Author Events Aug. 15-21
Victoria Benton Frank, “The Violet Hour.” This heartwarming new novel by the author of “My Magnolia Summer” brings back familiar characters, as two best friends reeling from loss find their way forward. 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 15. Talk. Free. The Book Tavern, 978 Broad St., Augusta. 706-826-1940, booktavern.com. Also appearing: 2 p.m. Aug. 16. Talk, signing. Free with RSVP. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Suite 138, Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/vbfrank.
Susana M. Morris, “Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler.” Morris’ magnificent cultural biography charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19. Conversation. Free. Auburn Avenue Research Library, 101 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-613-4001, charisbooksandmore.com/event.
Beatriz Williams, “Under the Stars.” When a mother and daughter return to a New England island to confront their complicated past, they discover a secret trove of paintings connected to a mysterious woman who vanished two centuries earlier. 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19. Conversation. Free with RSVP. FoxTale Book Shoppe, 105 E. Main St., Suite 138, Woodstock. 770-516-9989, foxtalebookshoppe.com/BWilliams.
Pamela Terry, “Through an Open Window.” A woman haunted by visions of the long-deceased aunt who raised her begins to understand that these mysterious visitations carry a message: a secret from the past waiting to be uncovered. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 20. Discussion, signing, light refreshments. Free. Reed House, 3080 Atlanta Road SE, Smyrna. 770-509-5611, bookmiser.net/events.
Zaakir Tameez, “Charles Sumner: Conscience of a Nation.” Though mainly known as the abolitionist statesman who suffered a brutal caning on the Senate floor by a proslavery congressman in 1856, Sumner emerges from Tameez’s landmark biography as one of America’s forgotten Founding Fathers, a constitutional visionary who helped to rewrite the post–Civil War Constitution and give birth to modern civil rights law. 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 21. Conversation. Free-$12. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road NW, Atlanta. 404-814-4081, atlantahistorycenter.com/event/zaakir-tameez.
