Tampa’s Inkwood Books hosts is monthly Teen Book Club — to be held the second Monday of every month — Monday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m. Open to kids in the 8th through 12th, the group will be led by two young moderators — local book blogger and Plant High School student Grace Smith and Ashley Moran. Each club meeting is $5, which includes pizza and refreshments. This month’s book selection is The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and can be purchased from Inkwood here.
Poet Maureen McDole will read at Mirror Lake Library in St. Petersburg, Monday, Sept. 8. A reception takes place at 5 p.m. Readings will begin at 5:45 p.m.
“Eleven Reflections on September,” a spoken word and multimedia performance at the University of South Florida, touches on the Arab-American experience in a post-9/11 world. Performances will take place Monday, Sept. 8 and Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. in USF’s Barness Recital Hall. This production is based on a series of poems written by Andrea Assaf, the founding artistic director of Art2Action, since 2001, spanning the fall of the Twin Towers, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the current revolutions and struggles in the so-called Arab Spring. Vocalist and percussionist Aida Shahghasemi, who specializes in Persian music and the Kurdish Daf, is a featured guest artist. “Eleven Reflections on September” is part of Art2Action’s “THIS Bridge: Arab, Middle Eastern & Muslim Artists” series, which has been created in partnership with USF.
Local writers will take over the patio at St. Pete’s Butler’s Key West Bar for a Community Write-in Tuesday, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m. Grab your laptop or notebook, grab a table and get writing! This event is hosted by Heather Jones, a writer, editor, and literary consultant, and Wordier Than Thou, a local literary arts organization.
Learn how to build your author’s platform one step at a time. Cynthia A. Sandor, a self-published author who has built a stable author platform both online and offline, will speak at the next Aspiring Writers Publishing and Marketing Meet-up group meeting Tuesday, Sept. 9, 6:30 p.m., at McAlister’s Deli in Tampa. She’ll discuss social media skills, offline marketing, publicity and more. Cost is $5.
The Clearwater Writers Meetup Group gathers at the home of its organizer in Belleair on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. Discuss publishing trends, blogs and websites of interest to writers, and receive constructive criticism of your work.
Tristan Gooley, the author of Natural Navigator, will speak at The Institute of Navigation’s annual meeting and showcase of GNSS technology, products and services Tuesday, Sept. 9, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Tamp Convention Center. Gooley will be talking about "The Wonderful World of Natural Navigation."
Tim Dorsey, the former Tampa Tribune journalist turned novelist, continues his tour of local libraries Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m., at the Gulfport Library. He’ll discuss his 15 zany, Florida-based mystery novels, answer questions and sign copies of his books.
Love poetry? Inkwood Books presents its inaugural Second Tuesday Poetry Night Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. This month’s event features Peter Meinke, Greg Byrd and Gianna Russo, who each have a new collection of poetry out.
Work on your blockbuster hit at Tampa Writers Alliance’s Screenplay Focus Group, which meets Tuesday, Sept. 9, 7 to 9 p.m., at Starbucks, 10002 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa. The group discusses different forms of screenwriting, and the genre’s rules and conventions.
TWA’s Critique Group meets the next night, Wed., Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at the Barnes & Noble in Carrollwood. Visitors are welcome, but only members’ works will be discussed, about five pieces per session. Works critiqued are submitted two weeks in advance. If you’re interested in attending, contact the group for copies of the submitted pieces if possible, though it’s not required to attend.
Safety Harbor Writers and Poets hosts its monthly Open Mic Wednesday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., at Tapping the Vine, 737 Main St. Spoken word artists, storytellers, fiction writers, comedians and musicians are welcome. Each reader/performer gets five minutes.
Share your poetry, stories and songs at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church’s bi-monthly Poetry & Open Mic Night, Wednesday, Aug. 13. The evening kicks off with a potluck at 6:30 p.m. So get there early to sign in and snack; readings and performances begin promptly at 7 p.m. The church is located at 3747 34th St. S, St. Pete.
Inkwood hosts author Ruth VanDyke, who will discuss and sign her new book Refined by Fire, the first book in the new Guardians of Peace series, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 7 p.m. The series takes place in the summer of 1976, as the first women were admitted to the United States Military Academy and the first women to complete a four-year ROTC program were commissioned as second lieutenants. The book follows four women — Lori, Maura, Anne and Amelia — as they navigate careers in a male-dominated Army.
Sonia Nazario, the author of Enrique’s Journey, Eckerd College’s summer reading selection for 2014, will speak at the college Thursday, Sept. 11, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Nazario's book is an unforgettable true tale of Enrique, a Honduran boy who prevails on a perilous journey to find his mother, Lourdes Flores, who had left him 11 years earlier to find work in the U.S. Nazario will discuss not only the book, but the human tragedies surrounding immigration. Enrique’s mother, Lourdes Flores, will also be present and will join in on the discussion of issues surrounding immigration to America today. The public is welcome to attend.
Horror writer Jonathan Maberry, a New York Times best-selling author and a multiple Bram Stoker Award winner, will be at Yancy Street Comics at the Gulfview Square Mall in Port Richey Saturday, Sept. 13, 12 p.m., along with artist Tony Vargas. The duo is celebrating the release of their new zombie graphic novel series Rot & Ruin. Enter the Zombie Trivia Contest for a chance to win a walk-on appearance in a future Rot & Ruin novel.
Meet Benny Lewis, author of Fluent in Three Months, at Book Swap of Carrollwood, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2 p.m., and see how easy it is to learn a foreign language. Lewis, a world traveler who speaks 10 languages and recently was awarded National Geographic’s Traveler of the Year Award, has been helping people learn other languages through his blog Fluent in Three Months. His book of the same name offers many of the tips he offers online and also debunks the most pervasive language-learning myths.
Sarasota’s new Write to Publish meetup group will hold an organizational meeting Saturday, Sept. 13, 2 to 4 p.m., at Starbucks, 1375 S. Tamiami Trl.
