Author Events, March 3-9

Local author, Helen Sedwick, introduces her debut novel, “Coyote Winds”, at Copperfields in Montgomery Village this Friday.

For more events or to list author events in our calendar, visit the Press Democrat’s events listings at pressdemocrat.com.

SUNDAY (MAR 3)

David Helvarg, “The Golden Shore: California’s Love Affair with the Sea,” 4 p.m.
Taking the reader on both a geographical and literary history of the state, Helvarg goes from California’s border up north with Oregon down to the border of San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and out into the sea with the whales, sharks, seals, kelp forests, and offshore seamounts. He captures the unique spirit of this amazing coast, its mythic place in American culture, and its role in a state whose ongoing natural disasters and unrelenting sense of renewal are intimately linked to its deep connection with an ever-changing sea.
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.

MONDAY (MAR 4)

Barbara Dana, “A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson,” part of The Big Read, Sonoma County, 7 p.m.
Come meet “Emily” (portrayed by actress Barbara Dana) as part of The Big Read, Sonoma County! The Big Read is an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. KRCB North Bay Public Media and the Sonoma County Library are local sponsors of the annual Big Read, Sonoma County Month that takes place every March. Events are created and designed by community members in order to promote literacy and the pleasure of reading. Events encompass all the arts (literary, visual and performing) as a means to engage even the most reluctant of readers.  Barbara Dana is an award-winning author of books for children and young adults.
Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 578-8938, copperfieldsbooks.com

TUESDAY (MAR 5)

The Written Word, A Mixer, 7 p.m.,
A party for writers, bloggers, authors, copywriters, screenwriters, editors, printers, publishers, readers, illustrators, graphic artists, proofreaders.
Aqus Café, 189 H St., Petaluma. Info, 778-6060 or www.aquscafe.com

WEDNESDAY (MAR 6)

Melanie Benjamin, “The Aviator’s Wife,” 7 p.m.
This novel reveals the story behind one of America’s most remarkable marriages–Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh–two aviators, thrill-seekers, heroes–and reveals both its dizzying highs and devastating lows with grace, insight, and stunning power.
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.

THURSDAY (MAR 7)

Joyce Carol Oates, “The Accursed,” 7 p.m.
Princeton, New Jersey at the turn of the twentieth century: a young bride on the verge of the altar is seduced and abducted by a dangerously compelling man—a shape-shifting, vaguely European prince who might just be the devil, and who spreads his curse upon a richly deserving community of white Anglo-Saxon privilege. When the bride’s brother sets out against all odds to find her, his path will cross those of Princeton’s most formidable people, from Grover Cleveland to soon-to-be commander in chief Woodrow Wilson; from the young Socialist idealist Upton Sinclair, to his charismatic comrade Jack London, and the most famous writer of the era, Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain—all plagued by “accursed” visions.
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.

FRIDAY (MAR 8)

Emilio Gonzalez-Llanes, “Cigar City Stories: Tales of Old Ybor City,” 7 p.m.
Emilio’s collection of short stories and poems about Ybor City, Florida in the 1940’s reflect his coming-of-age in this colorful community that no longer exists. They include a kidnapping, a hold-up, a shark attack, a deadly duel, and a murder, a teenager coming to grips with his sexual identity, an activist mother resisting Jim Crow laws, and an unexpected baby who changes everyone’s life. His writing provides a snapshot of this lost island in time. The event includes a reading and book signing. Refreshments will be served. Dance to Cuban music after the reading.
OCA, 3850 Doris Murphy Ct., Occidental. Info, 874-9392 or www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org.

Helen Sedwick, “Coyote Winds,” 7 p.m.
Santa Rosa resident, Helen Sedwick spins a compelling tale based on her father’s experiences of growing up on a farm in Eastern Colorado in the 1920s, when drought and over-farming turned America’s bread basket into the Dust Bowl.
Copperfield’s Books, 775 Village Court, Santa Rosa, 578-8938, copperfieldsbooks.com

SATURDAY (MAR 9)

Cynthia Greenberg, “Burmese Jade,” 7 p.m.
Cynthia Greenberg tells the story of a French photojournalist who traverses the globe from Paris to Malaysia in pursuit of a link between her grandfather’s disappearance and a famous silk baron who vanished a quarter of a century earlier.
Book Passage, 51 Tamal Vista Blvd., Corte Madera. (415) 927-0960, bookpassage.com.

To submit book events for consideration in this column, contact Sara Peyton at sara.peyton@gmail.com at least three weeks in advance of the event.