Literary Calendar: October 6-12, 2008

8 P.M. The 29th season of the PEN/Faulkner Reading Series opens with "In the Quagmire: America at War," a roundtable discussion with Colby Buzzell, author of My War: Killing Time in Iraq, his blog-turned-memoir; novelist Albert French, who summed up his experience as a Marine in Vietnam in Patches of Fire: A Story of War and Redemption; and Anthony Swofford, author of Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles, at the Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Columnist Clarence Page will moderate. A reception and book signing follow. Tickets are $15; for details and to RSVP, call 202-544-7077 or visit http://www.folger.edu/pen.

11 SATURDAY

3 P.M. The Asian Women's Self Help Association (ASHA) marks domestic violence awareness month with a reading and discussion by Indian-born writer Shobhan Bantwal from her new novel, The Forbidden Daughter, at the Potter's House Coffee House, 1658 Columbia Rd. NW. For details, call 202-431-2740; to learn about ASHA, visit http://www.ashaforwomen.org.

3:30 P.M. Susan McCorkindale, a former marketing director at Family Circle magazine, discusses her family's relocation from Manhattan to a beef farm in rural Virginia as told in Confessions of a Counterfeit Farm Girl at Books & Crannies, 19 E. Washington St., Middleburg, Va., 540-687-6677.

6 P.M. John Podesta, President Clinton's former chief of staff and now president of the Center for American Progress, discusses and signs The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country at Politics and Prose Bookstore, 202-364-1919.

12 SUNDAY

6 P.M. The 15th season of the Iota Poetry Series opens with readings by Anne Becker and Kathi Wolfe at the Iota Club & Café, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. An open reading follows; call 703-256-9275.

SPECIAL NOTICES

The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress is hosting a discussion with Barbara Peters and Robert Rosenwald, owners of Poisoned Pen Books and Poisoned Pen Press, on the mystery genre and the general state of the publishing industry in America on Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 6 p.m. in the James Madison Bldg., Montpelier Room, 101 Independence Ave. SE, 202-707-5221.

The Washington Science Fiction Association (WSFA) will hold its 8th annual convention, Capclave, the weekend of Oct. 17-19 at the Rockville Hilton and Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike in Rockville, Md. The guests of honor will be James Morrow, author of The Last Witchfinder and The Philosopher's Apprentice, and critic Michael Dirda, a columnist in The Washington Post's Book World section. Ticket prices are $60 for the entire weekend, while individuals tickets are $25 for Friday, $40 for Saturday and $25 for Sunday. Contact Cathy Green at 202-686-6093 for details.

The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia will hold a basic literacy training workshop for volunteers interested in helping adults learn to read and write English over three consecutive Saturdays (all sessions are required), Nov. 8, 15 and 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day at the James Lee Community Center, 2855 Annandale Rd., Falls Church, Va. Also offered is an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) tutor training program, to support volunteers in helping adults understand, speak, read and write English. The next training session begins Saturday, Oct. 11, and continues on Oct. 18 and 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Like the basic literacy training, all sessions are required. For details, call 703-237-0866 or visit http://www.lcnv.org.

The Literacy Council of Montgomery County will hold several orientation sessions for volunteers interested in helping adults learn to read, write and speak English: Monday, Oct. 6, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Gaithersburg Library, 18330 Montgomery Village Ave., Gaithersburg, Md., and again on Wednesday, Oct. 29, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Wheaton Library, 11701 Georgia Ave., Wheaton, Md. Once volunteers have completed the orientation, they can select a two-part training session that fits their schedules. The next planned workshops will be held on Saturday, Oct. 11 and 25 and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 22, both from 9:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Rockville Library, 21 Maryland Ave., Rockville, Md. For complete details, call 301-610-0030, e-mail info@literacycouncilmcmd.org or visit http://www.literacycouncilmcmd.org.

Washington Writers' Publishing House (WWPH), a collective literary press created in 1973, announces an open call for its annual fiction and poetry prize contests from residents living within 60 driving miles of the Capitol (Baltimore region included). Book-length manuscripts (there is a fee of $20 for poetry, $25 for fiction) should be submitted by Nov. 1. For complete guidelines, visit http://www.washingtonwriters.org.