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Wow!

The Quirk HQ is all a flutter this morning, with the news that the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: Interactive Book App is currently the iPad App of the Week in the iTunes store.

The App, which is a joint effort with the award winning digital media studio PadWorx, is currently getting a lot of buzz in the press, with stories popping up on DreadCentral, MSNBC's Gadgetbox, MediaBistro and more.

It's an exciting time for us! Right now the App is only $4.99, a special limited time promotional price. Grab it while its hot, zombie lovers. 

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: The Interactive Book App [iTunes]

We all know that bros can be downright poetic, but are these seemingly unflappable dudes afraid of anything? As it turns out, they are, especially during trick or treat time.

Thus in what surely will go down as the finest meme of the 2011 Halloween season, the Niagara Falls haunted house Nightmares Fear Factory has been posting pictures of dudebros who have been scared silly by the attraction. For today’s moment of Zen, check out this photo gallery.

These hilarious fear pics prove that behind their carefully crafted masculine exteriors, bros get terrified by zombies and ghosts too.

See? They’re just like us!

Quirk Goes to New York Comic Con 2011 from Quirk Books on Vimeo.

So as always, New York Comic Con was an absolute blast.

We had a great time this year, meeting Quirk fans, marveling over the costumed cosplayers and trying to nab as much swag as we possibly could. Best sellers at the convention included Geek Wisdom, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and… Crafting with Cat Hair. People just couldn’t believe it was for real. Crafting with Cat Hair flew off our table and come Sunday, we were sold out.

We also quickly ran out of our Taft 2012 pins. People are clearly eager to support the movement. DRAFT TAFT!

You can check out some of our favorite costumes in the video above, and in our Flickr gallery.

See you next year, con goers.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Life is a game of chess. Somethingsomething Queen takes King. I don’t know.

Chess, that master game of strategy, has always been a popular motif in literature and popular culture, especially in the realms of genre fiction, and the Chessmaster himself is often one of the most popular characters in the story. You know what I’m talking about – he’s smug, clever, full of secrets hid behind a smarmy little smirk. He knows the endgame well before the first pawn is placed, and he spends the entire story manipulating his opponent(s) to reach that one desired outcome, whatever it might be.

Sometimes he’s the most evil guy on the board, playing tricks and screwing over everyone to serve his mysterious purpose. Sometimes, he’s the greatest hero, who just knows what has to happen to ensure that the good guys win. Either way, we’re fascinated by him. Try as the reader or audience might, the Chessmaster always remains 3 to 4,000 steps ahead of them – he always keeps us guessing. And even when we think we’ve got him figured out, suddenly the Pawn becomes a Queen and the game is just beginning.

Here are (in no particular order) 10 of the more notable Chessmasters in the realm of pop culture/fiction. Granted, not all of them won in the end, but certainly all knew how to play the game. Some spoilers to follow, but I’ll try to avoid giving away too many details and ruining the fun.

This Saturday, Quirk Books is participating in Word On The Street, a book festival going down in Toronto. It's an annual event chock full of great publishers and booksellers, author meet & greets, and of course, plenty of books to purchase. While we won't actually be there in person (I wish!), our books sure will.

At the festival, you'll be able to pick up copies of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Night of the Living Trekkies, the Meowmorphosis, Bedbugs and all three novels in the Pride & Prejudice & Zombies trilogy. You can spot us at Booth #201 & #202.

In addition to the publishers and authors showcasing their works and the epic marketplace of books, there are a number of fabulous events going on at the festival. A scavenger hunt, cooking demonstrations by some of Canada's top chefs, a cartooning workshop for kids, and our good friends at Random House CA are showcasing some new authors in their Remarkable Reads tent. And that's just to name a few! For the full list, visit their official website.

This bookish celebration runs from 11am to 6pm and is rain or shine. Cross your fingers for a sunny day!

Word On The Street
Sunday, September 25th, 11am to 6pm
www.thewordonthestreet.ca

Bedbugs, the latest novel from Ben H. Winters (New York Times best-selling author of Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters), came out this past Tuesday… and well, it wouldn't be a Quirk fiction release without a proper book trailer, right?

That being said, I'd like to welcome you all to 56 Cranberry Street.

For this trailer, we worked with Epic Image Entertainment, the same folks behind the hilarious Meowmorphosis and Night of the Living Trekkies trailers. As always, we were thrilled with the results. Enjoy the trailer, and be sure to share it with all your friends.

Sleep tight.