Charlotte Christian School teacher to read from new novel

Dean Hardy, chair of Charlotte Christian School's Bible Department, is also an author. "Magnus Kir," his middle-grade fantasy novel, takes place on a distant planet, where 12-year-old Zack has lived a contented life in a walled society called Magnus Kir -- until his hesitant escape.

Hardy, who lives in Matthews will give a reading at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, at the Barnes & Noble at The Arboretum, 3327 Pineville-Matthews Road.

Two readers win "The Family Fang"

Congratulations, Basilkeeper and Trinitarian Mouse Fan. You've both won copies of Kevin Wilson's new comedic novel, "The Family Fang." Also, it sounds as if you have some good family stories of your own.

Email me your addresses, and I'll get the books in the mail to you. Thanks for reading.

Win "The Family Fang," a portrait of a nice, dysfunctional family

You think your family's crazy? Wait until you meet Caleb and Camille Fang, a couple who propel parental dysfunction to a new level. In Kevin Wilson's new comic novel,"The Family Fang," we meet the Fangs, who use their two kids in performance art pieces reminiscent of "Punk'd" episodes.

The children grow up to be artists, too. Annie's an actress, Buster becomes a writer. But both their careers are imploding. Topless photos of Annie are all over the Internet. Buster suffers a serious injury when he's nailed in the face by a potato gun.

Wilson will give a reading 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24 at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.

And I'm giving away two copies of his book. To win one, leave a comment here with some way to identify you, not just anonymous. You'll get extra points for sharing your own crazy family story. I'll post the winners Wednesday, Aug. 24.

"You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl" at Park Road Books

Funny lady Celia Rivenbark will be reading from her new book, "You Don't Sweat Much for a Fat Girl," 7 p.m. Monday at Park Road Books, 4139 Park Road.
Rivenbark, who grew up in Duplin County and lives in Wilmington, writes a syndicated humor column. She's been compared to Dave Barry and Erma Bombeck. Among the pieces in her newest collection: "Driving While Shaving," about the Florida woman who wrecked her car while grooming her bikini area.

Novello Festival of Reading? Not this year

Charlotte won't have a Novello Festival of Reading this fall.

That won't come as a huge surprise to anyone who's followed the Charlotte-Meckenburg Library's budget cuts in the past couple of years. Still, for book lovers who looked forward to Novello events each October, it's sad news.

Launched in 1991, the library-sponsored reading festival presented talks by dozens of great authors, including, in recent years, Khaled Hosseini ("The Kite Runner"), Christopher Buckley ("Losing Mum and Pup") and Scott Turow ("Presumed Innocent").

After budget cuts decimated the library's 2010 budget, a group of volunteers, led by UNC Charlotte's Mark West, kept the spirit of Novello alive last year with "A Tribute to Novello," featuring local authors who appeared free of charge.

This year, we'll have neither Novello nor the tribute to it. "I don't want to say it's dead, it's never going to come back," says Karen Beach, the library's community engagement director. But she doesn't know what the future holds.

UNCC's West, however, is organizing an alternative --the Uptown Fall Authors Series, which will feature authors speaking at several uptown Charlotte venues.

And if you've got your heart set on a literary festival, check out the Bookmarks Festival of Books in Winston-Salem on Sept. 10. Authors attending include Tom Perrotta ("Election"), Margaret Maron ("Bootlegger's Daughter") and Lisa See ("Snow Flower and the Secret Fan").

Also, Charlotte-area colleges and other institutions will present a number of authors, including Wes Moore ("The Other Wes Moore") at Lenoir-Rhyne University, poet Elizabeth Alexander at UNC Charlotte and Isabel Wilkerson ("The Warmth of Other Suns") at Spirit Square.

For a full listing, check out the Observer's Arts Season Preview, to be published Aug. 28.

Emily, you've won "Paper Covers Rock"

Emily, you've won this week's book giveaway. Email me your address, and I'll get "Paper Covers Rock" out to you. The young adult novel, written by Charlotte's Jenny Hubbard, is getting great reviews.

Punctuation geeks: A contest just for you

National Punctuation Day is Sept. 24, and the fine folks who invented it have announced a new contest to mark the occasion.

Here are the rules:

Write one paragraph, maximum of three sentences, using these 13 punctuation marks: apostrophe, brackets, colon, comma, dash, ellipsis, exclamation point, hyphen, parentheses, period, question mark, quotation mark, and semicolon.

Entries will be accepted at Jeff@NationalPunctuationDay.com through Sept. 30. Jamming all that punctuation into three sentences sounds tough to me. You might want to start now.

Meanwhile, enjoy these punctuation-themed haikus from the winners of last year's contest.