The “Queen of Mean” will interview an award-winning Connecticut author of romance novels on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 7 p.m., at Avon Free Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon, as part of the library’s annual Local Author Festival.
At the free event, which is recommended for ages 16 and older, outspoken comedian Lisa Lampanelli will discuss the power of female friendships and self-acceptance with best-selling author Kristan Higgins, who has published 18 novels and lives in Durham.
Information: 860-673-9712 or avonctlibrary.info.
Maum In Simsbury
Author Courtney Maum, whose latest novel, “Touch,” is about a trend forecaster who wants to take back her predictions, will give a free talk Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m., at Simsbury Public Library, 25 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury. Avon Free Public Library is the co-host.
Maum, who lives in Litchfield County, also wrote “I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You” and “Notes from Mexico.”
Registration: simsburylibrary.info or 860-658-7663, ext. 2.
Connecticut Authors Trail
The Tenth Annual Connecticut Authors Trail, a series of free talks by local authors presented by a group of Eastern Connecticut libraries continues Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Saxton B. Little Library, 319 Route 87, Columbia (860-228-0350). Shari Randall, a librarian and military wife who writes the Lobster Shack Mysteries series, will discuss “Against the Claw.” Randall also will sign books on Sunday, Aug. 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Bank Square Books, 53 W. Main St., Mystic.
On Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 6:30 p.m. at Booth & Dimock Memorial Library, 1134 Main St., Coventry (860-742-7606), Tochi Onyebuchi, who works in the tech industry and writes sci-fi thrillers, will discuss his fantasy novels, “Crown of Thunder” and “Beasts Made of Night.”
On Thursday, Aug. 9, at 6:30 p.m. at Mansfield Public Library, 54 Warrenville Road, Mansfield Center (860-423-2501), author and psychiatrist R.C. Goodwin, who writes fiction with a medical or psychiatric theme, will talk about his psychological thriller, “Model Child.” His books include “The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club.”
The trail will end Sept. 20 at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Cabaret Theatre with a party and free talk by best-selling author Amy Bloom.
General information: connecticutauthorstrail.org.
R.J. Julia Events
On Monday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison, Dorothea Benton Frank, who sets her romantic family sagas in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, will discuss her latest, “By Invitation Only. In it, the impending marriage of a rich girl from Chicago to the son of Southern farmers brings two very different families together for better or worse.
On Wednesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m., author T. Greenwood will discuss her book, “Rust & Stardust,” which explains the true crime story of a kidnapping in New Jersey in 1948 that inspired Vladimir Nabokov’s classic and controversial novel, “Lolita.” Greenwood, who lives in San Diego, has won many honors for her work.
On Thursday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m., two authors of mysteries with comic twists will speak. Lucy Burdette, who lives in Madison and Key West, will discuss “Death on the Menu,” her latest Key West Food Critic Mystery. Rhys Bowen will talk about “Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding,” her 12th Royal Spyness Mystery. Burdette has published 15 mysteries and is a member of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime. Bowen is the award-winning and bestselling author of “On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service,” as well as the Molly Murphy Mysteries, set in turn-of-the-century New York, and the Constable Evans Mysteries, set in Wales.
Registration is required: 203-245-3959 or rjjulia.com.
“Free the Beaches”
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, 77 Forest St. Hartford, will present a free talk by Andrew W. Kahrl, author of “Free the Beaches: The Story of Ned Coll and the Battle for America’s Most Exclusive Shoreline,” on Thursday, Aug. 9, at 5:30 p.m.
Kahrl is associate professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia. Lebert “Gee” Lester, whose childhood story is in the book, will give his perspective on what took place when Hartford-area anti-poverty activist Ned Coll made national news when he tried to open exclusive Connecticut beaches to minorities and the urban poor in the late 1960a and early 1970s.
Registration: harrietbeecherstowe.org or 860-522-9258, ext. 317.
Poetry Reading
Poets who took part in Edwina Trentham’s 13th annual workshop, “If You Get There Before I Do: Love, Death, and Poetry,” will give a free reading on Sunday, Aug. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Two Wrasslin’ Cats Coffee House, 374 Town St., East Haddam. Readers include Pat Barone, Barbara Batt, Ariana Buckley, Suellyn Callaghan, Carol Chaput, Pat O’Brien, Lana Orphanides, Steve Parlato, Elizabeth Possidente, Allison Zaczynski and Trentham.
Information: 860-873-1472 or trentham@comcast.net.
Holocaust Survivor Memoirs
Noah Webster Library, 20 S. Main St., West Hartford, will host author Hanna Perlstein Marcus on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at 6:30 p.m. Marcus will discuss her two memoirs, “Sidonia’s Thread” and “Surviving Remnant,” part of a planned trilogy. They tell how her single immigrant mother survived the Holocaust, came to the Springfield area and thrived as a master dressmaker and designer. Parking in the nearby Isham Garage will be validated by the library.
Information: 860-561-6950 or westhartfordlibrary.org.
Bank Square Books
Bank Square Books, 53 W. Main St., Mystic, will host author Gary Maynard on Wednesday, Aug. 8, for a talk at 6:30 p.m. about his book, “Plumbelly,” a novel about a teenage boy who attempts to sail around the world with his father, finds friends in the Pacific islands of Ma’atea and then flees trouble there with them on a dangerous sea journey. Maynard sailed around the world with his parents and siblings on a home-built boat, now builds homes on Martha’s Vineyard.
On Thursday, Aug. 9, at 6:30 p.m., Connecticut authors Wick Griswold and Stephen Jones will discuss their book, “Connecticut River Ferries.” The ferry between Rocky Hill and Glastonbury is America’s oldest continuously operating service, and more than 100 have brought people across the Connecticut River since the 1600s. Jones is Professor Emeritus in the Maritime Studies Program, which he co-founded for the University of Connecticut-Avery Point, has written books on coastal culture and has been executive producer of maritime documentaries. Griswold is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Hartford, where he teaches the Sociology of the Connecticut River. He has written books about the river and is commodore of the Connecticut River Drifting Society.
On Saturday, Aug. 11, from 1 to 3 p.m., there will be a book signing for “Postcard History Series: Mystic,” by J. Huguenin and M. Earl Smith. The book details Mystic’s history, first as a Native American settlement, then a Dutch-ruled area and then an English-ruled place, before becoming part of the U.S.
Information: 860-536-3795 or banksquarebooks.com.
Sunken Garden Poetry
The Sunken Garden Poetry Festival will conclude its 26th season at Hill-Stead Museum, 35 Mountain Road, Farmington, on Sunday, Aug. 5, with a Young Poets Day program with poet Andrea Gibson, whose work examines gender norms, politics, social reform and the struggles of LGBTQ people. Winners of the Fresh Voices Poetry Contest for Connecticut students also will read.
After a Prelude interview with Gibson at 5 p.m., the Fresh voices winners will read at 6 p.m., followed by music at 6:45 p.m. by Merritt Gibson, a graduate of Miss Porter’s School in Farmington. Andrea Gibson will perform at 7 p.m.
Festival tickets are $15 online or $20 at the gate. Children under 18 are free. Parking is free. Guests should bring seating and can bring picnic food or buy food and beverages there.
Tickets and information: hillstead.org and 860-677-4787.
“Why Fenway”
Book Club Bookstore & More, 869 Sullivan Ave., South Windsor, will host a free talk on Saturday, Aug. 11, at 1 p.m. by author and photographer John Ferguson about his book, “Why Fenway.” The book is a history of the beloved ballpark, which eight professional baseball teams, including the Boston Red Sox, have called home.
John Ferguson is an editorial photographer based in New York City who covers MLB and the NFL, including the Red Sox and the New York Giants.
Information: 860-432-7411 or bookclubct.com.
Readings At WCSU
Western Connecticut State University’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative and Professional Writing program will host free readings by award-winning novelists, poets and nonfiction authors Sunday, Aug. 5, through Thursday, Aug. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Room 218 of the Classroom Building, 43 Lake Ave. Extension, Danbury.
The authors are novelist Dan Pope, on Aug. 5; novelist, playwright and nonfiction author Peter Selgin, on Monday, Aug. 6; young-adult book author Jo Knowles, on Tuesday, Aug. 7; essayist and memoirist Lisa Romeo and poet Julia Lisella, on Wednesday, Aug. 8; and horror genre writer Stephanie Sytovich and mystery writer Jane Cleland, on Aug. 9.
Information: wcsu.edu/writing/mfa or 203-837-8486.
