* KEN WIWA
Hailing from Nigeria--the greatest civilization in Africa--Ken Wiwa, who is the son of writer/activist/pipe smoker Ken Saro-Wiwa, talks about and signs In the Shadow of a Saint: A Son's Journey to Understand His Father's Legacy. Wiwa's account of his dad's remarkable life and miserable death is said to be a vivid portrait of the modern Nigerian state. Kane Hall, Room 130, UW Campus, 7 pm, free. Tickets available from University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400.
* WILLIAM T. VOLLMANN
I haven't read Vollmann's new book, Argall, which is about the tragic collisions of European colonizers and Native Americans, but I'm impressed by its sheer size. This man is obsessed! Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
ROBERT FERRIGNO
Ferrigno will sign his latest thriller, Flinch. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.
MARJORIE KELLY
See Stranger Suggests and Bio: Readings. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 5:30 pm, free.
LAWRENCE BLOCK
In the 25 years since he created his signature detective character, Matthew Scudder, he has won four Edgar Allen Poe and Shamus awards. He presents Scudder again in Hope to Die. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
* PHYLLIS CURROT
Currot wrote a how-to book for aspiring Wiccans called Witchcrafting, in which she "explains the powerful spiritual tenets" behind the religion, and offers a "new definition of magic." Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.
ELLIS JONES, ROSS HAENFLER, BRETT JOHNSON
Three veterans of peace and justice movements present their book, The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 5 pm, free.
HAUNANI-KAY TRAST
Poet and native Hawaiian activist Haunani-Kay Trast reads poetry from Light in the Crevice Never Seen, and brings the audience up to date on recent Hawaiian land-rights issues. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
ROBERT MICHAEL PYLE
Pyle, one of the nation's leading nature writers, rereleases his book Wintergreen, with a new afterward. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.
KRISTIN HANNAH
The author of Summer Island will read and sign. Barnes & Noble, 626 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, (425) 451-8463, 7 pm, free.
* ANITA RODDICK
Roddick is the founder of the Body Shop, and was the only WTO protester who is also a CEO of a major international corporation. With her book, Take It Personally: How to Make Conscious Choices to Change the World, she makes a call to action to business owners, asking them to cut profits and be more socially responsible. Kane Hall, Room 130, UW Campus, 7 pm; free tickets available via University Bookstore, 634-3400. Also at Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, Sat Oct 27, 4 pm, free.
* LESLIE RULE
The daughter of best-selling author Ann Rule presents Coast to Coast Ghosts: True Stories of Hauntings Across America, which shares the results of her travels while investigating ghost stories and photographing sites related to paranormal events. The Rule family rules! Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
BURL BARER
Local author signs his latest true-crime work. This one's about "the most gruesome double murder in Tacoma history," in which one body was missing a head, and the other a face. The book is titled Head Shot. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 587-5737, noon, free.
ARIELLE ECKSTUT & DAVID STERRY
Two writers talk about how to find agents, the process of getting a book published from idea to reality, and then about their own published books. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 2 pm, free.
* TITLEWAVE READING SERIES
Now in its seventh year and hosted by Doug Nufer, the Titlewave Reading Series presents an assortment of local talent. Matt Briggs (the author of The Remains of River Names), who is releasing a collection of short stories next year, reads with Martin Marriott, who is on the board of the Red Sky Poetry Theater, and Traci Daniels, who would just as soon let her writing speak for her. Titlewave Books, 7 Mercer St, 282-7687, 7:30 pm, free.
* BILL FLANNIGAN
Cinema Seattle's Screenwriters Salon presents a staged reading of Bill Flannigan's screenplay Tiananmen. It tells the story of Henri St. Laurent, a cynical photojournalist working in Asia, who reluctantly becomes involved in an exposé of a Chinese political dissident's murder. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7 pm, $5 general, $2 students, members free.
* ELLIOTT BAY POETRY TALK NIGHT, WITH SUSAN RICH
Seattle poet and professor Susan Rich, author of the 2001 PEN West Prize-winning collection The Cartographer's Tongue, joins Elliott Bay's Peter Aaron and others to lead this discussion and reading of poems by the late and great Elizabeth Bishop. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
WENDY & BRIAN FROUD
The Frouds present The Winter Child, their second volume to follow the adventures of faeries Sneezle and Twig. Third Place Books, 366-3333, 6 pm, free.
* RICHARD KENNEY
Kenney is the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Rome Prize in Literature, and the Lannan Literary Award for his poetry. He likes scientific metaphors and weird syntax. Kane Hall, UW Campus, 7 pm, $45 general, $35 University of Washington Alumni Association members, $15 students. Call 543-3839 for tickets.
JANE HAMILTON
Hamilton, winner of the PEN/Hemingway award and selected for the even more prestigious Oprah's Book Club, reads from Disobedience, in which she explains the moral pitfalls of cyberspace (the adolescent protagonist reads his mother's e-mails). Third Place Books, 366-3333, 7:30 pm, free.
MICHAEL DOWNING
Zen Buddhism. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, free.
* JAMES TURRELL
Turrell, artist-in-residence at the Henry, talks about his book Plato's Cave and the Light Within, and the classic and historic references that influence his work. Kane Hall, Room 130, UW Campus, 7 pm, $15 general, $10 members, $5 students. Call 543-2281 for tickets.
JAMES BERTOLINO & JOSEPH GREEN
Bertolino's 26 Poems from Snail River was just published by Egress Press, and Green's chapbook The End of Forgiveness won this year's Floating Bridge Poetry prize. Open Books, 2414 N 45th St, 633-0811, 7:30 pm, free.
URSULA HEGI
Hegi's storybook, Hotel of the Saints, explores common themes through the lives of geographically diverse artists, parents, and lovers. Kane Hall, Room 120, UW Campus, 7 pm, free. Tickets available from University Bookstore, 634-3400.
* STEVE GRAND
Grand will discuss his book, in which he attempts to define life and artificial intelligence. He may or may not be escorted by his robot, Lucy. Kane Hall, Room 110, 7 pm, UW Campus, free. Tickets available from University Bookstore, 634-3400.
JENNIFER EGAN
An ex-model rebuilds her life after an accident befalls her former best friend's alienated daughter in Jennifer Egan's telling new novel of "truth" and "surfaces," Look at Me. Elliott Bay Book Company, 624-6600, 7 pm, free.
WILL SELF
British media hound and former heroin addict pushes How the Dead Live, a weird, caustic death satire in which an old woman dies of cancer and descends into a crazy afterworld that turns out to be a suburb of London. University Bookstore, 634-3400, 7:30 pm, free.
POETRY/OPEN MICS
* EAST INDIA TRADING CO.--Mon at 7:30 pm; sign-up at 7 pm. Coffee Messiah, 1554 E Olive Way, 208-1188, free.
POETRY ANDANTE--Thurs at 7:30 pm. Cafe Allegro, 4002 University Way NE, 634-2310, free.
RE-BIRTH--Thurs at 7:30 pm. Zodiac Cafe, 605 E Broadway, 720-4502, free.
RED SKY POETRY THEATER--The granddaddy of poetry open-mics. This week's featured reader is Georgia Johnson. Sun at 7 pm. Globe Cafe, 1531 14th Ave, 324-8815, free.
SEATTLE POETRY SLAM--Open mic, open slam with a $25 cash-money prize, and a freestyle jazz/spoken-word forum after the show. 21 and over. Wed at 9 pm. Sit & Spin, 2219 Fourth Ave, 441-9484, $4.
* STAGEFRIGHT-Open mic by youth for youth, ages 14-24. Wed at 7 pm. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, free.
