Readings at Wise Fool and Collected Works Bookstore

Root beer floats, aerial acrobatics, bouncy folky music by Eileen and the In-Betweens, and books, books, books are at the center of an all-ages, family-friendly party celebrating new releases by three queer authors at Wise Fool Studio (1131-B Siler Road, 505-992-2588) from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 3. Alexandra Diaz is the author of the young-adult novel Of All the Stupid Things (EgmontUSA, 2011) and the middle-grade novel The Only Road, coming in October from Simon & Schuster/ Paula Wiseman Books, in which a twelve-year-old boy decides to flee his home in Guatemala to live with his older brother in New Mexico. Kim Gryphon is the author of Shadow Flare, a self-published young-adult sciencefiction novel about Estel, a teen who must travel from her home world to a shadow world to connect with her shadow spirit. Bisi Ademulegun earned a bachelor’s degree from Santa Fe University of Art and Design; her Welted Backs is a collection of prose about social issues written during her undergraduate career. The authors read from their works amid a festive atmosphere that also includes stilt-walking. Admission to the event is free, with donations accepted to benefit Wise Fool New Mexico and the Santa Fe Mountain Center.

Collected Works Bookstore (202 Galisteo St., 505-988-4226) hosts its monthly short-short story open mic at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Readers should arrive at 5:30 p.m. to sign up for five-minute slots. Though flash-fiction or narratives that can be read in their entirety in the allotted time are preferred, excerpts from longer works are acceptable. A to-be-announced local author will address the group on elements of the writer’s craft, short-story development, and general writerly inspiration. — Jennifer Levin