Author David Bezmozgis has won the 2014 Edward Lewis Wallant Award, presented yearly by the University of Hartford’s Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies. Bezmozgis, who was born in Latvia and lives in Toronto, won for his novel, “The Betrayers” (Little, Brown and Company, $26).
Bezmozgis will be honored on Monday, March 2, at 7 p.m. at the Mandell Jewish Community Center, 335 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford. He and previous winners Joshua Henkin and Eileen Pollack will speak and three finalists for the award also will be honored: Molly Antopol, Boris Fishman and David Shrayer-Petrov.
The event also is the book launch for “The New Diaspora: The Changing Landscape of American Jewish Fiction” (Wayne State University Press, $35.99), an anthology of work by past Wallant Award winners and finalists, edited by Victoria Aarons (Trinity University), Mark Shechner (University at Buffalo SUNY) and Avinoam Patt (University of Hartford), who will moderate the discussion.
The award honors the late Edward Lewis Wallant, author of “The Pawnbroker” and other works. It was established by Dr. and Mrs. Irving Waltman of West Hartford in 1963. Past winners include Cynthia Ozick, Curt Leviant, Chaim Potok, Myla Goldberg, Dara Horn, and Julie Orringer. It is presented to a Jewish writer, preferably not well known at the time, who has published a work of significance for American Jews.
Tickets are $20 and reservations are required: 860-236-6316 or mandelljcc.tix.com. Information: 860-768-4964.
Authors At Twain House
On Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. at the Museum Center, there will be a free Book/Mark talk by Phil Klay, author of “Redeployment,” a National Book Award-winning story collection set in Iraq and Afghanistan. Klay’s bestseller is an unflinching look at the horrors and absurdity of combat and its aftermath. Klay is a graduate of Dartmouth College and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
On Thursday, March 5, at 6:30 p.m., at the Museum Center, Nell Bernstein will discuss her book, “Burning Down The House: The End of Juvenile Prison” (New Press, $26.95) with WNPR’s John Dankosky. The book says one in three American young people will be arrested before reaching age 23 and be incarcerated in badly run detention centers that fail to rehabilitate inmates. The talk follows a 5:30 p.m. light supper reception. Tickets for Bernstein’s talk are $20. Reservations for all events: 860-280-3130 or visit marktwainhouse.org.
Writing At The Mark Twain House
A Spring series of writing classes and workshops will be held at The Mark Twain House & Museum Center, 351 Farmington Ave., Hartford.
Hunter Ligouire will teach a course on writing historic fiction on six Wednesdays, from 6 to 8 p.m. beginning March 4. It will prepare writers at all levels to research and write a short story or chapter of a novel.
Writing for Children with Pegi Deitz Shea will meet for six Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., beginning Mar.5. The award-winning author will discuss children’s fiction, non-fiction and poetry, teach skills and explain constructive critiques.
Each course is $265. Registration: 860-280-3130 or marktwainhouse.org.
SCSU MFA Writers’ Conference
The first SCSU MFA Writers’ Conference, presented by the MFA Program in Creative Writing and the School of Arts and Sciences at the university, will take place Friday, March 6, and Saturday, March 7 in Engleman Hall at SCSU, 501 Crescent St, New Haven. Connecticut poets, fiction writers, memoirists, journalists, editors and literary publication founders will participate in readings and panels at the free conference that will open with a reading by author Jake Halpern and poet and essayist Bessy Reyna on Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, registration (recommended but not required) begins at 8:30 a.m. Panel discussions will run from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and cover Getting Published, Literary Periodicals, The Virtual Writing Community, Writing For a Living and The Creative Process.
Information: southernct.edu/ or parrisht1@southernct.edu or 203-392-7278.
Barry And Alda For WSHU
Dave Barry, the Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist and bestselling author, will give a WSHU Public Radio “Join the Conversation” author series talk on Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m., at Lyman Center for the Performing Arts at Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven.
He will talk about his latest essay collection, “Live Right And Find Happiness (Although Beer Is Much Faster): Life Lessons And Other Ravings from Dave Barry” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, $26.95). The book explores such divergent topics as cable news, Google Glasses, nerd loneliness, Brazilian soccer craziness and Vladimir Putin.
Tickets are $25, which includes a copy of the book; or $5 for students at door with valid ID, no book included.
Reservations: wshu.org.
Authors At R.J. Julia
Tim Dorsey, author of best-selling humorous novels set in Florida, will be among writers giving free talks presented by R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison.
On Sunday, March 1, at 1 p.m., Dorsey, a former newspaper reporter and editor and author of 18 comic novels, will discuss “Shark Skin Suite” (William Morrow, $26.99), in which the zany Serge Storms decides success lies in becoming a crusading attorney and movie star, despite his lack of a law degree or acting talent.
Also on Sunday, March 1, at 3 p.m., Dr. Susan O’Malley will talk about her inspirational book, “Tough Cookies Don’t Crumble” (Indie Books International, $20, which tells how she went from college drop-out to emergency room doctor and successful businesswoman.
On Tuesday, March 3, at 7 p.m., Reif Larsen, author of “I Am Radar” (Penguin Press HC, $29.95) will speak. His speculative fiction is about the mysterious birth and life of Radar Radmanovic and involves quantum physics, lost history and dazzling art. Larsen has written for The New York Times, The Guardian, Tin House and The Believer and is writer-in-residence at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
On Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. at The Country School, 341 Opening Hill Road, Madison, the bookstore will present a talk by Ron Lieber, author of “The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids Who Are Grounded, Generous, and Smart about Money” (Harper $26.99). Lieber is the New York Times “Your Money” columnist, and his book says teaching children about money and personal finance, from Tooth Fairy visits to paying for college, can create modest, patient and financially savvy young adults.
Also on Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m., at the bookstore, Gabrielle Zevin will discuss her best-selling novel, “The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry ” (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, $14.95, about a widowed bookstore owner who receives an unexpected gift that changes his life. Zevin also will speak Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. at Ridgefield Library, 472 Main St., Ridgefield (203-438-2282).
All events require registration: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
Writers At Russell House
Russell House, 350 High St., on the Wesleyan University campus in Middletown, will host a free reading by Caryl Phillips on Wednesday, March 4, at 8 p.m.
Phillips, a native of the West Indies, grew up in England and has published many award-winning books, as well as writing for theater, TV and film and newspapers and magazines. His many literary honors include the 2006 PEN/Beyond Margins Award, the 2004 Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize. He is a professor of English at Yale University.
Information: 860-685-3448 or wesleyan.edu.
Mystery Discussion
Carole Shmurak, of Farmington, who writes the Susan Lombardi mystery novels, will lead a free discussion for the Wallingford Mystery Group: After Grafton: The Contemporary Female Detective, Part 3, on Wednesday, March 4, at 3 p.m., at Wallingford Public Library, 200 N Main St, Wallingford. The book to be discussed is “Heading Uptown (1993)” by Marisa Piesman.
Information: 203-265-6754 (snowdate is March 5).
Italian American Women of Connecticut
Author Anthony Riccio will give a “Free First Sunday” program at the New Haven Museum, 114 Whitney Ave., New Haven, on Sunday, March 1, at 2 p.m. about his book, “Farms, Factories and Families: Italian American Women of Connecticut” (SUNY Press, $29.95). It examines the history and roles of these women in America, told in their own words.
Riccio’s books include “Portrait of an Italian American Neighborhood: The North End of Boston,” “The Italian American Experience in New Haven” and “Cooking with Chef Silvio: Stories and Authentic Recipes of Campania.”
Information: 203-562-4183 or newhavenmuseum.org.
Handwriting Analysis
David DeWitt, of Litchfield County, an expert on handwriting, will sign copies of “Handwriting Analysis: Discover Your Own Vocational/Career Potential” (Outskirts Press, $14.95) at The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Road, Washington Depot, on Sunday, March 1 at 2 p.m.
The book is a guide to assessing career potential using graphology to understand personal strengths and weaknesses and includes a test that matches personality types to rewarding occupations.
Information: 860-868-0525 or hickorystickbookshop.com.
