An Author’s Showcase party featuring writers with ties to New Britain, music by Ken Griffen and a light supper from Angelo’s Market and Café Beauregard will be held Friday, Sept. 9, at Trinity on Main, 69 Main St., New Britain, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Literary Libations, Vol. IV is presented by the board of trustees of the New Britain Public Library. Free parking is available in the city garage on Chestnut Street.
New Britain Poet Laureate Mike “Chief” Peterson will introduce the program, which will present authors who live in, or have connections to, New Britain, who will mingle with the guests. They are The Poet Amin, Nancy Castaneda, Trinene Davis, Roberta Dolan, Benjamin Doolittle, Gil Gigliotti, Tom Hazuka, Patricia Friedle, Jeannette Alsheimer, Peter Kilduff, Steve Liskow, Darwin Shaw, Kerry Bickford, Diane Ohanesian, Akintunde Sogunro and Aimee Pozorski. Their writing includes poetry, mysteries, children’s stories, inspirational books and the life of Frank Sinatra.
Tickets are $40 or $20 for a student with ID. They are available at the New Britain Public Library, 20 High St, New Britain, and at trinityonmain.org. Information: 860-224-3155.
Twain Writers Weekend
The Mark Twain House & Museum’s fifth annual Writers Weekend will take place Sept. 23 to 25 at 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford, and registration is open now.
The evening keynote speakers are Lesley M.M. Blume on Sept. 23 and poet Ocean Vuong on Sept. 24. Blume is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Style Magazine. Her latest book is “Everybody Behaves Badly: The True Story Behind Hemingway’s Masterpiece The Sun Also Rises” (Eamon Dolan Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt $27), published to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Hemingway’s classic novel.
Vuong, whose work has won multiple awards, was born in Saigon, grew up in Hartford area and now lives in New York City. His most recent collection is “Night Sky With Exit Wounds” (Copper Canyon Press, $16).
The event will include more than 30 workshops, panel discussions, guest speakers and activities to help writers hone their craft, deepen understanding of writing and enjoy the community of writers. Workshop topics include memoir, writing for children, screenwriting, podcasting, humor writing, ghostwriting, travel writing, social media for writers, diagramming sentences to improve writing craft, self-publishing, storytelling techniques for writers, creative nonfiction, starting a manuscript critique group and launching a freelance career while you have another job.
Registration is $180 ($162 for Twain House members) and includes the keynote addresses, an opening reception, light breakfasts and a choice of workshops and panel discussions. An opportunity to write in Mark Twain’s Library in the morning on Sept. 24 or 25 is available for a $30 additional fee.
Registration: 860-247-0998 or marktwainhouse.org.
Information: Jennifer.LaRue@marktwainhouse.org or 860-280-3147.
Authors At R.J. Julia
An author talk by Stephen Metcalfe and a “Books on the Menu” presentation will take place at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison. Registration is required at 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m., author Stephen Metcalfe will give a free talk about his book, “The Practical Navigator” (St. Martin’s Press, $25.99). It is the story of a former surfer whose wife leaves him alone to raise their autistic son and then complicates his new life by returning. Metcalfe, a playwright and screenwriter, has taught dramatic writing in San Diego and is an associate artist at The Old Globe Theatre.
On Thursday, Sept. 8, at noon, a “Books on the Menu” talk with bookstore general manager Lori Fazio and head buyer Andrew Brennan will offer suggestions for fall reading, from hidden gems to literary masterpieces to light entertainment. Tickets are $15 and include a choice of a gourmet sandwich from the RJ Café and a cookie, chips and bottled water.
Book Talk At Stowe Center
Amy E. Hughes, assistant professor of Theater History and Criticism at Brooklyn College, will give a free talk about her book, “Spectacles of Reform: Theater and Activism in 19th Century America” (University of Michigan Press,$28.95), on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford.
Her book explains how 19th-century literature used melodramatic descriptions of speeding trains, burning buildings and endangered people, such as Eliza crossing the ice in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” to thrill audiences and promote temperance, abolition and women’s suffrage. Information: 860-522-9258, ext. 317, or harrietbeecherstowe.org.
Riverwood Poetry Series
The free Riverwood Poetry Series begins a new season on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m. in a new venue, the Program Center of the Universalist Church of West Hartford, 433 Fern St., West Hartford. The entrance is through glass portico doors on the side of the building.
The event is a reading by and conversation with Connecticut poets and sisters Melissa McEwen and Michelle McEwen, on “Gender, Race, Roles.” Their poetry has appeared in various journals and anthologies.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for light refreshments, followed by an open mike at 7 p.m. and the reading. Open mike poems about gender, race are roles are encouraged but not required. Information: riverwoodpoetry.org or 860-233-3669.
Connecticut Authors Trail
The eighth annual Connecticut Authors Trail, a series of free talks at 20 Eastern Connecticut libraries from Mansfield to Mystic, continues with two events and will have its finale Sept. 15 at Mohegan Sun with romance writer Kristan Higgins.
On Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m. at Waterford Public Library, 49 Rope Ferry Road, Waterford (860-444-5805), Patricia Staley, president of the Friends of Slater Museum and a member of the Norwich Historical Society and other groups, will talk about her book, “Norwich and the Civil War” (Arcadia, $21.99), which tells how the town responded to Lincoln’s call for troops and homefront support.
On Thursday, Sept. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at Scotland Public Library, 21 Brook Road, Scotland (860-423-1492), will present a free talk by Timothy Kenny, author of “Far Country: Stories From Abroad and Other Places” (Bottom Dog Press, $18).
Kenny, a former associate professor of journalism at UConn, Fulbright scholar and USA Today foreign editor, will read from his book of nonfiction stories set in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Detroit and Connecticut. Information: connecticutauthorstrail.org.
Books Set In Italy
Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, will host three free discussions focusing books set in Italy. Homemade, Italian-themed refreshments will be provided. The talks are at 7 p.m. The books to be discussed are:
Tuesday, Sept. 6: “Under a Tuscan Sun” by Frances Mayes; Sept. 20: “The Light in the Ruins” by Chris Bohjalian: and Oct. 4: “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter. Copies are available at the library. Information: 860-673-9712, ext. 225 or clarsen@libraryconnection.info.
Central Authors
Central Authors, the free book talk program featuring authors who are Central Connecticut State University faculty or staff members or alumni, will open its 14th season Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 12:15 p.m. in the CCSU Bookstore in the Student Center on the campus, 1615 Stanley St., New Britain. There is free parking in the Student Center Garage on Ella Grasso Blvd.
Retiring CCSU President John W. “Jack” Miller will discuss his most recent book, “World Literacy: How Countries Rank and Why It Matters” (Routledge, $49.95). Information: 860-832-2759 or gigliotti@ccsu.ed.
Mystery Book Discussions
Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery novels, will lead two free discussions of mystery books.
On Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 3 p.m., she will begin the Wallingford Mystery Group: An Inspector Calls Series, Part 1, with a discussion of “A Sleeping Life” by Ruth Rendell at Wallingford Public Library, 200 N Main St., Wallingford. Information: 203- 265-6754.
On Thursday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m., she will lead the Southington Mystery Group: An Inspector Calls Series, Part 1, with a discussion of “The Way Through the Woods” by Colin Dexter, at Southington Public Library, 255 Main St., Southington. Information: 860-628-0947.
