A free Local Author Festival will begin at Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, on Thursday, June 16.
In June and July, 40 authors will take part in programs featuring fiction, Avon history, books for children, middle readers and teens, romance, travel and mystery books and more. The festival will end July 28.
The Fiction Night program, on Thursday, June 16, at 7 p.m., will present Geoffrey Craig, author of “Scudder’s Gorge” (Prolific Press, $16.95); Velya Jancz-Urban, author of “Acquiescence” (Mascot Books, $13.95); Dawn Leger, author of “Eagle Scouting” (Lefora Publishing, $25); Katie Schickel, author of “The Mermaid’s Secret” (Forge Books, $27.99); and Thomas Christopher Greene, author of “If I Forget You (Thomas Dunne Books, $24).
Novelist Matthew Dicks of Newington, who teaches in West Hartford and co-founded the Speak Up storytelling organization, will give the keynote talk on June 25 at 2 p.m. Dicks’ latest novel, his fourth, is “The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs” (St. Martin’s, $24.99). Information: 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info.
Authors At Simsbury Library
Author Paul Doiron, who writes the best-selling and award-winning Mike Bowditch crime fiction series set in Maine, will give a free talk Thursday, June 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Simsbury Public Library, 725 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury. The latest book in the series is “The Widowmaker” (Minotaur, $25.99).
Reservations are requested by Saturday, June 18, for a free talk at the Library on June 25 at 10 a.m. by children’s author Billy Steers, who writes and illustrates the popular “Tractor Mac” picture book series. Steers will speak, do some speed drawing and tell stories. Reservations: simsburylibrary.info or 860-658-7663 or in person at the library.
Rose Garden Reading
The annual Rose Garden Reading presented by The Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Park Conservancy, will take place during Rose Weekend on Saturday, June 18, under a tent in Elizabeth Park, Hartford. Two Connecticut poets, Ciaran Berry and John Surowiecki, will read from their work at 1 p.m., following a program at noon by State Poet Laureate Rennie McQuilkin and five poets laureate from Connecticut towns (Tarn Granucci, Alexandrina Sergio, Julia Paul, Hugo DeSarro, and Katherine Carle).
Berry, a 2012 Whiting Writers’ Award winner whose poetry has earned many honors, published the collections “The Sphere of Birds” (Southern Illinois University Press, $15.95) and “The Dead Zoo” (Gallery Books, $26.56). A native of Ireland, he directs the creative writing program at Trinity College in Hartford.
Surowiecki, who teaches a poetry workshop at Manchester Community College, has won numerous awards for his work. His four collections include “Flies” (Ugly Duckling Presse, $15) and “The Hat City after Men Stopped Wearing Hats” (The Word Works, $15), and he has published seven chapbooks. Information: 860-508-2810, stevenspoetry.org or elizabethparkct.org.
Dogs In Danger
Author Neil Abramson, whose latest novel, “Just Life” (Center Street/Hachette Book Group; $26), asks “What would you do if they came for your dog?” will give free talks Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m., at Bank Square Books, 53 West Main St., Mystic (Information: 860-415-4406) and Tuesday, June 14, at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison (Information: 203-245-3959).
The book imagines the chaos after the spread of a dangerous virus is linked to dogs, leading to quarantine — or worse — for all dogs. A veterinarian and a group of dedicated helpers try to solve the mystery of the illness and end the panic.
Author At R.J. Julia
Dorothea Benton Frank, the best-selling author whose latest novel is “All Summer Long” (William Morrow, $26.99), will give a free talk on Thursday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison.
The book is about a New York couple facing major life changes: he wants to move to his native state of South Carolina; she is hiding that their financial reserves are shrinking, even as they travel with her ultra-rich clients. Reservations: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
Social Justice Poetry Reading
On Sunday, June 12, from 2 to 4 p.m., Riverwood Poetry Series will present its annual free Social Justice Poetry Reading at Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St., Hartford. “Deep Roots, Broken Skies, Rising Tides,” will features readings by poets Carmen Tafolla and Cheryl Savageau.
Tafolla, state poet laureate of Texas, is a widely anthologized Latina writer who has published five poetry collections, eight children’s picture books, seven TV screenplays, non-fiction books, and a story collection.
Savageau’s poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies, and she has published several collections. She is editor of the online journal, Dawnland Voices 2.0, a journal of native indigenous voices from New England and has written a memoir about bipolar illness. Information: riverwoodpoetry.org.
Poets For Parkinson’s Research
On Thursday, June 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Congregational Church in South Glastonbury, 949 Main St., South Glastonbury, a Poets for Parkinson’s performance and art auction will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Poet Andy Weatherwax and the Meeting House Poets, including Alexandrina Sergio, will read, and there will be a light supper and sale of signed books by Connecticut poets. Tickets are $50: brainbug.com or 860-267-1268.
Authors At Book Club
The Book Club Bookstore & More, 100 Main St., in the Broad Brook section of East Windsor, will present free talks by two authors.
On Friday, June 17, from 5 to 6:30 p.m., author Dan Foley will discuss his latest novel, “Abandoned” (Books & Boos Press, $14.99). This darkly humorous horror story is about a man who has suffered rejection and abandonment too many times and begins a macabre effort to rescue abandoned things, even including human body parts.
On Saturday, June 18, from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Martin Herman, author of historical thriller novels, will speak. His books are “The Jefferson Files” (194 Rodney Press, 15.95) and “The Hidden Treasure Files” (194 Rodney Press, $15.99). 860-623-5100, bookclubct.com.
Stephen King Expert
Hagaman Memorial Library, 227 Main St., East Haven, will host a free talk by Stephen Spignesi, an authority on the work of Stephen King, on Saturday, June 18, at 2 p.m.
Spignesi, author of “The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia” (written with King’s help), “The Lost Work of Stephen King,” “The Essential Stephen King” and the two-volume “Stephen King Quiz Book,” will discuss the acclaimed horror writer’s life, career and literary themes, as well as his near-fatal accident, alcoholism and drug use and recovery. His talk will include a slide show of photos, rare items, and scenes from King’s life. Reservations: at the library or 203-468-3890.
