Robert Jones, "We All Have 4 Downs." 6 p.m. Sept. 8. Talk, signing. Free. Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Southwest Branch, 3665 Cascade Road, Atlanta. 404-699-6363, afpls.blogspot.com/2015/08/september-art-and-author-programs.html. In football parlance, Jones explores the four downs of life.
Joseph Harrison and Julie E. Bloemeke. 8 p.m. Sept. 9. Poetry reading. $5. Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, 980 Briarcliff Road N.E., Atlanta. callanwolde.org/event/poetry-reading-with-joseph-harrison-and-julie-e-bloemeke. Harrison is the author of four books of poetry, most recently "The Fly in the Ointment." Bloemeke's manuscript "Slide to Unlock" recently placed as a semifinalist in three contests.
Nadia Bolz-Weber, "Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People." 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Talk, signing. Free. First Baptist Church of Decatur, 308 Clairmont Ave., Decatur. 404-373-1653, charisbooksandmore.com/event/nadia-bolz-weber-accidental-saints-finding-god-all-wrong-people. This memoir by a former stand-up comic turned pastor demonstrates what happens when ordinary people share bread and wine, struggle with Scripture together, and tell each other the truth.
Todd Brewster, "Lincoln's Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months that Gave America the Emancipation Proclamation and Changed the Course of the Civil War." 8 p.m. Sept. 10. Lecture, signing. $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, atlantahistorycenter.com/tags/lectures. Brewster recounts events leading up to the signing of the historic document from Abraham Lincoln's perspective.
Lisa Wingate, "The Sea Keeper's Daughters," and Laura McNeill, "Center of Gravity." 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11. Talk, signing. Free. Bookmiser, 4651 Sandy Plains Road, Roswell. 770-993-1555, bookmiser.net/happenings2.html. In Wingate's latest novel, a restaurant owner desperate to save a decaying Outer Banks hotel finds a ray of hope in the discovery of an old necklace. McNeill's debut suspense novel explores family secrets and betrayals through the eyes of an 8-year-old boy and his mother.
Ann Hite, "Where the Souls Go," and Lisa Wingate, "The Sea Keeper's Daughters." 1 p.m. Sept. 12. Launch party, music, refreshments. Free. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/events. Hite returns with the story of 10-year-old Annie, whose mountain home is haunted by the ghost of a young girl.
Mark Katzman, "Playdate." 4 p.m. Sept. 12. Reading, signing. Free. A Cappella Books, 208 Haralson Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-681-5128, acappellabooks.com/event/mark-katzman-book-signing. In this avant-garde novel by Athens author Katzman, a man and his parents meet one night — except they may not be his parents. And they might be dead.
