J.S Breukelaar, “Collision: Stories.” For fans of Kelly Link, Stephen King, and Shirley Jackson, Breukelaar’s debut collection of 12 fantastical tales explores the realm of the uncanny and the unexpected. In conversation with Anya Martin. 2 p.m. July 20. Talk, signing. Free. Eagle Eye Book Shop, 2076 N. Decatur Road, Decatur, 404-486-0307, eagleeyebooks.com
Lynne Russell, “Heels of Fortune.” Author and former CNN news anchor Russell (“Hell on Heels”) will discuss her P. J. Santini private detective mystery series. 2 p.m. July 20. Talk, signing. Free. Tall Tales Book Shop, Toco Hill Shopping Center, 2105 LaVista Road NE, Atlanta, 404-636-2498, talltalesatlanta.com
Colson Whitehead, “The Nickel Boys.” The acclaimed author of “The Underground Railroad” returns with a novel set in 1960s Florida, where a young man makes an innocent mistake that lands him in a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, a chamber of horrors run by sadistic staff in which any boy who resists is likely to disappear “out back.” 7 p.m. July 22. Talk, signing. $40 includes book. Atlanta History Center, 130 West Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta, 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com
Janet Fitch, “Chimes of a Lost Cathedral.” In her new novel, Fitch (“White Oleander”) tells the story of poet, lover, and idealist Marina Makarova, who emerges during the transformative years of the Russian Revolution at the height of her creative powers. 7:15 p.m. July 22. Talk, signing. Free. First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur, 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285, georgiacenterforthebook.org
Carapace: Getaway. Share your personal, five to seven-minute story at Atlanta’s longest-running true storytelling event. Bring your lively (horrible?) vacation tale; that time you escaped from someone in love, work, or family; the day you drove the getaway car. 7 p.m. July 23. Free. Manuel’s Tavern, 602 North Highland Ave., Atlanta, 404-525-3447, manuelstavern.com
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