Book It: The Five Best Literary Events This Week

February may be the shortest month of the year, but you couldn’t tell it from the jam-packed calendar during this full first week of February. YA novelists taking on the adult market — and vice-versa; a host of folks talking about history and literature and how they come together; love and cider; Tennyson Street and cryptozoology. Here are your five literary best bets:

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Harper Perennial

Eoin Colfer, Highfire
Wednesday, February 5, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover Colfax
2526 East Colfax Avenue
$20
From the New York Times best-selling author of the Artemis Fowl books comes a rollicking adventure yarn just for adults: Highfire: A Novel. It's about a vodka-drinking, flashdance-loving dragon in the bayous of Louisiana, just making his way any way he can...which, of course, means the sheriff is on his tail. (Not literally, since the dragon actually has a tail.) Colfer can probably explain this better at the reading and signing. Tickets to the event include a copy of the book and a place in the autograph line.

John Shors

John Shors, The Demon Seekers, Book 1
Thursday, February 6, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover Aspen Grove
7301 South Santa Fe Drive, Littleton
Free
Best-selling Colorado author John Shors (Beneath a Marble Sky, Unbound) brings his young-adult trilogy, The Demon Seekers, to the Tattered Cover Aspen Grove for a reading and signing. We've interviewed Shors several times before, most recently about this new direction for his writing; get the back story, then head to Aspen Grove and get in on the ground floor of the next big thing in the YA markets.

University of Minnesota Press

At the Inkwell: A Journey Through History
Saturday, February 8, 4 p.m.
BookBar
4280 Tennyson Street
Free
Denver author Hillary Leftwich (Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock) gathers five fabulous folks to read and discuss the role, effect and importance of history in literature. Put on your thinking cap and come to this month's At the Inkwell to hear from authors Clint Carroll (Roots of Our Renewal) and Marco Rafala (How Fires End), and writers Nawal Nader-French, Pavlos Stavropoulos and Ivette Torres.

Split Lip Press

Jennifer Wortman, This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love.
Sunday, February 9, 4 p.m.
Clear Fork Cider
4965 Iris Street, Wheat Ridge
Free
The Cider House Reading Series continues its monthly combination of inspiration and imbibition with a powerhouse of a reader: recent NEA award-winning author Jennifer Wortman and her collection This. This. This. Is. Love. Love. Love. February's event also includes a seasonal conversation about love with Wortman, who'll be joined by Dr. Terri Finney and Hailey Jonoubeh, intuitive tarot reader and witch. A book signing and tarot readings will follow.

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Crown Books for Young Readers

Melissa Savage, Nessie Quest
Sunday, February 9, 6 p.m.
BookBar
4280 Tennyson Street
Free
Colorado’s own Melissa Savage, a child and family therapist as well as a popular author (Lemons and The Truth About Martians), returns to BookBar for a reading and signing of her newest book, Nessie Quest. Savage will talk about everything from her love for cryptozoology to kids' lit and the inclusion of BookBar and other businesses on Tennyson Street in this awesome adventure. It’s homegrown fun, right in the heart of Highland.

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

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