WORDS AND IMAGES : The Last Lighthouse Built in California : The Anacapa Island structure, built in 1936, is featured in a book chronicling the history of more than 40 such facilities in the state.

In 1853, the side-wheeler Winfield Scott, carrying hundreds of passengers, went aground in dense fog on Anacapa Island. That accident resulted in the installation on Anacapa in 1912 of a lens lantern--a stationary light--and eventually the construction 24 years later of a lighthouse on the island. It was the last lighthouse to be built in California.

There are more than 40 lighthouses on the California coast, and their colorful history--including Anacapa’s--is described in “Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses” by Sharlene and Ted Nelson. Published by Epicenter Press of Seattle, the book includes photos and wonderful stories about the people who worked at the lighthouses. If you’re interested in visiting the one on Anacapa, it can be arranged through the Channel Islands National Park concessionaire in Ventura. For information, call 642-1393. By the way, all the passengers were rescued from the Winfield Scott.

*

Karl Kempton and Kevin Patrick Sullivan, co-producers of the San Luis Obispo Poetry Festival, will read from their work at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Performance Studio, 34. N. Palm St., Ventura. An interpreter will sign for the hearing-impaired.

*

Michael Connelly will sign his novels “The Black Ice” and “The Black Echo” at 3 p.m. Saturday; and Bruce Zimmerman will autograph “Full Bodied Red” at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

*

Too many writers, published or aspiring, haven’t bothered to inform themselves about the writing business. And often, the result is a published book that languishes in a distributor’s warehouse unheralded, unknown and unsold. An excellent book promotion seminar, which will provide detailed information and printed material, is scheduled for Aug. 30 at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara. Sponsored by Gaughen Public Relations, which has offices in Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, the one-day workshop also offers guest experts, who will discuss every nuance of public relations and book publicity. For information, call 965-8482.

*

Do you get frustrated when your eyes tire while reading at night, long before your brain is ready to shut down? Then the solution may be books on tape. PMR Productions of Oxnard produces audiotapes written and beautifully narrated by screenwriter Preston Ransone. Now available--and of particular interest to military buffs--is “The 2nd Team,” about a Special Forces mission sent by President Kennedy into China during the Vietnam conflict. Historians might want to check out “War Surplus: A Soldier’s Humor,” based on Ransone’s own experiences during 31 years in the Army, where he rose from a private to lieutenant colonel. For a list of PMR’s other books on tape, contact PMR at P.O. Box 20405, Oxnard 93033 or call 984-0122.