February’s Newsletter features a giveaway of The Summer Prince, our programming kickoff, and a lot of book news.

The Summer Prince Giveaway!
We have a copy of Alaya Dawn Johnson’s The Summer Prince to send to one lucky commenter! Here’s what it’s about:

The lush city of Palmares Tres shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Tres will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

If you’d like us to send you a copy, tell us about your favorite piece of art—real or imaginary!—in a comment of at least two sentences by February 25, 2013, at this post on the Sirens blog.

We’ll choose one lucky winner from the participants and contact them for a mailing address. Current Sirens staff members are not eligible to win, though they may leave a comment, but all volunteers, attendees, and I-wish-I-could-attendees are welcome to tell us their favorites.

Programming Kickoff
The programming team at Sirens is ready to receive your proposals for this year’s conference! Programming at Sirens takes many forms: papers and presentations, pre-empaneled sets of papers, panels, workshops, roundtable discussions, and afternoon classes and the majority of programming for Sirens comes from proposals submitted by attendees. New and returning attendees alike are welcome to participate. We consider proposals from a range of perspectives, fields, and experiences. Anyone eligible to attend Sirens is eligible to submit a programming proposal.

In March, we’ll be running a series of how-to guides for new and experienced presenters, and soon we’ll be announcing our brainstorming and question-and-answer chats. In the meantime, here is some essential information to get you started:

Deadline: All proposals must be submitted through our online system by May 10, 2013.

Theme: This year’s theme is “reunion.” Remix and revisit any of the themes from the first four years of Sirens or explore other topics related to women in fantasy literature.

Requirements: You don’t have to be registered at the time you make your proposal, but accepted presenters must be registered by July 1, 2013, to confirm attendance.

For more information: The programming section of the Sirens website has information on presentation formats and lengths, things to consider, and the support the conference may be able to provide (projection services, easels, etc.).

If you have a question that’s not answered by the website, the programming team can be reached at (programming at sirensconference.org).

Registration Price Jumps March 31
The next price increase for Sirens will happen on March 31, 2013.

Registration cost includes entry to conference programming and events, including the three keynote presentations by our guests of honor and a conference T-shirt available only to attendees, as well as four meals or receptions. Currently, the cost of registration is $185. It jumps to $195 at the very end of March. Visit http://www.sirensconference.org/registration/ for more information or to register now.

What We’re Excited About This Month:

Holly Black revealed the cover for The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

Guadalupe Garcia McCall’s Summer of the Mariposas is on the 2013 Amelia Bloomer list recognizing “well written and illustrated books with significant feminist content, intended for young readers from birth to 18 years old.”

Alaya Dawn Johnson is featured in a profile at The Brown Bookshelf.

If you purchased Malinda Lo’s Adaptation as an e-book, check out her announcement to see if you need to update it. She has announced the title and cover for the sequel.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan is featured in Publishers Weekly. It was released on February 5.

Speaking of dragons, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman won the 2013 Morris Award, which “honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature.”

Tamora Pierce won the 2013 Edwards award, which “honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature.”

Cindy Pon on virgin saviors and murderous succubi.

Nalo Hopkinson’s Sister Mine, out in March, will also be released as an audiobook.

Laini Taylor has news on the film producer for Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Have exciting fantasy book news for us? Send it to (help at sirensconference.org) by February 27th and we’ll include it in our next newsletter!

Until next time, happy reading!

Questions? You can comment here or write to us at (help at sirensconference.org).