Book It: The Five Best Literary Events This Week

As fall officially begins, the literary offerings begin to pick up in Denver. The weather is cooler, daylight wanes, and falling leaves somehow make people want to turn the pages of a book. The various bookstores in and around town are here to oblige, offering up everything from graphic novels to psychological treatises to political philosophy to new novels and Neil Patrick Harris. Okay, so Neil Patrick Harris isn’t in and of himself literary, but like Jell-o, there’s always room for some Neil Patrick Harris. Keep reading for the five best events on the literary calendar.

Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak: The Graphic Novel
Tuesday, September 25, 7 p.m.
Tattered Cover
2526 East Colfax Avenue
Free
Laurie Halse Anderson’s influential and classic novel Speak gets the graphic-novel treatment (that’s comic books gone literary, by the way), telling the timely story of a high school freshman dealing with the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of an upperclassman. Anderson comes to the Tattered Cover to christen this new edition of her book, which comes alive for both new audiences and established fans alike.

Barb Maiberger & Arielle Schwartz, EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology
Wednesday, September 26, 7:30 p.m.
Boulder Book Store
1107 Pearl Street, Boulder
$5
Two Colorado-based authors launch their fascinating EMDR Therapy and Somatic Psychology: Interventions to Enhance Embodiment in Trauma Treatment, at the Boulder Book Store. The growing interest in the two elements combining as a model for comprehensive trauma treatment is the genesis of this important new book, and Maiberger and Schwartz will be on hand not only to discuss their research, but also to read from and sign copies of the book. As always, the $5 entry fee will be applied to the purchase of this or any book in the store.

Martha Nussbaum, Anger, Powerlessness, & the Politics of Blame
Thursday, September 27, 2 p.m.
St. Cajetans
Auraria Campus
Free
The Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry at Metro State University welcomes one of the most celebrated philosophers and influential public intellectuals in today’s world, Martha Nussbaum. Currently the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, Nussbaum is the author of over twenty books, and the winner of several prestigious awards, including the Kyoto Prize in 2016. She comes to the Auraria campus to discuss themes from her latest work, The Monarchy of Fear, in a timely talk titled “Anger, Powerlessness, & the Politics of Blame,” which explores the emotional side of today’s politics.


Neil Patrick Harris, The Magic Misfits: The Second Story
Thursday, September 27, 7 p.m.
Alamo Drafthouse Sloan's Lake
4255 West Colfax Avenue
Free
Neil Patrick Harris is an accomplished actor, producer, director, author and the father of magical twins. He makes an appearance at Denver’s Alamo Drafthouse Sloan's Lake (at an event co-presented by Tattered Cover) for a book talk and a meet-and-greet with fans of his latest book, The Magic Misfits: The Second Story. Tickets for the event include the opportunity to win a raffle for five lucky winners (and their plus-ones) to meet Neil Patrick Harris personally. It will be legend…wait for it…dary.

Dana Green, How to Carry Scars
Sunday, September 30, 6 p.m.
BookBar
4280 Tennyson Street
Free
Colorado writer Dana Green will launch her first novel, How to Carry Scars, at BookBar. Her first book, a short-story collection called Sometimes the Air in the Room Goes Missing, was one of the winners of the 2015 Tarpulin Sky Book Prize. This novel is about the obsession of memories, of blood and family, and of the many kinds of scars we all lug through life.

Know of an event that might qualify for this list? Send information to [email protected].