Speaking Tour: 1/29 - 2/4

Monday
LOCAL AUTHOR, LOCAL AUTHOR: Clear Cut Press presents two of its novelists: Matt Briggs' Shoot The Buffalo is about a boy growing up in Snoqualmie during the '70s. Stacey Levine's Frances Johnson, set in a small town in Florida, details the random choices made by the eponymous Ms. Johnson.

7pm // University Bookstore // FREE

SCI-FI SALON: One of the finest authors on the "humanist" wing of American science fiction and fantasy, Paul Park launches his newly published novel, The White Tyger.

7pm // Richard Hugo House // $4 donation

Tuesday
SCIENCE HISTORY: Bellingham's George Dyson talks about John von Neumann, a pioneer of the modern digital computer -- specifically, when von Neumann was inventing computing at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton during the 1940s and '50s.

7:30pm // Town Hall // $5

PASSEL OF POETS: The anthology is called Long Journey: Contemporary Northwest Poets. A dozen of Seattle's leading poets read: Kevin Craft, Madeline DeFrees, Neile Graham, Jana Harris, Francis McCue, Colleen McElroy, Peter Pereira, Martha Silano, Joan Swift, David Wagoner, Emily Warn and Carolyne Wright join editor David Biespiel.

7:30pm // Richard Hugo House // FREE

AMERICAN HISTORY: UW professor Richard Johnson on the forces that shaped America. Part 3: The Remaking of Government, Race, and Labor. A second wave of English settlement brings new forms of constitutional government and religious practice. The Indians see which way the wind is blowing. Slaves become a popular investment.

7-9pm // UW Kane Hall Rm 130 // $15/$12 UWAA members/$5 students

AUTHOR, AUTHOR: Vikram Chandra reads from his new novel, Sacred Games, a lively tale of life, death, and intrigues in contemporary India.

7pm // Elliott Bay at SAAM // FREE

Wednesday
AUTHOR, AUTHOR: Calvin Trillin reads from About Alice. For many years, the adventures and misadventures of his family have been the source of many humorous anecdotes. At the center of each was his wife Alice, who passed away five years ago.

7pm // University Bookstore // FREE

Thursday
AUTHOR, AUTHOR: Charles Johnson delivers his talk, "Whole Sight: The Intersection of Culture, Faith, and Imagination." Literary critic, screenwriter, philosopher, and cartoonist, Johnson is the author of Middle Passage (1990), winner of the National Book Award.

7pm // UW Kane Hall, Room 120 // FREE

BIG PLANES, BIG PLANS: John Newhouse, a former New Yorker foreign policy correspondent talks about his book, Boeing Versus Airbus: The Inside Story of the Greatest International Competition in Business.

7:30pm // Town Hall // $5

Friday
SLOW ADULTS: With her new book Slow is Beautiful: New Visions of Community, Leisure and Joie, Cecile Andrews inspires baby boomers and those just beginning to make lifestyle choices to challenge consumerism and savor life.

6:30pm // Third Place Books // FREE

AUTHOR GONE WILD: British naturalist and writer Jay Griffiths reads from her newest book, Wild: An Elemental Journey, the culmination of a seven-year world-walking odyssey.

7:30pm // Elliott Bay // FREE

Saturday
DEMOCRAT, DEMOCRAT: Terry McAuliffe's new book is What A Party: My Life Among The Democrats. "A must-read for all of us who love politics, believe in public service, and know that laughter is often the best survival strategy." -- Bill Clinton.

6:30pm // Third Place Books // FREE

Sunday
ONE-SHOT MONOLOGUE: For Stories from the Atlantic Night Cafe, Mike Daisey creates his monologue an hour before curtain, and extemporaneously delivers a world-premiere performance. Here's the timely Gothamist interview on how he works.

7pm // CHAC // Tickets $20