HESPER ANDERSON

Anderson is the daughter of playwright Maxwell Anderson and author of Children of a Lesser God. Her memoir, South Mountain Road: A Daughter's Journey of Discovery, was described by Booklist's GraceAnne A. DeCandido as "an uneasy book, full of the requisite family secrets and lies, and some of the hurts are very old, but the story is told with such assurance, and with such whiplash prose, that we cannot leave it." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

ROBIN HOBB

Hobb (a pseudonym for Northwest author Megan Lindholm) reads from and signs Ship of Destiny, the final volume in her Liveship Traders trilogy. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

WYN WACHHORST

Leading literary critic Buzz Aldrin called Wachhorst's new book, The Dream of Spaceflight: Essays on the Near Edge of Infinity, "a truly outstanding book, intellectually vibrant, thematically-minded, and downright moving." Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 7 pm, free.

CATHERINE WING, JOAN SWIFT, BETHANY REID, & KATHLEEN NOTLEY

"It's About Time" readings series featuring four scheduled readings sandwiched between a come-one-come-all open mic. Seattle Public Library, 5009 Roosevelt Way NE, 684-4063, 6:30 pm, free.

JOHN GILSTRAP

Gilstrap signs his latest thriller, Even Steven. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St, 587-5737, noon, free.

FRIDAY 9/15

HERBERT BIX

Bix, a professor in the Graduate School of Social Sciences at Tokyo's Hitosubashi University, presents his book Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan in the first lecture of a two-part event focusing on Japanese society, past and present. Sponsored by the World Affairs Council, the Japan America Society, the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, and the University Bookstore. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave, 441-5910, 7 pm, tickets required.

SHODO HARADA ROSHI

Harada Roshi, a master of the Rinzai School, and Dharma heir to Yamada Mumon Roshi, will give a "bilingually presented Dharma talk" based largely on his new book, The Path to Bodhidharma. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

SHARYN MCCRUMB

Emotionally charged reading by the author of The PMS Outlaws. Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, 6:30 pm, free.

*BROADWAY STREET FAIR

A full afternoon of readings, including Trisha Ready and homeless youth from the U-District Youth Center, Matt Briggs, Doug Nufer, Charles Mudede, and Stacey Levine. Broadway Market, 401 Broadway E. Beginning at 1 pm, free.

ALAN CHONG LAU

Lau's new book, Blues and Greens: A Produce Worker's Journal, is a personal "genre-defying" portrait of Seattle's International District, with a special emphasis on everyone's favorite grocery store, Uwajimaya. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

GEN KELSANG JANGSEM

Presentation on Buddhist philosophy by the Resident Teacher at Seattle's Vajralama Buddhist Center and editor of the new book by Tibetan Buddhist master Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, entitled Eight Steps to Happiness: The Buddhist Way of Loving Kindness. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 3 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG

Clifford, the kid-tested and mother-approved canine hero of children's literature (with 56 million books in print!) celebrates his 35th birthday with story time, games, coloring, goodies, and refreshments. Arundel Books, 1113 First Ave, 624-4442, 11 am, free.

CATHERINE BUSH

Howard Norman calls The Rules of Engagement, the new novel by Toronto-based writer Bush (Minus Time), "a hypnotic story, equally intense in emotion and historical conundrum." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 4 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

*BROADWAY STREET FAIR

Today's readings include Novella Carpenter, C. Bard Cole, and The Stranger's Traci Vogel and Grant Cogswell. Broadway Market, 401 Broadway E, beginning at 1 pm, free.

JEAN A. MURRAY

Reading by the author of Music of the Alaska-Klondike Gold Rush: Songs and History. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 2 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

ROBERT J. SPITZER, S.J., PH.D.

Spitzer, a Jesuit priest and president of Gonzaga Univeristy, presents his new book, The Spirit of Leadership: Optimizing Creativity and Change in Organizations. "His timeless prescriptions bring clarity to the flabby and fragmented musings of the popular business press," says Michael W. Morrison, which just goes to prove that university presidents now treat universities as big, greedy corporations rather than bastions of higher learning. It's a sick, sick world. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 5 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

*ALEXANDER COCKBURN & JEFFREY ST. CLAIR

The editors of the progressive website Counterpunch.com read from Al Gore: A User's Manual. See Bio Box and Stranger Suggests. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

ADAM CADRE

Cadre, a computer game inventor and rock musician, reads from and signs his debut novel about teen angst, Ready, Okay! University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

DONNA MISCOLTA, JOANN FARIAS, & FELICIA GONZALEZ

Richard Hugo House and the King County Arts Commission present this reading based on themes of la familia (family). Miscolta is a winner of the 1999 King County Arts Commision Award and author of Since the Revolution; Farias is the author of numerous plays, including the soon-to-be-published Claudio Meets Fulano Colorado; and Gonzalez is a two-time winner of the King County "Poetry Bus" competition. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, free.

JONATHAN KIRSCH

LA Times book critic and author of The Harlot by the Side of the Road, Kirsch returns to present his latest biblical study, King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel. David Rosenberg called this book a "biography of biblical proportions, anchored in the imaginative sweep of fiction and the tactile surprise of fact." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 5:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

MYLA GOLDBERG

"Goldberg's [Bee Season] is a delicate, heartbreaking debut." (Traci Vogel) See Stranger Suggests. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7:30 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

GREG NAGAN

Reading and signing by the author of The Five-Minute Iliad and Other Instant Classics. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.

COLLEEN J. MCELROY

There are few things more satisfying than a good slide show, so don't miss this presentation on the Malagasy storytelling tradition by the author of Over the Lip of the World: The Storytellers of Madagascar. Marco Polo Books, 713 Broadway E, 860-3736, 7:30 pm, free

THOMAS FARBER

Three-time NEA Fellow and current senior lecturer at UC-Berkeley, Farber reads from his short-story collection, A Lover's Question. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, 7:30 pm, $5.

CAROLYN SERVID

Reading by the Sitka-based author of Of Landscape and Longing: Finding a Home at the Water's Edge. Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 5 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

BRENDA FOWLER

Ian Tattersall called Fowler's new book, Iceman: Uncovering the Life and Times of a Prehistoric Man Found in an Alpine Glacier, "a meticulous and smoothly constructed account of the bungled recovery and long, complex analysis of one of the most remarkable archaeological finds of recent years." Elliott Bay Book Company, 101 S Main, 624-6600, 7 pm, advance free tickets available at store.

OCTAVIA BUTLER, STEVEN BARNES, TANANARIVE DUE, & NISI SHAWL

Readings by contributors to the groundbreaking anthology of speculative writings from the African Diaspora, Dark Matter. University Bookstore, 4326 University Way NE, 634-3400, 7 pm, free.