Write Stuff: Free Talks From Authors Of Baseball Bio, Young Adult Novels

Author K. Patrick Ober will give a “The Trouble Begins At 5:30” talk on Wednesday, June 8, at 5:30 p.m., following a 5 p.m. reception at the Twain House & Museum, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.

Ober will discuss “Membranous Croup & Mind Cure: The Medical History of Susy, Clara and Jean Clemens,” about the experiences of Mark Twain’s family with the medical crises and treatments of his day. Ober is the author of “Any Mummery Will Cure,” about Twain’s own interactions with medicine and how the diseases and epidemics of that era affected his family and his literary work.

This event is free, but a $5 donation is requested. Reservations: 860-247-0998 or marktwainhouse.org.

100-Year Baseball Journey

Authors Karl Cicitto and Alan Cohen will give a free talk on Thursday, June 9, at 6:30 p.m. at Kent Memorial Library, 61 Ffyler Place, Suffield, on their book, “100: The 100 Year Journey of a Baseball Journeyman, Mike Sandlock” (Society for American Baseball Research, $14.95). Sandlock, who lived in Connecticut, was the oldest living former major leaguer when he died April 4. He played in the 1940s and 1950s for the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates and was known for his skill at catching knuckleballs.

Cicitto, of Suffield, and Cohen, of West Hartford, are members of the Society for American Baseball Research, or SABR, which promotes scholarly research and preservation of baseball history. Registration: suffield-library.org or 860-668-3896 or at the library.

WordForge Reading Series

Poets Joan Seliger Sidney and Victoria Muñoz will give a free WordForge Reading Series program, followed by an open mike, on Monday, June 6, at 7 p.m., at The Studio @ Billings Forge, 563 Broad St., Hartford.

Sidney’s collections include “Body of Diminishing Motion: Poems and a Memoir” (CavanKerry Press, $14) and “Bereft and Blessed: Poems” (Antrim House, $18), and she has been widely published in literary journals. She is writer-in-residence at the University of Connecticut’s Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life and leads “Writing for Your Life” workshops for adults.

Muñoz is a performance poet and music therapist, flutist and singer/song-writer, whose poetry has been published in such journals as Caduceus and Appleseeds as well as in chapbooks. Information: 860-508-2810 or wfreadings.blogspot.com.

How To Write Your Book

Dawn Metcalf, who writes novels for young adult readers, will give a free talk, “From ‘Once Upon a Time’ to ‘Happily Ever After:’ How to Write Your Book from Beginning to End” on Tuesday, June 7, at 6:30 p.m., at Tolland Town Hall, 21 Tolland Green, for the Tolland Public Library Foundation’s Eaton-Dimock-King Authors Series.

Metcalf, who lives in Connecticut, is the author of “Luminous,” a young adult paranormal fantasy, and “Indelible,” “Invisible” and “Insidious,” a trilogy about a fantasy world known as “The Twixt.” Registration is required: 860-871-3620 or tolland.org/library.

‘How To Speak Golf’

On Saturday, June 11, at 2 p.m., author Sally Cook will sign copies of “How to Speak Golf” (Flatiron Books, $15.99) at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot. The book explains the history of the game and origins of many of the words and phrases, from ace to zinger, with amusing illustrations by Ross MacDonald. Cook has co-written “Another Season: A Coach’s Story of Raising an Exceptional Son,” with football coach Gene Stallings, and “How to Speak Baseball” and “Hey Batta Batta Swing!: The Wild Old Days of Baseball,” with James Charlton. Information: 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.

Roar Reading Series

The Roar Reading Series, presented by Elephant Rocks Books, will offer a program on Monday, June 6, at 7 p.m. at the UConn Co-op Bookstore, 1 Royce, Circle, 101 Storrs Center, Storrs.

The featured writers are Lisa C. Taylor, the award-winning author of a short story collection, “Growing a New Tail” (Arlen House, $22.95) and four collections of poetry; Diane Vivona, who writes about dance and contemporary art; and David Capella, a poet, novelist and professor of English at Central Connecticut State University. Information: roarreadingseries.com.

Author At Book Club

R. C. Goodwin, author of “The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club” (Langdon Street Press, $15.99), will give a free talk on Saturday, June 11, at 10:30 a.m., at Book Club Bookstore, 100 Main St., in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor.

His collection of six short stories and a novella explores prison life: how people end up there, whether they can change and adjust later to freedom, how they deal with death row, how victim’s families suffer, how prison jobs affect workers and other questions. Goodwin is a psychiatrist with almost 30 years of experience working in prisons, jails and a facility for the criminally insane. Information: 860-623-5100 or bookclubct.com.

Terry McMillan In Wilton

Terry McMillan, who has written many best-selling novels, will speak Tuesday, June 7, at 7 p.m., at Wilton Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, about her latest book, “I Almost Forgot About You” (Crown, $27). Her talk is free.

McMillan’s debut novel, “Mama,” won the Doubleday New Voices in Fiction Award and the American Book Award. Her best-selling books include “Waiting to Exhale”, “The Interruption of Everything,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Who Asked You?” Her new novel is about a successful woman who reacts to a tragedy by reinventing herself. Information: 203-762-3950 or wiltonlibrary.org.

Authors At Bank Square Books

Lucy Bellwood, author of “Baggywrinkles: A Lubber’s Guide to Life at Sea” (Toonhound Studios LLC, $19.99), will sign copies on Sunday, June 5, from 1 to 3 p.m., at Bank Square Books, 53 W. Main St., Mystic.

Bellwood, a cartoonist, sailed on square-rigged vessels for months to research maritime lore and experiences for her amusing and informative book, including the meanings of sailor’s tattoos, the treatment of scurvy and the bad results of walking the plank.

On Tuesday, June 7, at noon, Bank Square Books will present the first event in its Summer Author Luncheon series, with Dinitia Smith, the author of “The Honeymoon” (Other Press, $26.95). Tickets are $35 and includes lunch and a hardcover copy of the book, which is based on the life of George Eliot, author of the classic novel, “Middlemarch.”

Eliot, the pen name for Mary Ann Evans, was the most famous writer of her day. Smith’s book tells of Eliot’s honeymoon in 1880 with her 20-years-younger husband, following the death of her previous companion of 26 years.

Smith’s other novels are “Hard Rain” and “Remember This.” She is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and a national correspondent for culture at the New York Times.

On Saturday, June 11, from 1 to 3 p.m., author Jess Maghan and photographer Sam Lindberg will sign copies of their collection, “Forty Sons and Daughters Finding Father Within” (Elm Grove Press, $18.95), which offers 40 short essays that tell how their fathers influenced the writers. Information and author luncheon tickets: 860-536-3795 or banksquarebooks.com.