ll be in Toronto to celebrate!

Please join us in welcoming Craig Thompson to Toronto to launch HABIBI, a sprawling and epic love story that is sure to be one of the most-talked about books of 2011. Thompson will be giving a presentation from HABIBI that will take us behind the scenes of its gestation and creation, and he will then be interviewed on stage, with a moderated Q&A and a signing to follow. This will all take place at The Toronto Underground Theatre, an exciting indy theatre and event space on Spadina between Dundas and Queen.

Admission to this event will be $10, or free with the purchase of Habibi at the event or in advance of the event at The Beguiling Books & Art. Those purchasing the $10 Admission will be given a $10 gift certificate for The Beguiling, good until September 23rd 2012. Tickets for the event and pre-sales of HABIBI will both go on sale Tuesday, August 16th, at 11am, in-store only. We will be selling HABIBI for $30 Canadian.

The Beguiling is proud to team with Random House Canada to present this event.

About HABIBI:
Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection.

At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.

The Great Graphic Novel Library Giveaway

Press Release:

New York, NY — Author and illustrator Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules) has teamed up with Brodart, Diamond Book Distributors, and GraphicNovelReporter.com to donate his talent and his time to create the promotional artwork for The $20,000+ Great Graphic Novel Library Giveaway at the American Library Association’s (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans taking place June 24 to June 27.

The Great Graphic Novel Library Giveaway awards one library a collection of over 700 hand-selected graphic novels for adults, teens, and children as well as fixtures and furniture. The entire prize will be displayed in Booth #1760 at ALA in a library setting with shelving, spinner racks, lounge seating, reading tables and chairs, accent tables and more. The contest is open to public, school and academic librarians in the continental United States. Eligible librarians can enter to win during ALA Exhibit Hours on Friday June 24 through Sunday June 26, with the Grand Prize Drawing on Monday, June 27.

“Libraries were among the first and biggest supporters of me and Amelia Rules! It was an honor for me to provide the artwork for this incredible giveaway,” said Jimmy Gownley.

“The sponsors appreciate Jimmy contributing these eye-catching graphics, which will give us the opportunity to draw attention to this prize that celebrates graphic novels and their popularity in libraries,” said Carol Fitzgerald from GraphicNovelReporter.com on behalf of all the sponsors.

Participating publisher sponsors, beyond the title sponsors include:
Abrams, Ape Entertainment, Candlewick Press, Capstone, Creative Arts Unlimited Inc., Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Fanfare/Ponent Mon, First Second Books, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Lerner Publishing Group, Marvel, Oni Press, Penguin Young Readers Group, Random House, Rosen Publishing, Round Table Comics, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Toon Books, Top Cow Productions, Top Shelf Productions, Unshelved, Viper Comics, VIZ Media, W.W. Norton, and Zenescope Entertainment.

The first $20,000 Great Graphic Novel Library Giveaway (at Texas Library Association’s Annual Conference in April) was a huge success, with libraries from all over the state of Texas entering to win hundreds of graphic novels as well as library shelving and furniture. The winner was Weslaco Public Library, represented by Eduardo Zepeda.

For more information please visit: http://www.shopbrodart.com/ala#giveaway

About Brodart Co.
Since 1939 libraries have been able to turn to Brodart for everything from shelf-ready books to electronic ordering systems, high quality furniture, and supplies. Brodart serves libraries from the Northwest Territories to the Pacific Rim, with facilities in the United States and Canada.

About Diamond Book Distributors
Diamond Book Distributors is a division of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., the world’s largest distributor of English-language comic books and related merchandise. Diamond Book Distributors is dedicated to making a wide selection of graphic novels and other pop culture collectibles available to the book market.

About GraphicNovelReporter.com
GraphicNovelReporter.com is the newest website from TheBookReportNetwork.com (TBRN), which includes a group of six Internet sites featuring original content about books and authors. Since 1996, these sites — led by flagship site Bookreporter.com — have become the gathering places for a large and devoted audience of readers and book buyers. Monthly more than 1.6 million unique visitors come to the sites in the Network, making it the largest non-commercial group of book websites on the Internet. In addition, the company offers Internet design/development, marketing/publicity and resource services.