My new book, CATFISHING ON CATNET, is coming out on November 19th, which is in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS. I have several related upcoming events that local people (and even non-local-people) might be interested in.

Thursday, November 21st, 7-8 p.m. – Sci-Fi Night at Magers & Quinn with Sue Burke, Naomi Kritzer, and Marissa Lingen 

Sue Burke will be reading from her book INTERFERENCE, in which we’ve met intelligent aliens and they are plants. Marissa Lingen will be reading a short story about genetically-engineered modern-day mastodons. I will be reading from CATFISHING ON CATNET. We’ll do some Q&A, and we’ll be happy to sign your copies of our work. It will be fun! Magers & Quinn is at 3038 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55408.

Find out more about this event at the Magers & Quinn Events page.

Friday, November 22nd, 7-8:30 p.m. – The Loft Presents If: Catfishing on Catnet: Naomi Kritzer with Kelly Barnhill

Kelly Barnhill is a Newbery-medal-winning author of middle grade fiction and also a friend of mine. We’re going to sit on a stage and chat about books, writing, Internet privacy, online friendship, and any other topics that strike our fancy (if you’d like to come and have any topics you’re itching to have us cover, leave a comment or send me an e-mail?) There will also be a SLIDE SHOW OF CAT PICTURES, so if we get boring, you can just stare at the cat pictures and think “awwwwwwwwwww!” (Cat pictured: a random very friendly cat we met in Iceland.)

This is a ticketed event. Tickets are available from the Loft website.  The event will be at Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415. Books will be available for purchase at the event, and we will be happy to sign things.

Saturday, November 23rd, 1-2 p.m. – Signing at Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Books.

This is just a signing, but — note, out-of-town readers! — you can put in an order for the book at Uncle Hugo’s, let them know how you want it signed (like, do you want it signed to Jane Smith or do you just want a signature), and they’ll have me sign it while I’m there and then they’ll ship it to you. (You can do the same with any of my other books and even some of the magazines with my work — here’s the order page.)

You can feel free to show up with anything you want signed — Uncle Hugo’s doesn’t have a policy of “only books bought HERE, TODAY.” (If you bring a stack of stuff bought from Amazon, and feel a twinge of guilt, I would encourage you to expiate your guilt by buying some additional items from their store while you’re there. They have a fantastic selection of new and used, they have signed copies from many fine local authors, and they are under one roof with Uncle Edgar’s, which sells mystery.)

Uncle Hugo’s is at 2864 Chicago Ave S., Minneapolis, MN 55407. If you’d prefer to place your order over the phone, you can call them at 612-824-6347.

If you’re looking at these events and feeling stymied about which one to go to, here’s a quick guide:

• If you want to hear me read from my work (along with Sue Burke and Marissa Lingen), go to Magers & Quinn on November 21st at 7 p.m.
• If you want to hear me talk about my work (along with Kelly Barnhill), go to the Loft at Open Book on November 22nd at 7 p.m. (But don’t forget it’s a ticketed event. You can buy a ticket here.)
• If you really aren’t interested in hearing me say anything in particular but would like a signed copy, go to Uncle Hugo’s on November 23rd at 1 p.m.
• If you want a signed copy but prefer not to leave your house (or, you know, if you live somewhere far from Minneapolis), go to the Uncle Hugo’s website and put in an order for a signed copy.

I got my box of books last week so I now have beautiful hardcover copies of my book, and I am so excited for this book to be out in the world! It’s gotten starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly (which called it “an entertaining, heart-filled exploration of today’s online existence and privacy concerns”) and from Kirkus (which called it “wickedly funny and thrilling in turns”) and I’m so excited for anyone who’s enjoyed my other novels, my short stories, or my political blogging to have a chance to read it.