BARBARA ROBINETTE MOSS

Originally self-published, Moss' memoir was recently nabbed by Scribner and released to a national audience. According to Stewart O'Nan, Change Me into Zeus's Daughter "celebrates the wonders--good and bad--of discovering the world outside herself and uncovering the even deeper, more secret world of her family." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 5 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

REBECCA GOLDSTEIN

Goldstein--the author of The Mind-Body Problem and recipient of a 1996 MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant"--presents to our fair city the fruits of her financially acknowledged genius in the form of a new novel, Properties of Light, described by Maureen Howard as "both an intricate moral tale and a meditation on the unsolvable mysteries of the human spirit." Sponsored by Elliott Bay Books and Washington Center for the Book. Seattle Public Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, 624-6600, 7 pm, free (first come, first served).

*ALAN CHONG LAU

Lau reads from Blues and Greens: A Produce Worker's Journal, a collection of poems celebrating life in Seattle's most excellent International District. Open Books, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.

JANET CAMPBELL HALE

The author of The Jailing of Cecelia Capture (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize) and Bloodlines: Odyssey of a Native Daughter (winner of the 1994 American Book Award) returns with her first collection of short fiction, Women on the Run. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

EUGENE LINDEN

Linden, an award-winning journalist for Time magazine, discusses his new book, The Parrot's Lament and Other True Tales of Animal Intrigue, Intelligence, and Ingenuity, a compendium of fabulous anecdotes about outstanding acts of heroism and cooperation performed by animals. Woodland Park Zoo Auditorium, N 50th St & Fremont Ave N, 584-1535, 7 pm, $6/$5 members.

DANIELLE SOSIN

Patricia Weaver Francisco had this to say about Sosin's first collection of short fiction, Garden Primitives: "[Sosin's] stories always deliver the memorable image, always attempt to decode desire... they pull the rug out from your expectations." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 5 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

PETER PEREIRA, KARY WAYSON

Featured authors read at Lit Rag #10 release party. Mix Gallery, 5319 Ballard Ave NW, 890-6291, 8:30 pm, free.

*"MERCURY" FEATURING INGA MUSCIO & 500 YEARS

The first show of Eleventh Hour's fall season features a reading by Muscio (author of Cunt), a performance by hiphop band 500 Years, and a short film by Tina DiFeliciantonio and Jane C. Wagner, 2 or 3 Things I Know for Sure, based on the autobiographical work of the wonderful Dorothy Allison. Also featured will be a reading by participants in Home Alive's "Building Bridges and Building Allies" conference on ending violence. Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 3515 S Alaskan St, 725-1650, 8 pm, $5/$3 members.

*DISAPPEARANCES

Hugo House hosts its Third Annual Critical Inquiry conference. See Stranger Suggests. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 10 am-10 pm, $6/$5 members.

LARRY COLTON

Colton's new book, Counting Coup: A True Story of Basketball and Honor on the Little Big Horn, chronicles a year in the life of a high-school girls basketball team located in Crow, Montana--focusing in particular on the star of the team, a young Crow Indian. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

SEAN BENTLEY

Bentley is the featured local writer at this installment of the Red Sky Poetry Theatre reading series; event also includes an open mic reading (sign-up starts at 7 pm). Globe Cafe, 1531 14th St, 633-5647, 7:30 pm, free.

*KAZUO ISHIGURO

The master of emotional detachment returns with another staid tale of foreboding and quiet desperation, When We Were Orphans. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, $5 (tickets available at Elliott Bay Book Company).

*STAN POCOCK

Pocock is something of a local legend: a master boatsman who coached varsity rowing at the UW, founder of the Lake Washington Rowing Club, and an expert boatbuilder who has introduced numerous innovations in design over the course of his long and illustrious career. Along with photographers Josef Scaylea and Susan Parkman, Pocock will be signing copies of his new book, Way Enough! Recollections of a Life in Rowing. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

*SIMON ORTIZ

Ortiz, an award-winning poet and member of Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico, reads as part of the Counterbalance Poetry Series, hosted by local literary hotshot Sherman Alexie. Faculty Club, UW Campus, 282-2677, 7:30 pm, free.

CHRISTOPHER SHAW

Shaw's book, Sacred Monkey River: A Canoe Trip with the Gods, is an account of the author's dangerous and illuminating trip down the Usumacinta River. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

LAURA KALPAKIAN

Kalpakian is the featured writer at Shoreline's "World of Words" reading series. Shoreline Library, 345 NE 175th St, 542-1989, 7:30 pm, free.

PETER T. NESBETT, MICHELLE DUBOIS

Slide show presentation and discussion of Jacob Lawrence's work by the editors of The Complete Jacob Lawrence. Kane Hall, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, tickets required (available free at University Bookstore).

*MICHAEL CHABON

The author of Wonder Boys and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh returns with The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a sprawling novel about two Jewish artists working, living, and loving during America's comic-book boom of the '30s and '40s. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

REVOLUTIONARY VOICES: A MULTICULTURAL QUEER ANTHOLOGY

This book release party will feature editor Amy Sonnie, contributors Colleen Donovan and Qwo-Li Driskill, and performances by Tara Hardy, Hellery Homosex, Alix Kolar, and Sarah Sharp. Beyond the Closet Bookstore, 518 E Pike St, 322-4609, 7:30 pm, free.

LAURELL K. HAMILTON

Reading and signing by the author of A Kiss of Shadows. Kane Hall, UW Campus, 634-3400, 7 pm, free tickets required (available at University Bookstore).