Three writers of short fiction will get together at Magers & Quinn this week for what might be the hippest reading there since, oh, since Gary Shteyngart was there last summer. John Jodzio, Dessa and David Philip Mullins will read on Thursday. Jodzio, who lives in Minneapolis, is the author of "If You Lived Here You'd Already Be Home," published by St. Paul's tiny Replacement Press. His short story, "Do Not Touch Me Not Now Not Ever" was a finalist in the Rose Metal Press short fiction competition and was included in "They Could No Longer Contain Themselves," a collection of five chapbooks of flash fiction.

Mullins, who lives in Louisville, Ky., is the author of "Greetings From Below," published this year by Sarabande Press and the winner of the Mary McCarthy prize. Dessa is a singer/songwriter/rapper/poet/memoirist and the author of "Spiral Bound." She lives in Minneapolis.

It all begins at 7:30 p.m. at Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis. Wear black. Bring sunglasses. Do not smile.

Also ...

• Sharon Chmielarz's collection of poetry, "Calling," published by Loonfeather Press, was a finalist in the poetry division of the Independent Book Awards. The awards were given last week in New York.

• "Amazing Gulls: Acrobats of the Sky and Sea," by Marlin Bree, has been published by Marlor Press. Bree is a longtime writer and editor in the Twin Cities.

Star Tribune, Star Tribune
John Jodzio

• Who knew that the bride of Barnabas Collins was from Minnesota? (Readers of a certain age will remember Barnabas -- he was the vampire on the TV soap opera "Dark Shadows," the show that my mother wouldn't let me watch.) Kathryn Leigh Scott, who played his bride, grew up in Robbinsdale and has written a couple of books about the show. Her first novel, "Dark Passages," about a young television actress who actually is a vampire, will be published in August by Pomegranate Press.

• Michael Hall's latest picture book, "Perfect Square," has been published by Greenwillow. Hall's earlier book, "My Heart Is Like a Zoo," won a Minnesota Book Award. His colorful and imaginative books explore shapes, colors and reinvention.

• Minneapolis boy Paul Jury had no clue what he wanted to do when he graduated from Northwestern University. So he hit the road at a nearly ridiculous speed -- 48 states in 48 days. His book, "States of Confusion: My 19,000-Mile Detour to Find Direction," has been published by Adams Media. Jury now lives in L.A. Which means he either did, or did not, figure things out.