Cathy Alter, who grew up in West Hartford, takes part in an author’s conversation with novelist Matthew Dicks on Thursday, June 30, at Barnes & Noble, 60 Isham Road, West Hartford, in Blue Back Square.
Alter’s new book is an anthology, “CRUSH: Writers Reflect on Love, Longing, and the Lasting Power of Their First Celebrity Crush” (William Morrow, $19), which she co-edited with Dave Singleton. In it, such authors and actors as James Franco, Stephen King, Andrew McCarthy and Jodi Picoult, among many others, reveal their first crushes on rock stars, TV characters and other unobtainable objects of affection.
Alter’s articles and reviews appear in many major newspapers. She also is the author of “Virgin Territory: Stories from the Road to Womanhood” and the memoir, “Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over.” She is on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University.
Dicks, a teacher in West Hartford, is the author of four novels, most recently “The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs,” and co-founder of the Speak Up storytelling organization. Information: 860-236-9900.
Authors At R.J. Julia
Novelists, an expert on celebrity journalism and a former baseball star will speak at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. Reservations are required: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Tuesday, June 28, at 7 p.m., Connecticut author Karen E. Olson will give a free talk about her latest novel, “Shadowed: A Thriller” (Severn House, $28.95). The book is the second in a new series about a computer hacker, Nicole Jones, who is on the run from someone in her past. Olson, a former journalist, also has written a series about a tattoo artist who solves crimes in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, June 29, at 7 p.m., Kate Coyne will give a free talk about “I’m Your Biggest Fan: Awkward Encounters and Assorted Misadventures in Celebrity Journalism” (Hachette Books, $26). Coyne is executive editor of People Magazine and has worked for the New York Post’s “Page Six” and Good Housekeeping. Her book traces her life in the world of celebrity news and gossip and name-drops many famous pop culture stars.
On Thursday, June 30, at noon, Beatriz Williams will talk about her latest novel, “A Certain Age” (William Morrow, $26.99) at a luncheon event at the bookstore. Attendees can order a sandwich from RJ Cafe and Bistro for $15 or bring a lunch. The novel is set in the Roaring ’20s and involves a high-society love triangle. Williams, who lives in Connecticut, has published six previous books.
On Thursday, June 30, at 7 p.m., former world champion baseball player, millionaire entrepreneur and convicted felon Lenny Dykstra will sign copies of his memoir, “House of Nails: A Memoir of Life on the Edge” (William Morrow, $27.99). Known as “Nails,” Dykstra was a center fielder for the 1980s Mets and the 1990s Phillies and played in three All-Star games and two World Series. He later became a high-living business mogul and then was convicted of bankruptcy fraud and went to prison. The book describes what he lived through and what he learned. Tickets to the book signing are $30 and include a copy of the book.
Authors At Hickory Stick
Mary Simses will give a free talk about her latest book, “The Rules of Love and Grammar” (Little Brown, $26), at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot, on Sunday, June 26, at 2 p.m. The novel is about a writer who flees city life for her parents’ home in Connecticut, where she deals with her sister’s long-ago death and finds a new romance. Simses, who grew up in Connecticut, also wrote “The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Café,” after careers in magazine publishing and corporate law.
On Saturday, July 2, at 4 p.m., Philip Delves Broughton will discuss “Charlie Whistler’s Omnium Gatherum” (Harper, $29.99), at the bookshop. Done in the format of a family scrapbook about its Adirondack summer camp, the book is full of stories, practical information, trivia and wisdom for young boys compiled by many generations of the Whistler family.
Broughton was born in Bangladesh, grew up in England and was New York and Paris bureau chiefs for the Daily Telegraph of London and also reported from North and South America, Europe and Africa. Information: hickorystickbookshop.com or 860-868-0525.
Leary In Simsbury
Best-selling Connecticut novelist Ann Leary will speak at Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury, on Wednesday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m.
Leary will discuss her latest book, “The Children” (St. Martin’s Press, $26.99) about a wealthy and quirky New England family. It is her third novel, following “The Good House” (to become a film starring Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro) and “Outtakes From a Marriage,” and the memoir, “An Innocent, A Broad.” Registration: 860-658-7663 or simsburylibrary.info.
Bloomfield Local Authors
Prosser Public Library, 1 Tunxis Ave., Bloomfield, will present a free Local Authors Night on Thursday, June 30, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Each author will give a brief reading and discuss his or her books.
They are: Dawn A. Harden, author of “A Flowered Thorn” (Kindle, $12.99) and other e-books; Bishop David E. Lewis, author of “Love for the Aching Heart” (AuthorHouse, $16.95); Martin Herman, who wrote the historical novels “The Jefferson Files” and “The Hidden Treasure Files” (both $15.99); Stephanie C. Fox, author of “The Book of Thieves” (lulu.com, $12.95) and eight more books; Pastor Thelma Gilbert, whose book is “Healed From a Bent Condition” (WestBowl Press, $17.95); Diane Dickson, author of the World War II novel, “While the World Waits” (CreateSpace, $16.75); and Alan Cohen and Karl Cicitto, who contributed to “100: the 100 Year Journey of a Baseball Journeyman: Mike Sandlock” (Society for American Baseball Research, $14.95).
Information: 860-243-9721 or prosserlibrary.info.
Avon Local Authors
Avon Free Public Library’s free Local Author Festival will continue at the library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon.
Forty authors are taking part in festival events featuring fiction, books about Avon, returning authors; writers of teen, middle readers and children’s books, and romance, travel and mystery books at afternoon and evening events through July 28.
Returning Authors Night, with talks by writers who have taken part in a previous festival, will be held Tuesday, June 28, beginning at 7 p.m.
Speaking at the event will be Cori Lynn Arnold, author of “Thin Luck” (CreateSpace, $12.99); Steve Liskow, author of “The Nowhere Man” (CreateSpace, $15) and other mystery novels; Steven Parlato, author of “The Namesake” (Merit, $17.95); Carole Shmurak, author of “Deadmistress” (CreateSpace, $9.99) and other novels; and Dr. Ira Spar, author of “New Haven’s Civil War Hospital: A History of Knight U.S. General Hospital, 1862-1865” (McFarland, $39.95). Information: 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info
