One of the things that make the Shore Leave convention unique is that in addition to the usual media guests it provides fans with an opportunity to meet and speak with the editors and many of the authors involved in creating the Pocket Books line of Star Trek fiction.

Held July 8th-10th as it is annually at the Hunt Valley Inn in Baltimore, Maryland, this year's convention, Shore Leave 27, was no exception. This year's guests included editors Marco Palmieri and Elisa J. Kassin as well as authors Kirsten Beyer, Greg Cox, Peter David, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Kevin Dilmore, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Robert Jeschonek, Jeffrey Lang, David Mack, Terri Osborne, Kim Sheard, Dayton Ward, Howard Weinstein and Susan Wright.

A highlight for the fans attending Shore Leave is a presentation of upcoming titles where announcements about the next year's books are made. Pocket Books editor Marco Palmieri began this year's presentation with a rundown of the titles scheduled for the remainder of this year. He also provided a preview of what there is to look forward to in 2006 and beyond which will follow in a separate report.

Now available in stores is Star Trek: Voyager String Theory, Book One: Cohesion by Jeffrey Lang. Part of the celebration commemorating the 10th anniversary of Voyager, String Theory is a new trilogy set between Voyager's fourth and fifth seasons which Palmieri assured fans "will take you on a really wild ride." Book Two, Fusion by Kirsten Beyer, will follow in November of this year with the third book, Evolution by Heather Jarman, coming in early in 2006.

In addition to the String Theory trilogy a special anthology of 12 short stories set during the series is also planned. Entitled Star Trek Voyager: Distant Shores, the trade paperback volume will be available in November and feature stories from Christopher L. Bennett, Kirsten Beyer, Ilsa J. Bick, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Robert Greenberger, Heather Jarman, Robert Jeschonek, Jeffrey Lang, Terri Osborne, Kim Sheard, James Swallow and Geoffrey Thorne.

Harbinger the first novel in the newest Star Trek literary series Star Trek: Vanguard made its debut at Shore Leave. Harbinger, written by bestselling author David Mack will be generally available in August.

According to Palmieri, "Vanguard is a new Star Trek fiction concept that is essentially a new look at the era of the original series. It runs parallel to what we saw on television and will give you a completely new appreciation for the era in which Kirk, Spock and McCoy were having their adventures."

Coming in September is the mass-market paperback edition of Exodus, the first book in the Vulcan's Soul trilogy by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz. The hardback edition of Exodus came out last year.

Also available in September will be Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman. This is the first post Nemesis novel set aboard the Enterprise-E. Death in Winter focuses on the nature of the relationship between Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard.

October will see the release of the second Star Trek: Titan novel, The Red King by Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin. The Red King picks up where the first book, Taking Wing, left off and takes Titan into the Small Magellanic Cloud which many fans may remember from Mangels and Martin's Lost Era novel The Sundered.

The next Enterprise novel, Rosetta by Dave Stern, will hit stores in December. Rosetta focuses on the character of Hoshi Sato and the development of the universal translator.

Keep in mind that publishing schedules must sometimes be changed for any variety of reasons so as always the planned schedule can be subject to change. Much more detail about the String Theory trilogy, the new Vanguard series, what's coming up in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers series, the Titan series and all the news about the 2006 releases will follow soon in separate reports so be sure to check back in the coming days for much more news.

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