Fonda Lee - Tor/Forge Blog

Tor Books at NYCC 2022!

September 29, 2022May 14, 2024a cat1 Comment

We couldn’t be more thrilled to get back to the Big Apple—Tor Books is coming to New York Comic Con! Join the convention from October 6-9 (tickets for physical & virtual access can be bought here) for some amazing panels, and don’t forget to follow us on social media and the hashtag #TorNYCC2022 for announcements, sweepstakes, and more!

Thursday — October 6

Morning ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Kate Elliott, The Keeper’s Six

In-Booth Signing: Anne Heltzel

Booth 3027
2:00 – 3:00 PM
With her spine-chilling and sharp adult debut, Anne Heltzel (she/her) is a fresh new voice in horror!

Evening ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Leopoldo Gout, Piñata

Panel – Improbable Imaginings

Room 1B-02
3:45 – 4:45 PM

AKA Flights of Fantasy Fiction: Let your imagination soar through the fantastic tales of deadly games, royal intrigues, wuxia, espionage, and ancestral hauntings. Phoebe Cramer (Publishers Weekly) chats craft and creativity with Alex Aster (Lightlark), Alina Boyden (Gifting Fire), Wesley Chu (The Art of Prophecy), GennaRose Nethercott (Thistlefoot), and Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive).

Friday — October 7

Morning ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
J. R. Dawson, The First Bright Thing

Panel – Spotlight on Leigh Bardugo

Room 405
12:00 – 1:00 PM

Meet the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo! Ten years ago, her first book Shadow and Bone hit shelves – and now, the Grishaverse spans nine novels (including the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, the King of Scars duology), Demon in the Wood (the brand-new graphic novel prequel), and was the inspiration behind Netflix’s record-breaking original series. She’s also the author of adult fantasy Ninth House and its forthcoming sequel, Hell Bent. Celebrate a decade of Bardugo on this spotlight panel moderated by Tochi Onyebuchi.

In-Booth Signing: John Scalzi

Booth 3027
1:00 – 2:00 PM
One of the most popular SF authors of his generation + burrito chef / artist, John Scalzi (he/him) is here to sign some books 😎

**In-Booth Signing + ARC Giveaway: The Luminaries by Susan Dennard**

Booth 3027
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series Susan Dennard (she/her) returns with something haunting, something new: The Luminaries.

Evening ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Annalee Newitz, The Terraformers

In-Booth Signing: Tochi Onyebuchi

Booth 3027
4:00 – 5:00 PM
The awards and accolades of Tochi Onyebuchi (he/him) cannot be contained in the space allowed by his short blog introduction, which is just another accomplishment! So, put quickly: author of Riot Baby and Goliath & delightful nerd Tochi Onyebuchi will be signing in the above place at the above time!

Panel – Leaning into the Witchy

Room 1C-02
5:15 – 6:15 PM

Enjoy a tasty brew of witchcraft, magic, and practitioners conjured up by Celestine Martin (Witchful Thinking), Andy Mientus (Fraternity), Susan Dennard (The Luminaries), Scarlett St. Clair (When Stars Come Out) and Jenna Evans Welch (Spells for Lost Things), with Liberty Hardy (Book Riot Senior Contributing Editor) stirring the conversational pot. Post-panel signing by Susan Dennard @ Table 3-4!

Panel – Tor After Dark: Chaotic Book Club

Room 405
7:30 – 8:30 PM

Join a panel of Tor employees as they discuss some of their favorite book moments, give you an in depth sneak peek at upcoming reads and indulge in some real-talk book talk–all while answering questions from you along the way. If a pub trivia night, a Reddit AMA, and a book club had a baby…well it’d be really weird but it would also be this panel–which is why attendees are guaranteed to have a good time. Trivia prizes will be given and attendees will each receive a book.

Saturday — October 8

Panel – Calling All Monsters: On Liminality & Power Through the Lens of Speculative Fiction

Room 406.2
10:20 – 11:30 AM

When it comes to power, what better comes to mind than the literal ability to fly, shapeshift, or otherwise hold magic at your fingertips? Join Geeks OUT, as a panel of speculative fiction writers discusses how their characters interact with the supernatural, while navigating intersectional identities. Discussing how power manifests in more ways than one, speculative fiction addresses how members of marginalized communities fight back against real and fictional evils. Panelists include Alechia Dow (The Sound of Stars), Kylie Ren Baker (The Keeper of Night), Claribel A. Ortega (Witchlings), Alexandra Rowland (A Taste of Gold and Iron), Neon Yang (The Genesis of Misery), and moderated by Geeks OUT Editorial Coordinator, Michele Kirichanskaya.

Morning ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Malka Older, The Mimicking of Known Successes

In-Booth Signing: Amanda Foody & C. L. Herman

Booth 3027
12:00 – 1:00 PM
The powerhouse duo behind the bestselling dark YA fantasy All of Us Villains Duology, Amanda Foody (she/her) & C. L. Herman (they/she) are here to work some magic signing books!

Panel – Titans of Fantasy In Conversation

Room 405
12:00 – 1:00 PM

Join three of the biggest authors in the fantasy genre for a can’t miss conversation only at New York Comic Con! Brandon Sanderson (The Stormlight Archive), Diana Gabaldon (Outlander) and Terry Brooks (The Shannara Chronicles) will take the stage for a one-of-a-kind panel to discuss what it’s like to build iconic worlds that keep fans reading “just one more chapter”.

In-Booth Signing: Neon Yang

Booth 3027
1:00 – 2:00 PM
In previous incarnations, Neon (they/them) was a molecular biologist, a science communicator, a writer for animation, games and comic studios, and a journalist for one of Singapore’s major papers. Now they’re a writer of award-winning science-fiction. Oh, yeah, and also signing at our booth 😎

Q&A and Reading: Brandon Sanderson

Room 405
1:30 – 3:30 PM

In-Booth Signing: Alexandra Rowland

Booth 3027
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Alexandra Rowland (they/them) is the author of A Taste of Gold and Iron plus cohost of the four-time-Hugo-Award-nominated podcast Be the Serpent, all sternly supervised by their feline quality control manager. We’re just thankful their cat signed off on allowing them to sign books with us!

Evening ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Fonda Lee, Untethered Sky

Sunday — October 9

Morning ARC Giveaway

Booth 3027
10:00 – 11:00 AM
Moses Ose Utomi, The Lies of the Ajungo

In-Booth Signing: Jennifer Marie Brissett

Booth 3027
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Jennifer Marie Brissett (she/her) has warn many hats: software engineer, writer of critically-lauded science fiction, and proprietor of Indigo Café & Books in Brooklyn! Add to that list: author we’re so lucky to have signing at our booth!

In-Booth Signing: Paul Cornell

Booth 3027
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Paul Cornell’s (he/him) storied career of writing stories has taken him from TV to novels to comics! Today it takes him to our booth. Stop by and ask for his signature 😎

Pre-panel Signing: Jennifer Marie Brissett

Room 1C-03
Table 3-4
1:00 PM

Pre-panel Signing: Neon Yang, Tochi Onyebuchi, & John Scalzi

Room 1B-02
Table 3-4
2:45 PM

Evening Book Giveaway

Booth 3027
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Stan Lee & Jay Bonansinga, The Devil’s Quintet

Panel – Building on the Bones: Retold and Reimagined

Room 1C-03
3:00 – 4:00 PM

Authors draw inspiration from One Thousand and One Nights, Greek mythology including Persephone’s story, Chinese mythology, and tales of fate to create their original stories. Emily Calkins (Books Content Manager at Likewise) explores fantastic speculative worlds with Chelsea Abdullah (The Stardust Thief), Maya Deane (Wrath Goddess Sing), Emily X.R. Pan (An Arrow to the Moon), Kalynn Bayron (This Wicked Fate), and Jennifer Marie Brissett (Destroyer of Light).

Panel – The Future is Not Unwritten

Room 1B-02
3:45 – 4:45 PM

It’s impossible to predict what the future holds…but these authors have a pretty good shot at it. Go on a journey from our present day to so many possible futures as envisioned by some of science fictions brightest stars. From secret kaiju-ridden islands to far-flung intergalactic societies Jennifer Marie Brissett (Destroyer of Light) John Scalzi (The Kaiju Preservation Society) Neon Yang (The Genesis of Misery) and Tochi Onyebuchi (Goliath) write stories about our futures that tell us about our present.

Lists / What's New

The Books We’re Thankful For in 2021

December 31, 2021May 3, 2024Rachel Taylor

It’s the last day of the year and we’re looking back at the chaotic, indescribable year that was 2021 the only way we know how—through books. Check out the books that helped our staff get through 2021 here!

Lizzy Hosty, Marketing Intern (she/her)

A book that I’m definitely thankful for this year is All of Us Villains by Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman. I was so delightfully surprised by how impressive the world building was, and how immersed into the setting I felt. The cliffhanger at the end was absolutely wild, and I won’t be able to sit still until the second book comes out!

Desirae Friesan, Publicist (she/her)

There are so many books I loved this year, but one I keep coming back to is Katherine Addison’s The Witness for the Dead. Since The Goblin Emperor is one of my favorite books I was so delighted for more of Katherine Addison’s beautiful writing, and to be back in the world of The Goblin Emperor following Celehar as he drinks tea, listens to people’s problems, and tries to help . I cannot express how much I need this book this year, a book about grief, about daily strugglies, about justice, but most of all a book about healing and finding connection. Beyond the satisfaction of a mystery solved, when I put down this book I felt hopeful and uplifted, both for Celehar and for myself.

Samantha Friedlander, Marketing Assistant (she/her)

Comfort Me With Apples – This book was absolutely mind-blowing! For such a short novella, it packs a powerful punch and leaves you hungry for more.

For the Wolf – I loved the atmosphere of this book: dark, haunted, woodsy, and romantic. The romance was sweet and reminded me of so many other characters that I’ve loved over the years.

A Spindle Splintered – I loved the way that Sleeping Beauty was reframed in this novella. I loved the main character right from the very first line.

A Marvellous Light – The grumpy one falls for the sunshine one, plus magic and a murder mystery? How could I resist? This was another book with an amazing atmosphere that I sank right into.

Cemetery Boys – This book didn’t come out in 2021, but it was one of my favorite spooky season reads this year! There’s a beautiful romance, amazing characters, and magic that leaps off of the page.

a cat, Marketing Coordinator (he/him)

This year I’m thankful for flying magical islands, winged shapeshifting lions, and young adult books with adrenaline-fueled action and adventure that unfolds so addictingly fast you won’t put down the book until you’ve turned the final page. I’m talking about Shannon Price’s magnificent The Endless Skies, of course. This novel rocked. I loved it. So will you.

Julia Bergen, Marketing Manager (she/her)

I’m thankful that Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune exists! Really, I’m thankful to be in a world where TJ Klune exists and is writing such beautiful stories. The idea that I get to keep reading more books by him is a luxury I do not take lightly.

Yvonne Ye, Ad/Promo Assistant (she/her)

SORCERER OF THE WILDEEPS by Kai Ashante Wilson

Kai Ashante Wilson’s novella is so lyrically haunting and generically wall-breaking that I did a double take when I found out it had been published Six Whole Years Ago. The way Wilson slides effortlessly between registers of language to craft a gorgeous story of love and survival of mythic proportions is absolutely incomparable. Also, I challenge anyone to name another spear-and-sandal novella that casually drops “the exigencies of FTL travel” in the middle of a conversation. I’ll wait.

INTERIOR CHINATOWN by Charles Yu

Never have I ever met a diaspora book that was so poignantly incisive and utterly unhinged. I spent all 288 pages yelling about the way Charles Yu toys with (and gleefully manipulates) the formal elements of screenwriting to write a blistering critique of Asian portrayals in Hollywood and cinema that also managed to be a rollicking good ride all the way down. I lost my absolute mind when I realized the title itself was a play on “INT. CHINATOWN,” and this quote haunts me to this day:

“…If you didn’t know it already, now you do: old dudes from rural Taiwan are comfortable with their karaoke and when they do karaoke for some reason they love no one like they love John Denver.

Maybe it’s the dream of the open highway. The romantic myth of the West. A reminder that these funny little Orientals have actually been Americans longer than you have. Know something about this country that you haven’t yet figured out. If you don’t believe it, go down to your local karaoke bar on a busy night. Wait until the third hour, when the drunk frat boys and gastropub waitresses with headshots are all done with Backstreet Boys and Alicia Keys and locate the slightly older Asian businessman standing patiently in line for his turn, his face warmly rouged on Crown or Japanese lager, and when he steps up and starts slaying ‘Country Roads,’ try not to laugh, or wink knowingly or clap a little too hard, because by the time he gets to ‘West Virginia, mountain mama,’ you’re going to be singing along, and by the time he’s done, you might understand why a seventy-seven year-old guy from a tiny island in the Taiwan Strait who’s been in a foreign country for two-thirds of his life can nail a song, note perfect, about wanting to go home.”

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by Shelley Parker-Chan

Speaking of books that made me lose my absolute mind, Shelley Parker-Chan’s debut novel smashed every expectation I had for it and more. With every page of bilingual excellence and imaginative historical reclamation, I became cemented in my belief that Shelley Parker-Chan is the mad diaspora genius we didn’t know we could have and desperately needed. I try not to foist books on my friends because we all have guilt-inducing TBR piles, but I definitely shoved this one in everyone’s face approximately thirty seconds into casual conversation.

Rachel Taylor, Marketing Manager (she/her)

I am very lucky that I got to read A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows early and wow, what a treat. It has basically everything I could ever want from a book—a queer romance, mutual pining, and lush prose that left me longing for more. I can’t wait for everyone to read this one in 2022!

Kaleb Russell, Marketing Assistant (he/him)

The temerity of Luster by Raven Leilani is absolutely awe-inspiring. This stupendous debut was a tumultuous journey consisting of countless painful, cringe-worthy moments and I relished every second of it. The novel gives an earnest portrayal of a 23-year-old black woman named Edie trying to find her way… and falling flat on her face several times throughout the process. And *that’s* what makes this book so stunning; it’s willingness to be messy! It’s not often you get this sort of portrayal of Black women in fiction, one where they’re not held up to this absurd standard of Black Exceptionalism™.

Here, Edie gets to be this flawed person who makes some *extremely* misguided decisions and isn’t derided for it. She’s a hot mess like the rest of us, but that doesn’t mean she’s any less deserving of love and contentment. Leilani’s precise characterization and sumptuous prose makes Luster a life-affirming narrative about the growing pains of your 20s and all the beauty and anguish it entails.

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee – The final book in Fonda Lee’s perilous Green Bone Saga left me in tears. Lee’s ability to write a compelling family drama is exemplary. Conversations and arguments between characters are more gripping, more pulse pounding than any jade duel. Words cut deeper than talon knives. This is easily one of the most remarkable trilogy endings I’ve had the honor of reading.
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark – After reading A Dead Djinn In Cairo (and just about everything else Clark has penned) I knew his debut novel would be nothing short of spectacular. And I was correct! Clark’s version of Cairo (like all of his worlds) is one rife with wondrous magic and infinite possibility. Fatma el-Sha’arawi remains a compelling main character who is as charismatic and wise as she is dapper. And best believe this woman’s fashion sense is impeccable! I hope we see more books in this universe.

What books helped you get through 2021? Let us know in the comments!