22nd annual Marcus Jewish Community Center Book Festival. Nov. 2-17. Panel discussions, readings, signings and children's activities. Ticket prices vary. Marcus Jewish Community Center, Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. 678-812-4000, www.atlantajcc.org. With more than 40 authors and two weeks of events, the MJCC book festival is one of Atlanta's most anticipated literary events. This week's highlights include Naomi Ragen ("The Sisters Weiss"), Lily Koppel, ("The Astronaut Wives Club"), Cliff Graubart ("The Curious Vision of Sammy Levitt"), and Allison Amend ("A Nearly Perfect Copy"). Jeffrey Toobin, author of "The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court," delivers the keynote speech.
Barbara Brown Taylor. 6 p.m. Nov. 4. Dinner, talk, Q&A and signing. $20 per person or $160 for a table of eight. Registration required. Fellowship Hall, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, 3180 Peachtree Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-266-2373, http://prumcbbtaylor-eorg.eventbrite.com. An Episcopal priest since 1984 and professor of religion at Piedmont College, Taylor is the author of 12 books, including "Leaving Church," the story of the years she spent as a rector in Clarksville.
John McMillian, "Beatles vs. Stones." 7:15 p.m. Nov. 4. Talk and signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-8450, Ext. 2225; www.georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=631. An assistant professor of history at Georgia State University, McMillian ("Smoking Typewriters") explores the multi-faceted rivalry between the lovable Beatles and the bad-boy Rolling Stones.
Lisa Scottoline, "Accused." 7 p.m. Nov 4. Talk and signing. Free. Light refreshments. Doors open 6:30 p.m. Norcross Cultural Arts & Community Center, 10 College St., Norcross. 770-978-5154, www.gwinnettpl.org/adults/lisa-scottoline-book-signing.html. Scottoline follows up 2010's "Think Twice" with the 12th entry in her popular series about Rosato & Associates, the all-female law firm.
Sonia Nazario, "Enrique's Journey." 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Talk and signing. Free. Norcross High School, 5300 Spalding Drive, Norcross. 770-978-5154, http://friendsgcpl.org/meet-the-author-sonia-nazario. She also speaks 7 p.m., Nov. 7, at Emory University. Free. Center for Ethics Commons, Room 102, 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta. 404-727-6392. Nazario won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for this story of a Honduran boy's perilous search for his mother in the United States, recently adapted for young adults.
Livingston Lecture: Lawrence Wright, "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief." 8 p.m. Nov. 7. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.atlantahistorycenter.com/Page.asp?id=97&eventid=545. Wright ("The Looming Tower") uncovers the inner workings of the Church of Scientology in a well-researched, fair and incisive book.
Adam Stephens Night Out for Poetry: Anne Marie Macari and Stephen Dunn. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7. Readings. Free. Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Georgia Tech, Kress Auditorium, 500 10th St., Atlanta. 404-894-2000, http://poetry.gatech.edu/events.html. Macari is the author of four books of poetry, including the forthcoming "Red Deer." Dunn, the author of 16 collections of poetry, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for "Different Hours."
What's New in Poetry: Cindy St. John, Rauan Klassnik, Emily Kendal Frey, Alexis Pope. 8 p.m. Nov. 7. Readings. Free. Ground floor, Emory Barnes & Noble, 1390 Oxford Road N.E., Atlanta. www.poetrycouncil.campuslifetech.org/the-whats-new-in-poetry-reading-series/2013-2014.
Melinda Hartwig, "The Tomb of Menna (TT 69): The Art, Culture and Science of Painting in an Egyptian Tomb." 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7. Lecture and signing. Free. Reception Hall, Michael C. Carlos Museum, 571 S. Kilgo Circle, Atlanta. 404-727-4282, www.carlos.emory.edu. Egyptologist Hartwig's new book offers an in-depth look at one of the most beautiful and complex painted tombs of the ancient Egyptian Theban necropolis.
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