Book It: The Five Best Literary Events This Week

If you can’t find something to love on this week’s literary calendar, you’re not looking hard enough. From the holidays to history, from children’s books to stories on stage, everything’s geared up for gift-giving. Here are five events to book for the days ahead:

Ellen Kingman Fisher, Hill’s Gold
Wednesday, December 11, 7 p.m.
Chautauqua Community House
900 Baseline Road, Boulder
$12 ($9 for members)
Historian Ellen Kingman Fisher brings her new book set in the historic heart of Colorado, Hill’s Gold, to the Chautauqua Community House for a reading and signing. Fisher uses letters and journals to re-create this story of fortunes, fate and the birth of the mining industry in the Colorado territory during the Civil War. Tickets are available now.

Jan Brett, The Tale of the Tiger Slippers
Thursday, December 12, 5:30 p.m.
Tattered Cover
2526 East Colfax Avenue
$19
Beloved best-selling children’s book author and artist Jan Brett brings her newest work, The Tale of the Tiger Slippers, to the Tattered Cover for a reading and signing. Using both footwear and felines, the book reimagines a powerful Middle Eastern folk tale that celebrates hard work and an appreciation of one’s roots. Tickets to the event include a copy of the book and a spot in the autograph line.

How the Storytellers Stole Christmas!
Thursday, December 12, 7 p.m.
Walnut Room
3131 Walnut Street
$15 to 20
Join the Storytellers, Denver’s favorite all-male a cappella vocal group, for a night of music, merrymaking and story. Share a drink, tell a tale, and feel rejuvenated after an evening of holiday classics and tales of Christmas past. In the true modern seasonal spirit, there’s a special prize for whoever wears the ugliest sweater.

Gregory Hill on “The Creative Application (and Mis-Application) of Drugs in Literature”
Friday, December 13, 6 p.m.
The Coffee Joint
1136 Yuma Court
Free
Local author Gregory Hill, Colorado Book Award winner for his novel East of Denver, speaks at the Coffee Joint about “The Creative Application (and Mis-Application) of Drugs in Literature.” If you’ve ever wondered about the pluses and minuses of getting a mile high before sitting down to pound out a few pages of prose, Hill will help explain his take on the subject in this “semi-psychedelic evening” of discussion at Denver’s first licensed social consumption club and coffeehouse.

Stories on Stage, Making Merry
Saturday, December 14, 1:30 p.m.
Nomad Playhouse
1410 Quince Avenue, Boulder
$15-28
Colorado’s own Stories on Stage brings an afternoon of bold and bright holiday packages filled to bursting with stories and songs of the season. Jamie Horton returns to Stories on Stage, joining local favorites GerRee Hinshaw and Karen Slack as well as musician David Nehls. If you can’t make it to Boulder on Saturday for the show, it’s also playing at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the King Center in Denver (855 Lawrence Way on the Auraria Campus). For tickets and more information, see the Stories on Stage website.

Have a literary event you think should be included on this list? Send details to editorial@westword.com.