Thriller author Lisa Gardner will be in conversation with a special guest, fellow thriller writer Joe Finder, at Mohegan Sun’s Cabaret Theater, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd, Uncasville, on Friday, Feb. 12, at 7:30 p.m.
Gardner’s latest thriller, “Find Her” (Dutton, $27), is based on her extensive research into FBI procedures and features a recovering kidnapping victim who now may be a vigilante. mohegansun.com or 888-226-7711.
‘Love Between The Covers’
Tickets are on sale now for “Love Between the Covers,” a movie that explores the billion-dollar romance-fiction industry, which will be shown Feb. 14 at 1 p.m. at the Palace Theater, 165 Main St., Danbury.
The event is sponsored by the CoLoNY chapter of Romance Writers of America, whose members live in southern Connecticut and parts of New York. Local CoLoNY authors will answer questions or chat, and there will be raffles, chocolates and other giveaways.
The film follows the lives of five diverse romance fiction authors. The genre is said to gross more than a billion dollars a year, more than mystery, sci-fi and fantasy books combined. Tickets are $15. 203-794-9944 or thepalacedanbury.com/index.php.
Crossley At Trinity
Trinity College’s free A.K. Smith Reading Series continues Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 4:30 p.m. in Smith House, 123 Vernon St., Hartford, with author Sloane Crosley, whose new book is “The Clasp” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $26), her debut novel.
The book is a comic international adventure story about three college buddies who trace a necklace stolen by the Nazis to the French estate of Guy de Maupassant, author of the classic story “The Necklace.”
Crosley is the author of several bestselling essay collections: “I Was Told There’d Be Cake,” “How Did You Get This Number” and the e-book “Up The Down Volcano.” She has been editor of “The Best American Travel Writing” series and has contributed to such anthologies as “The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to The Onion” and “The Best American Non-required Reading.” Information: Christina.Bolio@trincoll.edu or 860-297-2036.
Abolitionist, Author And Orator
Historian David W. Blight, a Yale professor and award-winning author, will give a free talk about 19th century abolitionist, author and orator Frederick Douglass on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford.
At age 20, Douglass emancipated himself and became an anti-slavery activist. Stowe credited his autobiography as a source for her depiction of slavery in her novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Blight’s biography of Douglass will be published by Simon and Schuster this year. Reservations: Info@StoweCenter.org or 860-522-9258, ext. 317.
The Audacity Of Hoop
Alexander Wolff, author of “The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama” (Temple University Press, $40), will give a free talk and sign books on Monday, Feb. 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the UConn Co-op Bookstore, One Royce Circle, 101 Storrs Center, Storrs.
Wolff is a best-selling author and a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. His book, which has 130 photographs, explores how President Obama’s love of basketball helped to shape his identity and style of governing, as well as his influence on the NBA and the political consciousness of its players, his style of play and his method of “bracketology.” Information: 860-486-8525 or coopbks@uconn.edu.
Betts At UConn
Poet and memoirist Reginald Dwayne Betts will give a free presentation sponsored by The Long River Reading Series and the UConn Creative Writing program on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 6 p.m. at the UConn Co-op Bookstore, One Royce Circle, 101 Storrs Center, Storrs.
His “A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison” won the 2010 NAACP Image Award for non-fiction. His poetry collections are “Shahid Reads His Own Palm” and “Bastards of the Reagan Era” (Four Way Books, $15.95).
Now a student at Yale Law School, Betts was appointed in 2012 to the Coordinating Council of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention by President Obama. Information: 860-486-8525 or coopbks@uconn.edu.
Authors At R.J. Julia
R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, will present free talks by authors. Both take place at 7 p.m. and require reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com .
Author Emma Seppala, science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University and an authority on health psychology, well-being, and resilience, will discuss “The Happiness Track: How to Apply the Science of Happiness to Accelerate Your Success By (HarperOne, $27.99) on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Seppala says ideas about attaining success through focus, discipline, drive and talents are outmoded and that attaining happiness and fulfillment is what leads to professional success. She frequently writes for Psychology Today, Harvard Business Review, and the Huffington Post.
Maureen Sherry will discuss her novel, “Opening Belle” (Simon & Schuster, $25), on Wednesday, Feb. 10. After 12 years on Wall Street, Sherry, who had been the youngest managing director at Bear Stearns, left the investment industry to become a writer. Her novel, narrated by a former Wall Street insider, is about a working woman balancing a tough job, three kids, a slacker husband and the return of an old flame, as well as coping with sexual harassment at work and trying to smash the “glass ceiling” that holds women back.
Authors & Artisans
Book Club Bookstore & More, 100 Main St. in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, will hold an Authors & Artisans Valentine’s Shopping Event Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Taking part will be Judith Dreyer, author of “At the Garden’s Gate” (Freisen Press, $13.99), a journal about creating a meadow of medicinal and edible plants; June Hyjek, author of the inspirational “Unexpected Grace: A Discovery of Healing Through Surrender” (Meridian Media $16.95); poet Joan Kantor, author of “Fading into Focus, A Memoir in Verse” (CreateSpace, $12) and “Shadow Sounds” (Antrim House, $15); and S. Jane Scheyder, author of two romance novels, “Cafenova” and “Done With Men Forever” each $15 from Andres and Blanton, and the children’s book about bedtime, “One More Thing”((Andres and Blanton, $7.99). Information: 860-623-5100.
New Mexican Poet
New Mexico poet Max Early, Indigenous Writer-in-Residence Fellow at the School of Advanced Research, will give a free talk for the Riverwood Poetry Series on Thursday, Feb. 11, following a 7 p.m. open mike session at Asylum Hill Congregational Church, 814 Asylum Ave., Hartford.
Early is from the Laguna Pueblo, and writes in both English and his native Keresan language. He is the author of “Ears of Corn: Listen” and is writing a second collection to help preserve the Keresan Language and his pueblo’s traditions. Information: riverwoodpoetry.org.
Langston Hughes Event
The annual Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading, which celebrates the work of the great contemporary African American author and poet, will be held Sunday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m., at the Mystic Museum of Art (formerly the Mystic Arts Center), 9 Water St., Mystic. Poet, author and teacher Jose B. Gonzalez will be the keynote speaker. Information: rmward1@yahoo.com.
Exploring Brass Valley
“Brass Valley, a Place in Time that Has Almost Vanished” (Schiffer Books, $45) by Emery Roth III will be the subject of a free slide talk and book signing by the author at Housatonic Museum of Art in Beacon Hall on the campus of Housatonic Community College, 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, on Wednesday, Feb. 10, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
With photos and stories, the book chronicles how the Naugatuck Valley became the world center of brass manufacturing and then declined, from 1802 to 2014. Information: EWatstein@hcc.commnet.edu
Mystery Book Discussion
Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery novels, will lead a free discussion on Monday, Feb. 8, at noon, at Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., when the Simsbury Mystery Group: The Time Machine, Part 2, discusses “Mistress of the Art of Death” by Ariana Franklin. Information: 860-658-7663.
Hygienic Poets
As part of a celebration of 37 years of exhibitions and creative programs at Hygienic Art Gallery, 79 Bank St., New London, an evening of poetry readings will take place Saturday, Feb. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m. Three local poets will read, followed by an open mike competition with judges selected from the audience and prizes for the first, second and third place winners. The sign-up to read begins at 6 p.m. Information: 860-443-8001 or hygienicart@gmail.com or hygienic.ning.com.
