YA fiction, thrillers and a queer science fiction, fantasy panel
Juliet Grames, an author and book editor who was born in Hartford and grew up in Simsbury, will speak at a free program hosted by The Friends of the Simsbury Public Library at the library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, on Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are requested by Oct. 1.
Grames’ bestselling debut novel, “The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna,” is a fictionalized version of her grandmother’s difficult life as an Italian emigrant from Calabria to Connecticut. It deals frankly with poverty, family feuds, mistreatment of women and struggles of immigrant families.
Registration: at the library or simsburylibrary.info (click on “Calendar”) or 860-6587663. hostage crisis at a reproductive health services clinic.
Tickets are $20 to $30 and include a signed paperback copy and the opportunity to meet and be photographed with Picoult. She is the best-selling author of 25 novels, and with her daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels. Tickets and information: banksquarebooks.com.
Poets Brent Terry and Nicole Panteleakos will give a free program at Poets Corner in Julia de Burgos Park at Jackson Street and Terry Avenue in Willimantic on Sept. 26 at 6 p.m.
Panteleakos is a middle-grade author and playwright whose debut novel is “Planet Earth Is Blue.” Terry is the author of several poetry collections, as well as stories, plays, essays, reviews and a forthcoming novel. He teaches creative writing and literature at Eastern Connecticut State University.
Curbstone Poetry Project will host the event. Attendees may sit in the amphitheater or bring seating. In bad weather, the reading will be at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 220 Valley St., Willimantic.
Information: jonathanandersenpoet.com or facebook.com/CurbstoneLiteraryProject
The Storyteller’s Cottage, 750 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, will present a talk on Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. with local author Serene
Hackel, whose book is “Skipper Goes to War: The True Story of a Pilot and His Dog,” about a cocker spaniel who was a good luck charm for B-17 Flying Fortress crewmen in World War II. The cost is $5.
On Sept. 26 at 7 p.m., a talk with Mary K. Savarese will focus on her book, “Tigers Love Bubble Baths & Obsession Perfume: Who Knew?” a three-generation spiritual mystery. The cost is $5.
Pre-registration: StorytellersCottage.com/book-online. Julia Booksellers of Madison.
Flay will be in conversation with “Food Schmooze” radio host Faith Middleton. His latest cookbook, “Bobby at Home,” offers 165 recipes and pro tips on cooking. VIP admission is $70 and includes a 5:30 p.m. photo opportunity with Flay, priority seating and two signed copies of the book. General admission is $35 and includes one signed copy of the book.
On Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at the bookstore, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, three YA authors will take part in a free Queer Science Fiction And Fantasy Panel. Connecticut author Rebecca Podos, Lambda Literary Award–winning author of “Like Water,” will discuss “The Wise and the Wicked,” about a Russian immigrant family whose women can foretell their destiny. Ryan La Sala will discuss “Reverie,” his forthcoming fantasy novel about queer teens struggling to master their powers and to defeat a dangerous sorceress. Rebecca Kim Wells’ fantasy, “Shatter the Sky,” involves a young woman who steals a dragon to rescue her kidnapped girlfriend.
On Sept. 28 at 5 p.m. Peter Zheutlin will give a free talk about “The Dog Went Over the Mountain: Travels With Albie: An American Journey.” It is about a man turning 65 who undertakes a 9,000 mile journey with his aging rescue dog to explore contemporary America. Zheutlin is a journalist and best-selling author of “Rescue Road.”
All require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
At Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore, 413 Main St., Middletown, on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m., Phil Buchanan, Wesleyan ’92, will be in conversation with Elysa Gordon, Wesleyan ’89. Buchanan is president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and author of “Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count.” Gordon is vice president and senior advisor to the president at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
A Local Author Fiction Program will be held at 7 p.m. on Sept. 25. Dana Buckmir is the author of “Plenty of Laughs,” about online dating in Florida. L.M. Pampuro is the author of the thriller set in the Caribbean, “Maximum Trouble.” J.R. McCabe is the author of “Here I Am,” about a woman who becomes entangled in a secret transcendental world.
On Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. Wesleyan University President Michael S. Roth will be in conversation with Roxanne Coady, founder of RJ Julia Booksellers. They will discuss his book, “Safe Enough Spaces,” about the crises confronting higher education.
On Sept. 27 at 7 p.m., Russian novelist Yuz Aleshkovsky will be in conversation with Wesleyan professors Duffield White and Susanne Fusso. Aleshkovsky’s books are known for blending realism and fantasy and clever use of Russian obscene language.
Information: 860-685-3939 or wesleyanrjjulia.com.
On Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at at Hall Memorial Library, 93 Main St., Ellington, author Cynthia Parzych will discuss “Connecticut Made,” her guidebook to items made and marketed in the state. Pre-register: library.ellington-ct.gov or 860-870-3160
Book Club Bookstore & More has closed, but its Book Club on the Go program will continue to present events.
On Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. at Wood Memorial Library 783 Main St., South Windsor, Paul Eno, a journalist, broadcaster and author, will give a free talk with his son and partner Ben Eno, about “Dancing Past the Graveyard: Poltergeists, Parasites, Parallel Worlds and God.”
Reservations and information: bookclubct.com or 860-265-6077 or facebook.com/BookClubCT/events.
Bank Square Books of Mystic will present a free talk on Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. at 1 Enders Island, Mystic, by Len Mattano, to launch his new novel, “Celtic Crossing.” It is an inspirational suspense story about a holy relic credited with curing cancer. Mattano, of Mystic, is a pediatric oncologist, clinical researcher, professor and author. banksquarebooks.com.