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Tickets for the popular Times/Hills Book Club Author Gala are now on sale. The spring gala is one of the two annual literary affairs sponsored by these newspapers and held at the Regional Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.
Last fall, another gala was added to accommodate increasing demand for the event. The galas are hosted by Times/Hills Book Club founder Lynn Carey.
The gala, which always sells out quickly, features authors reading from their works (or just talking), followed by a group discussion moderated by Carey.
The upcoming authors are:
Nick Arvin, whose "Articles of War" was the most recently featured Times/Hills Book Club selection. The searing tale of a young farm boy's grim experiences in France at the end of World War II has been compared with classic war stories such as "Red Badge of Courage." Arvin lives in Denver.
Mark Allen Cunningham, whose "The Green Age of Asher Witherow" takes place in the mid-19th century in a coal-mining town in what is now part of Antioch. This gritty historical fiction lends insight into how some of Contra Costa's early residents lived. Cunningham grew up in Pleasant Hill but now lives in Portland, Ore.
Dave King's first novel, "The Ha Ha," our current club selection, features a Vietnam vet who, 30 years after a devastating injury incurred in his first month of duty, finds his life turned upside down when he becomes the temporary guardian of a 9-year-old boy. It's witty and poignant, with unforgettable characters. King lives in Brooklyn.
Elinor Lipman's new novel is the warm and amusing "My Latest Grievance." Her much-loved previous novels include "The Inn at Lake Devine," "The Pursuit of Alice Thrift," "The Ladies' Man" and "Dearly Departed." Lipman splits her time between Manhattan and Northampton, Mass.
Returning to give opening comments is Oakland's Joshua Braff, who was featured at the spring 2005 gala. His "Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green" came out in 2004, and his next novel is expected to be published next year.
If you have questions for the authors, please e-mail them prior to the event to lcarey@cctimes.com, or mail them to Times/Hills Book Club, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099.
Following the discussion, authors will sign books in the lobby, where dessert will be served. The authors' books will be sold in the lobby before and after the event.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Times Book Club Author Gala
WHERE: Hofmann Theatre at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Locust Street at Civic Drive, Walnut Creek
WHEN: 7 p.m. April 25
HOW MUCH: $22
CONTACT: Tickets are available at the theater; call 925-943-SHOW or visit www.dlrca.org
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