Literary Calendar: October 30-November 4, 2006

2 Thursday

Noon. The Cato Institute, at 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW, hosts a panel discussion, "The U.S. Military and Counterinsurgency: What We Have Learned in Iraq and Afghanistan," with Thomas E. Ricks , senior Pentagon correspondent for The Washington Post and author of Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq ; Jeffrey Record , professor at the Air War College and author of Beating Goliath: Why Insurgencies Win ; Conrad Crane , director of the U.S. Army Military History Institute at the Army War College; and Christopher Preble , director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Call 202-789-5229 or e-mail events@cato.org to RSVP.

4 P.M. University of Maryland professors Trevor Parry-Giles and Shawn Parry-Giles discuss The Prime-Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism as part of the series "Speaking of Books ... Conversations with Campus Authors," at the University of Maryland, McKeldin Library, Room 6137, College Park, Md. Contact Tim Hackmann at 301-314-8521 or thackman@umd.edu for details.

7 P.M. Young adult writer Tamora Pierce reads from and signs her new fantasy novel, Becka Cooper: Terrier (first volume of a new "Tortall" trilogy), at the Wesley United Methodist Church, 5312 Connecticut Ave. NW in an event sponsored by Politics and Prose Bookstore. Call 202-364-1919 for details.

7 P.M. Ronald J. Olive discusses and signs Capturing Jonathan Pollard: How One of the Most Notorious Spies in American History Was Brought to Justice (Olive was the lead agent on the case) at Olsson's Books-Courthouse, 703-525-4227.

7:30 P.M. Journalists and authors Susan B. Trento and Joseph J. Trento discuss and sign Unsafe at Any Altitude: Failed Terrorism Investigations, Scapegoating 9/11, and the Shocking Truth about Aviation Security Today at Barnes & Noble-Georgetown, 202-965-9880.

3 Friday

7 P.M. Ed Gillespie , former chairman of the Republican National Committee, discusses and signs Winning Right: Campaign Politics and Conservative Policies at Barnes & Noble-Reston, 1851 Fountain Dr., Reston, Va., 703-437-8147.

7:30 P.M. Mystery writer Noreen Wald , author, under the pen name Nora Charles , of the Kate Kennedy mysteries Death is a Bargain and Hurricane Homicide (forthcoming in Dec.), presents a writing workshop, "Sagging Middles and Tight Ends," as part of the Northern Virginia Writers "First Friday" series at the Leesburg Town Hall, 25 W. Market St., Leesburg, Va. Admission is $4 for Writers Center members and Leesburg residents, $6 for the general public. For details, call 301-654-8664.

4 Saturday

2 P.M. Treasure E. Blue signs his new novel, Harlem Girl Lost , at Karibu Books-Centre at Forestville, 3289 B Donnell Dr., Forestville, Md., 301-736-6170. He will also sign that afternoon at 5 p.m. at Karibu Books, Pentagon City Mall, 1100 S. Hayes St., Arlington, Va., 703-415-1118.

2 P.M. Celestino Zapata and Josh Gibson discuss the illustrated history Adams Morgan: Then & Now (they are both residents of the eclectic D.C. neighborhood) at the Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW, 202-232-5483.

Special Notices

The 11th Annual Multicultural Children's Book Festival will be held at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (at 2700 F St. NW) on Saturday, Nov. 4, from noon to 5 p.m., featuring children's authors and illustrators (including Jabari Asim, Lulu Delacre, Nikki Grimes, Pooja Majhijani, Raouf Mama and Walter Dean Myers) and interactive workshops, such as a step-dancing performance with Step Afrika!, a musical performance by the Latin group Cantaré and illustrating with Native American artist Anthony Chee Emerson. Kids will have an opportunity to have their picture taken with Dora the Explorer throughout the day. For complete details, call 202-467-4600 or visit http://www.kennedy-center.org/ .

The Reading Connection , a literacy outreach group for children and families in housing crisis, is holding its annual "Of Wine and Words" benefit gala on Thursday, Nov. 2, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the National Education Association, 1201 16th St. NW. The evening features a wine tasting, silent auction and the chance to meet and greet a host of children's authors, including Jabari Asim, Adjoa Burrowes, Lulu Delacre, Laura Elliot, Deborah Wiles, keynote speaker Maria Testa and Chris Raschka, illustrator of the picture book The Hello, Goodbye Window (written by Norton Juster and winner of the 2006 Caldecott Award). Tickets are $65; call 703-528-8317 or visit http://www.thereadingconnection.org/ for details.

The Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C. will hold its annual award luncheon on Saturday, Nov. 4, at noon at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th St. NW, honoring Sneed B. Collard III, winner of the 2006 Award for nonfiction for his numerous science books for kids, and featuring children's author Norton Juster and author/illustrator Chris Raschka. Tickets for this event, sponsored by The Washington Post, are $55; call 301-469-2070 or visit http://www.childrensbookguild.org/ for details and to RSVP.

Wally "Famous" Amos , creator of the Famous Amos Cookie Company and a motivational speaker, will hold a storytime for kids on Friday, Nov. 3, at 6:30 p.m. as part of the Children's Rights Council's 20th anniversary conference at the Sheraton Crystal City, 1800 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, Va. The event is free and open to the public; for details on the conference, visit http://www.crckids.org/ .

The 37th Annual Book Festival sponsored by the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington is being held Nov. 2-12 at 6125 Montrose Rd. in Rockville, Md. Authors scheduled to attend include Mitch Albom, former secretary of defense William Cohen, actor Peter Falk, journalist Michael Isikoff, Eric Kandel (winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for science), Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, ABC News journalist Lynn Sherr, and linguist Deborah Tannen. The cost of author lectures varies, but begins at $7. There will also be numerous programs for families and children as well as a special "Washington's Own" panel for local authors. Hours are: Thursday, Nov. 2, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 3 and Friday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 5 and Sunday, Nov. 12, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 6 to Thursday, Nov. 9, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The festival is closed Saturday. For a complete schedule of events, including times and prices, contact the box office at 301-348-3805 or visit http://www.jccgwbookfestival.org/ .

The inaugural Delaware Book Festival will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the First State Heritage Park in front of Legislative Hall in Dover, Del. Authors attending include Sebastian Junger, Phillip Margolin, Mark Malseed and children's authors Steven Kellogg and David Elliott. Also featured are two panel discussions: "Behind the Scenes in the World of Book Publishing" with industry executives and "The Art of the Book," focusing on book illustration and design. For complete details, visit http://www.debookfestival.lib.de.us/ .