Author of ‘Tangled Vines’ Will Speak to Writers Club

Mary Jane Roberts of Laguna Beach, author of the novel “Tangled Vines,” will speak at 10 a.m. today at the monthly meeting of the Southern California chapter of the National Writers Club at the Irvine Marriott Hotel, 18000 Von Karman Ave. Cost of the meeting, which includes brunch and a critique workshop, is $10.

Readers Theater: Steve Mellow’s Readers Theater will be performed at Scribner Book Store in Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza on three consecutive Fridays at 7:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 21.

Next Friday’s performance is called “Hot Off the Shelves” and will include works by Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Studs Terkel, Larry McMurtry, Anne Tyler, Muriel Spark and Mellow.

The performance on Oct. 28 is titled “Scary Tales . . . Horror in Politics” and will feature excerpts from the campaign speeches of Adlai Stevenson, in addition to the works of short-story writer H.P. Lovecraft and Mark Twain.

The performances are free.

Poetry Readings: The Orange County branch of the Ibero-American Writers Society will present Conciertos de la Palabra (Concerts of the Word), a multilingual evening of poetry with music featuring works by Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Symphony Center, 115 E. Santa Ana Blvd., Santa Ana. Bart Yoder will read the English version and Marcia Perez will read the original version in Russian and in Spanish.

“California State Poetry Quarterly” magazine will present poets Allan Freedman, Leo Guerra and Mary Ellen Barnes at 8 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Pacific Symphony Center. Admission to both readings is free.

Author Talk: Elizabeth George (“A Great Deliverance”) will speak to the Fountain Valley Friends of the Library at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the library, 17565 Los Alamos St. Her topic is the emergence of the modern British detective novel.

Book Signings: Author Dean R. Koontz and illustrator Phil Parks will autograph copies of “Oddkins” from 1 to 4 p.m. today at Book Carnival, 870 N. Tustin Ave., Orange. . . . T. Jefferson Parker will sign copies of “Little Saigon” from 2 to 3 p.m. Oct. 22 at Scribner Bookstore in the Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza. . . . Hilary Knight, illustrator of the classic children’s book, “Eloise,” will sign his latest book, “Side-by-Side” (a poetry collection by Lee Bennett Hopkins) from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Children’s Bookshoppe, 1831 Westcliff Drive, Newport Beach. . . . Janet E. Graebner will sign copies of “Orange County: An Economic Celebration” from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at Brentano’s MainPlace store, 2800 Main St., Santa Ana.

County Journal: The first scholarly journal to focus exclusively on Orange County will debut later this month under the joint sponsorship of the deparments of history at UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. The Journal of Orange County Studies is being co-edited by Spencer Olin, UCI professor of history, and Cal State Fullerton history professors Arthur Hansen and Lawrence de Graff.

Olin says the biannual journal “will provide the first forum for serious research on topics relating to this region.” Individual subscriptions are $12 a year, and may be obtained by writing to De Graff, Department of History, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, Calif. 92634.

Literary Directory: Full of the Dickens Press is accepting listings for its new publication, The California Literary Services Directory. Editors, graphic artists, publicists, writers, typesetters, consultants and any others who offer a literary service and are interested in gaining more exposure among writers and other industry professionals within California are asked to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Full of the Dickens Press, P.O. Box 6013, Irvine, Calif. 92716. Listings are free of charge. For more information call (714) 856-3533.