WORDS & IMAGES : Society Offers Tips on Publishing for Children : Annual Writers’ Day Conference gives a chance to hear from agents, editors, publishers, authors and reviewers.

The fantasy: Getting a children’s book published. The reality: It is a complicated market and you must know what to do and how to break in. Some help: Attend the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators Ventura/Santa Barbara Region annual Writer’s Day Conference scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 21 at Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks. You will hear from and meet agents, editors, publishers, authors and reviewers who will share their expertise about how to write, illustrate and publish. The $55 fee includes lunch. Call 581-1906.

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Did you know that Juan Cabrillo was anchored off the Ventura coast in 1542? That San Buenaventura was the ninth and last mission founded by Father Serra? That Carpinteria is the site of a Chumash Village where in 1769 Father Crespi of the Portola expedition saw Indians caulking their canoes with asphaltum and named the settlement Carpenter Shop? These and lots of other fascinating facts are in “Roadside History of California” by Ruth Pittman, who will sign her illustrated 400-page journey through California’s volatile past at 7 tonight at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura.

Other events scheduled at Barnes and Noble include appearances by storyteller Dale Wayne Jackson at 7 p.m. Friday; horror authors Chris Curry (“Haunted”) and Douglas Clegg (“Children’s Hour”) at 1 p.m. Saturday; the Fiction Reading Group meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; and local medical doctor Donald Lindsay, author of “Medical Cost Crisis” will discuss health care issues at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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Meet five authors this week at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Jane Dentinger will sign her sixth novel, “Who Dropped Peter Pan?” at noon today. Local author Sharan Newman will sign her third medieval mystery, “The Wandering Arm,” at 6 p.m. Friday. Award-winning author Michael Collins, noted for his Dan Fortune mysteries, has created a new set of characters in his latest novel, “The Cadillac Cowboy,” which he will introduce at 1 p.m. Saturday. Jack Trolley will sign “Manila Time” at 1 p.m. Sunday and the bookstore, usually closed Tuesday, will open at noon to welcome Candace Robb, author of “The Nun’s Tale.”

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Jan Johnson, author of six books and hundreds of magazine articles, will conduct a five-week course on “How to Write and Sell Articles” beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Simi Valley Adult School, 3192 Los Angeles Ave. Call 527-4840.

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UP THE COAST: The first indoor rare and used book fair to take place in the Santa Barbara area is patterned after the legendary provincial book fairs of England, according to organizer Richard Gilbo. Local publishers and dealers from all over California will offer inscribed, regional and out-of-print titles, autographs and paper collectibles in all price ranges at the event, scheduled from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Holiday Inn, 5650 Calle Real, Goleta. Admission is $6 for both days or $3 for Saturday only. Call 684-2892 for details.

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Actress Janet Leigh, victim of the crazed Norman Bates in Hitchcock’s movie “Psycho,” admits that, like the rest of us, she wouldn’t shower while alone in the house for a long time after making the movie. Leigh will sign her novel “House of Destiny” at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St., Santa Barbara. And I will interview Leigh at noon Saturday on KQSB AM (990).