Plenty of books-and-writing-related stuff going on tonight.

First of all is the Mary Gaitskill reading. There should be a Suggests coming up about that even as we speak.

Up in the U District, "local science bloggers" discuss the future of science, which is continually under attack by people who think Superman made them out of mud. And at Town Hall, Christine Gleason talks about premature babies.

At Third Place Books, Susan Mallery, who has written more than 80 romance novels, reads from Under Her Skin, which is about a fake engagement that creates love.

Elliott Bay Book Company hosts Arzoo Oslanloo, who will be discussing The Politics of Women's Rights in Iran. Maybe that Facebook guy from The Morning News would like to attend this lecture for some ideas to help his libertarian feminism theory along.

And at the Hugo House, David Schmader, Robert Horton, Tom Keogh and Michael Upchurch discuss the future of arts criticism and what you should do if you're looking to get into the field. Schmader, obviously, is hilarious and smart and will provide wisdom—if any wisdom can be found to exist, in this economic climate—for people interested in freelancing. Gaitskill is a great author, but if you're not into fiction, this is obviously the reading of the night.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here.