• Monday, October 5th at 7:00pm (A reading & a conversation)

Amherst College (Virtual) Visiting Writers Series, Fall 2020   Join poet Raphael Campo as he reads from Comfort Measures Only: New & Selected Poems.   Campo teaches & practices general internal medicine at Harvard Medical School & Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.   He is the author of seven volumes of poetry.   He is recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, & two Lambda Literary Awards.   For more information or to register for the virtual talk, go to the Amherst College Visiting Writers Series Events page.   To buy any of his books, email us—or if you'd prefer to buy on-line but still support us, go to our Bookshop.org Amherst College Visiting Writer page.

• Wednesday, October 7th at 6:00pm (Talk)

2020 Feinberg Series: Planet on a Precipice: Histories & Futures of the Environmental Emergency   Mike Davis, will deliver the UMass History Department’s Annual Lecture, titled “California Burning: The Apocalyptic Trinity of Climate Change, Alien Plant Invasion & Exurbanization.” — Davis is author of numerous books, most recently, The Monster Enters: Covid-19, Avian Flu & the Plagues of Capitalism.   For more information or to register for the Zoom event, go to the UMass History Department’s webpage.   Copies of his books will be available for purchase from Amherst Books.   Please email us for more information.

• Thursday, October 8th at 7:00pm ET (Talk)

“Education Reform, Racism & the Future of Public Education”   Eve Ewing will speak about the context of educational inequality that influences the conditions of public schooling in this moment of crisis.   The conversation will be facilitated by Kristen Luschen, the Lewis Sebring Visiting Professor of Education Studies, & will include a brief question & answer session.   For more information & to register for the talk, go to the Amherst College website.   If you’d like to buy any of her books, please email us, or if you’d prefer to order on-line, but still support us, go to Bookshop.org.

• Friday, October 9th at 4:00pm-5:00pm ET (Virtual book launch party)

Join UMass Political Science department professors Brian F. Schaffner, Jesse H. Rhodes, & Ray J. La Raja, in celebrating the publication of their new book, Hometown, Inequality: Race, Class, & Representation in American Local Politics.   For more information & to register, go to the Department of Political Science’s event website.   If you’d like to buy the book, please email us, or if you’d prefer to order on-line, but still support us, go to Bookshop.org.

• Tuesday, October 13th at 12noon - 1:00pm ET (Conversation)

Noontime Book Conversation This month the group will discuss Enter the Aardvark by Jessica Anthony.   Meeting ordinarily on the second Tuesday of every month from 12:00pm until 1:00pm, the group has no fixed members (although quite a few regulars).   Readers are urged to nominate a book to be read, especially if they are willing to lead the discussion.   We focus on fiction & drama with occasional foray into the graphic novel.   We limit the length of our selections to about 200 pages, although this is a guideline rather than a fixed rule.   We believe in the joy of re-reading, so some of our selections are works that many have already read at least once.   While members usually get 10% off on discussion books, Amherst Books is giving 25% off this month.  The noontime book group is under the general oversight of Michael Greenebaum (mlgreenebaum33@gmail.com) who selects the books & leads the discussions; please email him to register for the Zoom discussion.   November’s book is Walter Kempowski’s Marrow & Bone.

• Tuesday, October 13th at 7:00pm ET (A reading & a conversation)

Amherst College (Virtual) Visiting Writers Series, Fall 2020   Join poet Shayla Lawson as she reads from her new essay collection, This is Major: Notes on Diana Ross, Dark Girls, & Being Dope, which has been called “a hilarious, heartbreaking, & endlessly entertaining homage to black women’s resilience & excellence” (Kirkus Reviews).   Q & A to follow.   Lawson is also the author of three books of poetry, including I Think I’m Ready to see Frank Ocean.   Lawson teaches at Amherst College & lives in Brooklyn, NY.   Sponsored by Amherst College & co-hosted by the Emily Dickinson Museum Tell It Slant Poetry Festival.   For more information or to register for the virtual talk, go to the Amherst College Visiting Writers Series Events page.   To buy any of her books, email us—or if you'd prefer to buy on-line but still support us, go to our Bookshop.org Amherst College Visiting Writer page.

• Tuesday, October 20th at 7:00pm ET (A reading & a conversation)

Amherst College (Virtual) Visiting Writers Series, Fall 2020   Join Amity Gaige as she reads from her “stunning fourth novel” (The New York Times), Sea Wife.   Gaige is the author of three previous novels: O My Darling, The Folded World, & Shroder, which was published in 18 countries, shortlisted for The Folio Prize & named one of Best Books of 2013 by The New York Times Book Review.   For more information or to register for the virtual talk, go to the Amherst College Visiting Writers Series Events page.   To buy any of her books, email us—or if you'd prefer to buy on-line but still support us, go to our Bookshop.org Amherst College Visiting Writer page.

• Wednesday, October 21st at 6:00pm ET (Talk)

2020 Feinberg Series: Planet on a Precipice: Histories & Futures of the Environmental Emergency   Thom van Dooren, will talk about “A World in a Shell: The Disappearing Snails of Hawai’i.”   Van Dooren is author of numerous books, including The Wake of Crows: Living & Dying in Shared Worlds, & Flight Ways: Life & Loss at the Edge of Extinction.   For more information or to register for the Zoom event, go to the UMass History Department’s webpage.   Copies of his books will be available for purchase from Amherst Books.   Please email us for more information.

• Thursday, October 29th at 6:00pm ET (Reading)

UMass (Virtual) Visiting Writers Series, Fall 2020   Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King & Beneath the Lion's Gaze will read.   For more information or to register for the virtual talk, go to the UMass Visiting Writers Series Events page.   To buy any of her books, email us—or if you'd prefer to buy on-line but still support us, go to our Bookshop.org UMass Visiting Writer page.