TIPTREE AWARD ANTHOLOGY

Thursday, March 30th at 7 p.m.

Maureen McHugh and Ellen Klages, will read and sign books to raise awareness about science fiction”s Tiptree Awards and Tiptree Award Anthology.

Maureen McHugh”s short fiction has won the Hugo and Locus Awards and has frequently been included in Best of the Year anthologies. She won the Tiptree and the Lambda awards for her first novel China Mountain Zhang, and the Hugo award for her short story The Lincoln Train. She has published four novels and her latest short story collection, Mothers and Other Monsters, has been critically acclaimed and is a Booksense Notable selection. Ellen Klages is a science fiction writer from Cleveland Heights. Her story Basement Magic won the 2004 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. Her story Time Gypsy is published by Tachyon Press. Besides fiction, she has written four science books for the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco.

WITNESS IN PALESTINE

Tuesday, April 4th at 7 p.m.

Anna Baltzer is a Jewish-American volunteer with the International Women”s Peace Service. She will present photographs and stories from her work documenting human rights abuses and non-violent resistance in the West Bank. Her new book is Witness in Palestine: Journal of a Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories. She is in Cleveland as part of a Middle East speaker series sponsored by the St. Joseph Center in Cleveland.

She will also speak at the St. Joseph Center (3430 Rocky River Rd. in Cleveland) on Thursday, April 6th. Sami Rasouli, founder of the Muslim Peacemaker Taskforce, will speak at the St. Joseph Center on Wednesday, April 12th at 7 p.m.

LAST STREET BEFORE CLEVELAND

Saturday, April 8th at 7 p.m.

Joe Mackall has written a moving memoir about growing up in Cleveland, his blue collar upbringing, his struggles with substance abuse and a tugging depression that forces him to examine his roots. The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage (University of Nebraska Press 2006) is a heartfelt look back at the neighbors and neighborhood that nourished the author”s youth. Joe Mackall teaches at Ashland College and is the editor of River Teeth, a journal of creative non-fiction that placed two stories in this year”s Best American Essays. He is a former editor at Cleveland Magazine. This book will join others as classic Cleveland memoirs, books that help define our city and its place in the region.

INEQUALITY MATTERS DISCUSSION WITH JAMES LARDNER

Monday, April 10th at 8 p.m.

Inequality Matters: The Growing Economic Divide in America and its Poisonous Consequences is an anthology of political writing about income disparity in the United States. Essays by Barbara Ehrenreich (Earth to Wal-Mart), Joel Bakan (Corporations Unbound), William Greider (Building a Moral Economy) and others have been compiled by James Lardner and David Smith. The editors are part of the Demos Institute, a think tank devoted to everyday democracy. James Lardner will speak at CSU at 4 p.m. as part of a Policy Matters Ohio event and then will speak at Mac”s in the evening. FYI, James Lardner is the grandson of Ring Lardner. His father, Ring Lardner Jr. was blacklisted during the McCarthy era but years later won an Oscar for writing the MASH screenplay.

QUEEN OF MY SELF

Monday, April 17th at 7 p.m.

The Queen of My Self: Stepping into Sovereignty in Midlife by Donna Henes looks into the hearts and minds of baby-boomer women and begins to answer all the questions we have about mid-life. The introductory chapter is titled: On Finding Myself Middle Aged with No Role Model I Can Relate To. The book goes on to examine notions of middle age and the crone archetype but is grounded in the unique experiences of the sixties (and seventies) generation. This is a vital and important book for women to read in midlife. Donna Henes is an internationally recognized urban shaman, writer and artist. She has introduced traditional rituals in ceremonies around the world; she is the author of The Moon Watcher”s Companion, the editor of Always in Season: Living in Sync with the Cycles and maintains a ceremonial center and spirit shop in New York City.

KSU WRITERS

Saturday, April 22nd at 7 p.m.

Several creative writers from Kent State University will read poems and excerpts from short fiction. Joining them will be storyteller John McMahon, who is known for his retelling of Merlin”s tale and for his amusing and entertaining Sitter Ann stories. This event will be followed by an open mic.

CONFESSIONS OF A FORMER DITTOHEAD

Thursday, May 11th at 7 p.m.

Confessions of a Former Dittohead is Jim Derych”s account of the ‘thousand small cuts” that led him out of the clutches of Rush Limbaugh and into the Democratic Party. (A Dittohead is a fan of Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, etc.) The book illuminates how ‘dittoheads” think and offers suggestions for progressives and liberals who wish to change that thinking. This is the true story of one man”s march from the heart of conservative darkness into the light of liberalism. Derych discusses national defense, fiscal policy, social issues and other topics. This unique, political memoir was originally published as a blog.

HESSLER STREET FAIR

Saturday & Sunday, May 20th & 21st

Mark your calendars for this annual rite of spring.

The Hessler Street Fair is a two-day celebration in the heart of University Circle featuring music, art, poetry and politics. Check out Mac”s book table for the usual street fair bargains.

ONGOING EVENTS

Story Telling: Tuesday, April 4th at 7:00 p.m.

Poetry: Wednesday, April 12th at 7 p.m. Deb & Kate Sopko followed by open mike.

Book Club: Wednesday, April 19th at 7:30 p.m. Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Poetry Workshop: Friday, April 21st at 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Poets & Writers League