SF STL Events

Introducting SF STL, a new science fiction and fantasy author event series presented by Left Bank Books and Archon!

Monday, August 27, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books and Archon present an SF STL event with award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal, who will celebrate the local launch of her second Lady Astronaut Novel, The Fated Sky!

Continuing the grand sweep of alternate history laid out in The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky looks forward to 1961, when mankind is well-established on the moon and looking forward to its next step: journeying to, and eventually colonizing, Mars. Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but could the International Aerospace Coalition ever stand the thought of putting a woman on such a potentially dangerous mission? Could Elma knowingly take the place of other astronauts who have been overlooked because of their race? And could she really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family?

“Simply enchanting and another great advance in an already impressive literary career. You’re going to love this.” —John Scalzi (Head On)

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of The Fated Sky or The Calculating Stars from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line. Click the titles to pre-order your copy!

Sheyna Gifford is a physician, science writer, and simulated astronaut for long-duration space missions. She was the health and safety officer on the NASA-funded 1-year mission to simulate Mars. A science journalist since 1997, she has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Astrobiology Magazine, StarTalk Live!, Aeon, Narratively, Nautilus, and has contributed to the creation of science documentaries for National Geographic, VICE, and the History Channel. Prior to becoming a rehabilitation doctor at WashU, she was the scientist-in-residence at the St. Louis Science Center. She is STEM mentor for young women across the country and a captain in the Missouri Civil Air Patrol.

Tuesday, September 18, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books and Archon present an SF STL event with bestselling young adult author Scott Westerfeld, who will sign and discuss the newest novel in the Uglies series, Impostors!

Frey and Rafi are inseparable, two edges of the same knife. But Frey's very existence is a secret. Frey is Rafi’s twin sister—and her body double. Their powerful father has many enemies, and the world has grown dangerous as the old order falls apart. So while Rafi was raised to be the perfect daughter, Frey has been taught to kill. Her only purpose is to protect her sister, to sacrifice herself for Rafi if she must. When her father sends Frey in Rafi’s place as collateral in a precarious deal, she becomes the perfect impostor—as poised and charming as her sister. But Col, the son of a rival leader, is getting close enough to spot the killer inside her. As the deal starts to crumble, Frey must decide if she can trust him with the truth...and if she can risk becoming her own person.

"Impressive, immaculately plotted sci fi chock full of twists . . ." —Kirkus Reviews

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Impostors from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.
Pre-order your copy here!

Saturday, November 17, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books and Archon present an SF STL event with Welcome to Night Vale author Joseph Fink, who will sign and discuss his new novel, Alice Isn't Dead, with Chavisa Woods!

Keisha Taylor lived a quiet life with her wife, Alice, until the day that Alice disappeared. After months of searching, presuming she was dead, Keisha held a funeral, mourned, and gradually tried to get on with her life. But that was before Keisha started to see her wife, again and again, in the background of news reports from all over America. Alice isn’t dead, and she is showing up at every major tragedy and accident in the country. Following a line of clues, Keisha takes a job with a trucking company, Bay and Creek Transportation, and begins searching for Alice. She eventually stumbles on an otherworldly conflict being waged in the quiet corners of our nation’s highway system—uncovering a conspiracy that goes way beyond one missing woman.

“This is a splendid, weird, moving novel…It manages beautifully that trick of embracing the surreal in order to underscore and emphasize the real - not as allegory, but as affirmation of emotional truths that don’t conform to the neat and tidy boxes in which we’re encouraged to house them.” —NPR.org (Welcome to Night Vale)

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Alice Isn't Dead from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.
Pre-order your copy here!

Chavisa Woods is the author of three books of fiction, Things to Do when You’re Goth in the Country, The Albino Album, (both released by Seven Stories Press), and Love Does Not Make Me Gentle or Kind (Fly by Night Press/ Autonomedia/ Unbearables. Woods was the recipient of the Shirley Jackson Award, The Kathy Acker Award in Writing, the Cobalt Fiction Prize, and the Jerome Foundation Award for Emerging Writers. She was also a three-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in Tin House, Lit Hub, Electric Lit, Full Stop, The Evergreen Review, New York Quarterly, The Brooklyn Rail, Full Stop Magazine, Cleaver Magazine, Quaint, and many others.