We hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Halloween this weekend! We certainly had a most excellent time. Our store was absolutely PACKED for Larry Correia on Friday night. He was here on his book tour celebrating his release of Son of the Black Sword, the first in his Saga of the Forgotten Warrior fantasy series. Besides filling the evening with great stories, answering lots of questions, and signing books, he stayed until everyone had their books signed and then made sure to sign store stock, too. So, if you missed the great event, we still have a few (we sold quite a bit!) Larry Correia titles left, including hardbacks of Son of the Black Sword.
We also had a lovely time on Halloween with Trick-or-Treaters. As part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, we gave away books and toys (as an alternative candy options) to our costumed visitors. It was a lot of fun!
And now it’s November!
We’re launching into our holiday hours as of this week. Here they are:
Monday – Thursday: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
November is an especially hopping month here at our “bigger on the inside” 65 James Street bookstore—and there are even more things added since last week!
THIS FRIDAY, November 6; 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Join us for a discussion on the book, Sherlock Holmes from A to Z, an encyclopedia of persons, places, and objects found in Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved Sherlock Holmes books. Author CV Shea III is an attorney in Worcester County, as well as a lifelong fan, so he brings his real world experience with individuals who could have stepped out of Holmes’s and Watson’s cases.
And then, THIS SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, November 7-8, we are having a weekend-long event! Join us for A Celebration of William Joyce. Author and artist of the Guardians of Childhood series and many more books, Willam Joyce, is also an animator, and inspiration to many. His latest picture book, Jack Frost, is in the store now, and we’re partying all weekend! We will have readings from the many books written and illustrated by Joyce on the hour, every hour; costume contests throughout each day; and door prizes. There are six copies of Rise of the Guardians; Fan Fever, an unofficial fanbook compiled by Tumblr artist ionahi, for door prizes. For the costume contest, itself, there are two grand prizes of The Art of Rise of the Guardians books from the DreamWorks movie, as well as two runner-up prizes of DreamWorks Rise of the Guardians deluxe pop-up book. For costuming and cos-player fans overseas or who are unable to come into the store, ABSW is setting up a Skype link to join the costume contest with the in-store visitors. Send an email to Patty@anniesbookstopworcester.com with “William Joyce Celebration” in the subject line to set up a time and share Skype information.
And for the rest of the month…
NEW LISTING! Thursdays in November; 3:00 – 7:00 PM – Come Write In! ABSW opens our doors once again to participants of NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – and invites you to write your great novel amidst our shelves. We have coffee, outlets, and WiFi, so feel free to stop in and write with us on Thursdays this November!
Saturday, November 14; 2:00 – 4:00 PM – C.S.E. Cooney and Bone Swans. Join us for a beautiful afternoon of faery tales and twisted tales written and read by author and voice actor C.S.E Cooney.
NEW LISTING! Saturday, November 14; 6:00 – 8:00 PM – Rainbow Readers of Massachusetts hosts their first meeting as a book club focusing on fiction by and about the LGBTQA community! This month’s book is Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. The club is open to all, so come check it out!
PLAN AHEAD FOR Sunday, November 15; 6:00 – 9:00 PM – Star Trek Mystery Night! You are cordially invited to become crew members and beam aboard Captain Picard’s Starship enterprise for a lovely event—that turns into a mystery you must help solve! Pre-registration required – the first 8 people to RSVP will be the main game players and will be given the major character roles; $20 fee covers snacks and entertainment. (Costumes strongly encouraged.)
Thursday, November 19; 7:00 – 8:00 PM – Doctor Who Discussion: Other Time Lords (& Ladies) Patty gives another excellent talk about the longest-running science fiction serial!
Saturday, November 21; ALL DAY – Doctor Who Day! It’s the “birthday” of television’s longest-running science fiction serial, and the favorite of ASBW. Celebrate with an all-day party of discussion, trivia, games, a costume contest—and some surprises!
Thursday, November 26; ALL DAY – Happy Thanksgiving! The store will be closed for the holiday.
Friday, November 27; 7:00 – 8:30 – Worcester Storytellers feature Richard Fox.
Saturday, November 28; ALL DAY – ABSW Celebrates Small Business Saturday with Broad Universe! Local women authors and members of Broad Universe will be reading and sharing their work all day. Support the small business bookstore and the small business each and every author is running—and give back to your community! List of authors coming soon!
As a reminder, our regular events are…
Spinning Yarns Craft and Audiobook Social, every Monday 7:00 PM (except for when the Free People’s Artists Workshop meets the last Monday of the month). Bring a craft and enjoy an audiobook or audio drama with other crafty booklovers!
Worcester Storytellers, the fourth Friday of every month from 7-8:30 PM. For the complete updates and schedules, follow Worcester Storytellers on Facebook!
The Free People’s Artists Workshop, the last Monday of each month from 7:00-9:00 PM. Networking and feedback from other artists and creators of all types. Co-sponsored by the Worcester County Poetry Association.
Doctor Who Talks, the third Thursday of every month from 7:00 – 8:00 PM. Join us for a discussion of our favorite science fiction serial. Every month will have a different topic!
As always, keep an eye on our website and Facebook page for the most up-to-date information.
May your world be filled with wonderful words!