Orange County Book Events

Elvis and Howard Hughes biographer Pat Broeske, Orange County mystery writer T. Jefferson Parker and award-winning young adult author Theodore Taylor are among the writers who will participate in Books by the Beach II--Orange County’s Book Faire and Writers Forum--next weekend.

The two-day event, co-sponsored by the Orange County Public Library’s Friends of the Library Foundation and The Times Orange County, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Festival of the Arts grounds, 650 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach.

The event, which will benefit the Orange County Public Library, will feature used- and rare-book dealers, writers panels, book signings, poetry readings and storytelling sessions.

Cost is $6, with return privileges on either day.

Panel discussions on Saturday include:

11 a.m., Creating True Character: Bringing Real People to Life, with Theodore Taylor.

Noon, Comic Strips and the Art of Comics, with “Citizen Dog” cartoonist Mark O’Hare and “Drabble” cartoonist Kevin Fagan.

1 p.m., Men at Work: How the Process Becomes Product, with T. Jefferson Parker, Martin J. Smith, Phil Reed and Sherwood Kiraly.

2 p.m., Creating for Kids: Imagination, Stories and Art, with Julie Mammano and Monica Gunning.

3 p.m., Women of Mystery: Breaking In and Breaking Out (The Changing World of Women Crime Writers), with Maxine O’Callaghan, Taylor Smith, Patricia Guiver, Barbara Seranella and Joyce Spizer.

On Sunday:

10:30 a.m., Films and Life as a Writer, an interview with Times Arts Editor Emeritus and author Charles Champlin by Barbara de Marco Barrett of KUCI’s “Writers on Writing” talk show.

Noon, Nostalgia Is Golden: A Look at Little Golden Books, with Steve Santi, author of Collecting Little Golden Books.

1 p.m., Your Self-Confident Baby, a discussion of parenting with authors Magda Gerber and Allison Johnson.

2 p.m., Scripts, Hot Tips and Hollywood, a discussion of trends in the film and publishing industries with Neal Shusterman, author and scriptwriter for “Goosebumps” and other TV shows, and Broeske, who writes a screenwriting column for Writer’s Digest.

3 p.m., Are Two Heads Better Than One? Collaborating as Writers, with Broeske and Johnson.

Also This Week

* Bill Fitzhugh, author of “The Organ Grinders,” will speak and sign at 1 p.m. today at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

* A fiction writers discussion group will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesdays throughout September at Borders Books and Music, 429 S. Associated Road, Brea.

* Derrick Brown, winner of the seventh annual Factory Performance Poetry Contest, and J.D. Glasscock will read at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Gypsy Den Cafe and Reading Room, 2930 Bristol St., Costa Mesa. Opening readings will precede and follow the featured poets. Free.

* Abigail Padgett, author of “Blue,” Fitzhugh, and Alex Abella, author of “Dead of Night,” will sign at 5 p.m. Thursday at Book Carnival, 348 S. Tustin Ave., Orange.

* Padgett will speak and sign at noon Friday at Coffee, Tea & Mystery, 13232 Springdale St., Westminster.

Send information about book-related events at least 10 days before event to: Dennis McLellan, O.C. Books & Authors, Life & Style, The Times, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626.