Literary Calendar

7:30 P.M. Nebula Award-winning SF author Elizabeth Moon reads from and signs her new installment in the "Vatta's War" series, Victory Conditions, at Borders Books-Baileys Crossroads, Route 7 at Columbia Pike, Baileys Crossroads, Va., 703-998-0404.

21 THURSDAY

Noon. Journalist Pete Earley discusses and signs Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia's Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War at the International Spy Museum, 800 F St. NW, 202-393-7798.

7 P.M. Alex Witchel, a staff writer for the New York Times Magazine and author of the monthly Dining section column "Feed Me," reads from and signs her new novel, The Spare Wife, at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.

7 P.M. Writer and poet E. Ethelbert Miller, author of Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer and the verse collection How We Sleep on the Nights We Don't Make Love, discusses his work (and memoir-in-progress The Fifth Inning) in conversation with local radio host Heather Taylor at Olsson's Books-Penn Quarter, 418 Seventh St. NW, 202-38-7610.

7:30 P.M. Forensic pathologist and writer Jonathan Hayes reads from and signs his new thriller, Precious Blood, at Borders Books-Baileys Crossroads, 703-998-0404.

7:30 P.M. Mark Penn, CEO of Burson-Marsteller, a former pollster to President Clinton and an adviser to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, discusses and signs his recent book Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes (written with E. Kinney Zalesne), at the Friendship Heights Village Center, 4433 S. Park Ave., Chevy Chase, Md., 301-656-2797.

7:30 P.M. Historian Robert Gellately presents a lecture drawn from his recent book, Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe, as part of the "Great Lives Lecture Series" at the University of Mary Washington, George Washington Hall, Dodd Auditorium, 1301 College Ave., Fredericksburg, Va., 540-654-1055.

23 SATURDAY

10 A.M. Rock-n-Romp, the family-friendly concert series that got its start here in the D.C. area (and now has outlets nationwide), returns, first in Baltimore at the 2640 Space, 2640 St. Paul St., and then at 1 p.m. that afternoon in Silver Spring, Md., at McGinty's Public House, 911 Ellsworth Dr. Pop-culture critic Neal Pollack will be the featured author at both venues, discussing his memoir Alternadad: The True Story of One Family's Struggle to Raise a Cool Kid in America (just published in paperback). Musical performances include the Thrushes in Baltimore and Julie Ocean in Silver Spring; visit http://www.rocknromp.com for details.

1 P.M. Brian Jay Jones discusses and signs Washington Irving: An American Original at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.

2 P.M. Children's author Margaret Meacham reads from and discusses A Fairy's Guide to Understanding Humans (the sequel to the novel A Mid-Semester Night's Dream) at Aladdin's Lamp Children's Bookstore, 2499 N. Harrison St., Arlington, Va. Call 703-241-8281 for details and to RSVP.

6 P.M. Susan Jacoby discusses and signs The Age of American Unreason at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.

24 SUNDAY

5 P.M. The Audubon Naturalist Society celebrates the paperback release of An Illustrated Guide to Eastern Woodland Wildflowers and Trees: 350 Plants Observed at Sugarloaf Mountain, Maryland with a discussion with author Melanie Choukas-Bradley and artist Tina Thieme Brown at the Woodend Mansion, 8940 Jones Mill Rd., Chevy Chase, Md. Refreshments provided; for details, call 301-652-3606 or visit http://www.audubonnaturalist.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS

The upcoming Bethesda Literary Festival (April 18-20) will feature, as in years past, several writing contests: First up, the festival is seeking 500-word short stories or essays about a major turning point in the contestants' lives, which will be judged in two categories -- young adults in grades 9-12 and adults age 18 and older. Fourteen finalists will be feted in a reading/reception event during the festival lineup (the top four essays in the adult contest and the top dog in the YA group will receive cash prizes). There is also a contest for younger writers (K-8) on the topic of "My Favorite Teacher." The top 10 entrants in that contest will be honored (along with those beloved teachers) at a special reading and prize-granting event. Entries for all contests must be received by March 21, 2008, by 5 p.m. An entry form is required for each submission; call 301-215-6660 or visit http://www.bethesda.org for complete details.

The Word Works is seeking submissions for the 28th annual Washington Prize, awarded for a manuscript of previously unpublished, original poetry by a living American writer. Manuscripts should be 48 to 64 pages (visit http://www.wordworksdc.com for further manuscript stipulations). An entry fee of $25 applies. Send submissions (and a SASE to be notified of the results) to Steven B. Rogers, Word Works Washington Prize, 3201 Taylor St., Mt. Rainier, Md. 20712. Deadline is March 1.