Workshops Will Write the Book on Publishing : The sessions are open to beginners and professionals and will cover both fiction and nonfiction.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors, Southern California chapter, which was founded by Ventura writer Ross Olney, will present its third West Coast Writers’ Conference on Feb. 10 in the Sheraton Gateway Hotel at Los Angeles International Airport. More than 60 panelists, among them editors and literary agents from around the country and a number of writers from Santa Barbara and Ventura, will explain every facet of the publishing process.

The 17 panels are organized for both beginners and professionals. Writers will learn how to maximize income, find assignments on the Internet, get an agent, write for magazines and produce a publishable book. Keynote luncheon speakers are novelist/book reviewer Carolyn See, author of the autobiographical “Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America,” and her daughter, Lisa See, Publishers Weekly correspondent, whose new book “On Gold Mountain” is a bestseller. They will address “The Writer’s Heritage, How Family and History Influence Both Fiction and Nonfiction.” Fee for the all-day event, which begins at 8:15 a.m., is $130 and includes lunch and a reception after the final round-table discussions. Call 969-1955 to request a brochure.

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The literary calendar is full at Barnes & Noble, 4360 E. Main St., Ventura. The Scrabble tournament is scheduled from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Friday. To participate, call Tim at 339-9170. Mother Goose Story Time will begin at 7 p.m. Friday. An Internet discussion based on Bill Gates’ new book “The Road Ahead” is set for 1 p.m. Saturday. Bruce Schmidt of Rivertalk Magazine will read at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Family counselor Tom Prinz, author of “Dragon Slaying for Couples,” will offer a seminar on how to make relationships more meaningful at 7 p.m Wednesday.

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Friends of the Newbury Park Branch Library, 2331 Borchard Road, will host a celebration Saturday in honor of the library’s fifth anniversary. The latest service for library patrons is Novelist, a new computer database designed as an advisory resource for adult fiction readers and librarians. The database provides access to more than 34,000 works of fiction and reviews of 4,000 titles from Booklist magazine.

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Jean Stangl, author of 28 books including “How to Get Your Teaching Ideas Published: A Writer’s Guide to Educational Publishing,” will moderate a workshop on writing for the educational market. Sponsored by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the workshop is scheduled from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the Camarillo Library, 3100 Ponderosa Drive. The fee is $5. Call 581-1906.

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Up The Coast: The Earthling Bookshop, 1137 State St., will host author signings and lectures, a film presentation and slide show this week. Local author J.F. Freedman will discuss his critically acclaimed mystery, “House of Smoke,” at 3 p.m. Sunday. Deepak Chopra, whose latest book is “The Way of the Wizard,” will lecture at the Arlington Theater at 7 p.m. Monday. Tickets are on sale at the Earthling. Call 965-0926 for details. “The Great Caruso,” starring Mario Lanza, will screen at the store at 7 p.m. Tuesday. And a slide show featuring “A Trip to Kenya” will begin at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at the store.