Marcus Jewish Community Center Atlanta Book Festival. Nov. 5-20. Talks, signings, food, music. MJCCA, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. 678-812-4005, atlantajcc.org/bookfestival. Featuring 40-plus authors, this year's festival, the 25th annual, includes a live concert, a cultural Jewish food tasting, interviews between authors and local journalists, and book club programs. Headlining authors include Jonathan Rabb, Peter Bergen, Ellen Feldman, Jennifer Brown, Yael Dayan, Jonathan Safran Foer, Shep Gordon, Alyson Richman and B.A. Shapiro.
J.D. Jordan, "Calamity: Being an Account of Calamity Jane and Her Gunslinging Green Man," and Frank Reddy, "Eyes on the Island." 7:15 p.m. Nov. 7. Talk, signing. Free. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-3070, Ext. 2285; georgiacenterforthebook.org/Events/show.php?id=920. Two Georgia authors discuss their debut novels. In his sci-fi story, Jordan reveals Calamity Jane's youthful connection with an alien gunslinger called the Green Man. Reddy's story, set on Georgia's barrier islands, follows a fallen preacher who hears unsettling stories about other islanders.
Alyson Richman, "The Velvet Hours," and M.J. Rose, "The Secret Language of Stones." 7 p.m. Nov. 9. Signing. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events. Richman ("The Lost Wife") writes of a young woman who is forced to leave her fabled grandmother's legacy behind during World War I. Rose's novel follows a jewelry store employee whose mystical powers lead her through World War I Paris and beyond to a member of the exiled Romanov family.
Erica Gerald Mason and Beth Gylys. 8 p.m. Nov. 10. Readings. $5. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-872-5338, Ext. 228; callanwolde.org/event/poetry-reading-with-two-guest-poets-7. Acworth resident and Huffington Post blogger Mason is the author of several books, including "I Am a Telescope." A professor of English and creative writing at Georgia State University, Gylys' most recent book of poetry is "Sky Blue Enough to Drink."
Ann Neumann, "The Good Death." 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11. Talk, signing. Free. A Cappella Books, 208 Haralson Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-681-5128, acappellabooks.com/events.php. Neumann examines what it means to die well in the United States.
Carapace and Big Read: Exile. 7 p.m. Nov. 11. Storytelling. Free. 7 Stages Theatre, 1105 Euclid Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-523-7647, 7stages.org/shows-productions/special-programs/the-big-read. Carapace and 7 Stages' Big Read program unite to share tales based on the theme of exile in Edwidge Danticat's "Brother I'm Dying." Audience members can share their own stories.
Milton Literary Festival. Nov. 11-12. Panel discussions, workshops, readings, signings, book clubs, food, music, story times for kids, meet-and-greets. Free. Alpharetta Municipal Center, 12624 Broadwell Road, Alpharetta. 678-242-2512, miltonliteraryfestival.weebly.com/events-schedule.html. On Friday evening, author Cassandra King, widow of Pat Conroy, and poet-author Ellen Malphrus will appear at the Words & Wine Festival Kick Off (miltonliteraryfestival.weebly.com/words—wine.html). On Saturday, keynote speaker Lynn Cullen will open the festival, which includes Atlanta writers Julie Bloemeke, Daniel Black, Amber Brock and others.
Katie Hart Smith, "Aspirations of the Heart." 2 p.m. Nov. 12. Signing. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events. In 1913, a Georgia farm girl travels to Atlanta, where she meets a man intent on making his mysterious cure-all tonic a household name at any cost.
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