Literary calendar: Dave Zirin discusses 'The Kaepernick Effect'

Sep. 25—JACOBS/NINTZEL — Author Dana Jacobs and illustrator Sara Nintzel sign copies of their children's book "The (Mis)Adventures of Dasher." 10-11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 1, Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake.

KUSUNOKI LAUNCH: Stanley Kusunoki celebrates publication of his fourth poetry collection, "Shelter in Place — Poems in a Time of COVID-19." He has taught writing to young people through local programs and was awarded a State Arts Board Cultural Collaboration grant to create, write and perform "Beringia-The Land Bridge Project" with Ojibwe performance poet Jamison Mahto. 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, Eat My Words Bookstore, 214 13th Ave. N.E., Mpls.

NATASHA LESTER: Presents "The Riviera House: A Novel." in conversation with Kate Quinn. 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27. Virtual, presented by Magers & Quinn. Go to: magersandquinn.com.

LITERARY BRIDGES READING: Poetry with Autumn Leaves theme featuring Stanley Kusunoki, Norita Dittberner-Jax, Thomas R. Smith, Mary Kay Rummel and Mary Moore Easter. 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul. Organizers ask that attendees are vaccinated and wear masks.

TERESE MARIE MAILHOT: Reads from her bestselling memoir "Heart Berries." A member of the Seabird Island Band, she has been honored with the Whiting Award and the Spalding Prize for the Promotion of Peace and Justice in Literature. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, via Zoom. Presented by the University of Minnesota Creative Writing Program and the Edelstein-Keller Visiting Writer Series. Register at: umn.zoom.us/webinar/register.

LINDA MORRISON: Discusses her book "Dear Heroin," the story of her journey as the mother of a child with heroin addiction, also touching on depression, suicide and mental illness. 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 2; Winding Trail Books, 2230 Carter Ave., St. Paul. Masks required.

ETHAN RAY: Reads from "Book for Lonely Evenings: Poems." 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29. In-store, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

THREE CATHOLIC POETS: Angela Alaimo O'Donnell of New York, and St. Paulites Maryann Corbett and James Silas Rogers read from their poetry, frequent themes of which are Catholic life past and present, prayer, sacramentality and saints. O'Donnell is a professor at Fordham University in New York City where she teaches English, creative writing, and American Catholic Studies. She is the author of nine books of poems, the most recent of which is "Love in the Time of Coronavirus: A Pandemic Pilgrimage." She has also written three critical studies of Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor and written extensively on the Catholic intellectual tradition. Corbett is the award-winning author of five poetry collections, most recently "In Code." Much of her poetry has to do with growing up Catholic. Rogers is the author of two books of poems, "Sundogs" and "The Collector of Shades," as well as a book on cemeteries and sacred space, "Northern Orchards." 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 2836 33rd Ave. S., Mpls. Free and open to the public.

PATRICK STRAIT: Discusses his book "Funny Thing About Minnesota: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of the Twin Cities Comedy Scene." 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul. Tickets: $5-$24.95, available only online. Go to: nextchapterbooksellers.com/event.

TOM TRONDSON: Presents his novel about a fading tennis star, "Moving in Stereo." 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30. In-store, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

MAI DER VANG: Celebrates the release of "Yellow Rain," a work of memory, poetry and collage, in which she recounts the story of how many Hmong refugees, abandoned by the U.S. at the end of the Vietnam War, told of a mysterious substance that fell from planes during their escape from Laos starting in the mid-1970s. They called it "yellow rain" and it caused severe illnesses and thousands of deaths. Mai Der Vang, who lives in California, is an editorial member of the Hmong American Writers' Circle. She will be in conversation with award-winning Minnesota writer Kao Kalia Yang. 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, presented by SubText books and East Side Freedom Library, both in St. Paul. Streamed free via Crowdcast. To register: crowdcast.io/e/mai-der-vang-for-yellow/register.

RITA WOODS: Author of "Remembrance," one of the most-celebrated historical fiction debuts in years, about a hallowed refuge for escaped slaves that exists outside the normal bounds of time and space, the most unusual stop on the Underground Railroad. 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28. Virtual. Presented in MELSA'S Club Book series. Streamed live at facebook.com/ClubBook.

DAVE ZIRIN: Named one of UTNE Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World," Zirin is a Macalester College graduate and the Nation Magazine's first sportswriter in 150 years. He'll discuss his book "The Kaepernick Effect," first-person stories of how football player Colin Kaepernicks "taking the knee" ignited a national movement of citizen-athletes fighting for racial justice.

This fundraiser for East Side Freedom Library will feature Zirin in conversation about Sports, Activism, and Equity with Mi'Chael N. Wright, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Minnesota. She is a former Division I athlete who organized taking a knee in 2016. 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26. Free, via Zoom. Information at: eastsidefreedomlibrary.org/events.

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

National Book Awards long-lists were announced and Graywolf Press has three titles "The Twilight Zone" by Nona Fernandez, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (Translated Literature category); "The Wild Fox of Yemen" by Threa Almontaser (poetry); and "Abundance" by Jakob Guanzon (fiction). Long-listed in Young People's Literature is "Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre" by Carole Boston Weatherford, with illustrations by Floyd Cooper, published by Carolrhoda Books.

Minnesota publishers Lerner Publishing Group and Milkweed Editions are partnering to create a young reader's adaptation adaptation of botanist and Citizen Potawatomi Nation member Robin Wall Kimmerer's bestselling "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants." The new edition will have added illustrations and be adapted for a young adult audience by Monique Gray Smith (Cree). Publication is fall of 2022.

Fans of Minnesotan Matt Goldman's writing will be happy to know that "Carolina Moonset," his first stand-alone novel, will be published next May. It's about a man who listens to his ailing father's memories about growing up in Beaufort, S.C., and begins to realize his father is revealing deadly secrets that could shatter lives.

Two Minnesota writers are celebrating reaching the milestone sales of 100,000 copies: Anne Frasier's "Find Me" and Wendy Webb's "Daughters of the Lake."