Faith Sullivan

Club Book, the free program that brings notable authors to libraries and other venues all around the Metro area, has announced its fall lineup. The nine writers range from local (Will Weaver, Faith Sullivan) to international best-sellers (Gish Jen, Terry McMillan). Here's the schedule: Colson Whitehead, 7 p.m. Sept. 14, Roseville Library, 2180 N. Hamline Av., Roseville. Whitehead, the author of "The Intuitionist" and "Sag Harbor," is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Macarthur Fellow, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, and winner of the Quality Paperback Book Club's New Voices award. He has written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, Harper's and Granta. Terry McMillan, 2 p.m. Sept. 18, Brookdale Library, 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center. McMillan is the author of several New York Times bestsellers, including "Waiting to Exhale," and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." Her new novel, "Getting to Happy," will be published in September. McMillan's first book, "Mama," won the Doubleday New Voices award and the American Book Award. Nancy Pearl, 7 p.m. Sept. 23, Southdale Library, 7001 York Av. S., Edina; 7 p.m. Sept. 24, Chanhassen High School, 2200 Lyman Blvd., Chanhassen; and 2 p.m. Sept. 25, Central Library, 90 W. 4th St., St. Paul. Pearl is the author of "Book Lust" and creator of the internationally recognized program, "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book." She has worked as a librarian and bookseller in Detroit, Tulsa and Seattle, is a regular commentator about books on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, and hosts a monthly TV show, "Book Lust with Nancy Pearl." Her newest book, "Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds and Dreamers," will publish in September. Will Weaver, 7 p.m. Oct. 14, Hardwood Creek Library, 19955 Forest Road N., Forest Lake. Weaver is the author of "Red Earth, White Earth," which was made into a CBS movie, and "A Gravestone Made of Wheat," which was adapted into the film, "Sweet Land" and won the Minnesota Book Award. He is the winner of the McKnight and Bush Foundation prizes for fictions. His new book, "The Last Hunter," publishes in September. Faith Sullivan, 7 p.m. Oct. 12, Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka; and 7 p.m. Oct. 28, Stillwater Library, 224 3rd St. N., Stillwater. Sullivan is the author of four novels set in the fictional town of Harvester, Minn: "The Cape Ann," "The Empress of One," "What a Woman Must Do," and "Gardenias." She has been a finalist for several Minnesota Book Awards, and has won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize and a Midwest Booksellers' Choice award. Mike Reiss, 7 p.m. Oct. 22, Chanhassen High School, 2200 Lyman Blvd, Chanhassen; 11 a.m. Oct. 23, Heights Theater, 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights. Reiss was the head writer and producer of "The Simpsons" for more than 20 years. He has won four Emmys and a Peabody award and is also the author of novels, children's books and screenplays. His new book, "Just Too Cute! And Other Tales of Adorable Animals for Horrible Children," will be published in September. Alison McGhee, 7 p.m. Oct. 19, Prior Lake Library, 16210 Eagle Creek Av. SE., Prior Lake; and 7 p.m. Nov. 17, Galaxie Library, 14955 Galaxie Av. W., Apple Valley. McGhee is a poet, essayist, novelist and writer of children's books, and she has won many awards, including four Minnesota Book Awards, a Friends of the American Library Award, and a Parents' Choice Award. Her novel "Shadow Baby" was a Today Show book club pick, and her picture book "Someday" was featured on National Public Radio. Her new middle-school book, "Bink and Gollie," written with Kate Di Camillo, will be published in September. Swati Avasthi, 7 p.m. Nov. 9, Roseville Library, 2180 N. Hamline, Roseville. Avasthi is the author of "Split," and her short fiction has been nominated for Best New American Voices and a Pushcart Prize. She has received many honors, including a Loft Mentor Series Award and the University of Minnesota's Thomas Shevlin Fellowship. Gish Jen, 7 p.m. Nov. 15, James J.Hill Library, 80 W. 4th St., St. Paul; and 7 p.m. Nov. 16, Ridgedale Library, 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka. Jen is the author of three novels, including "Typical American," and "The Love Wife," and a collection of short stories, "Who's Irish?" She has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and other honors. Her new novel, "World and Town," will be published in October. Club Book is a program of the Metropolitan Library Service Agency, funded through the state Legacy fund. For more information, go to http://www.clubbook.org/.