David Mura's first novel is a dark look at a third-generation Japanese-American's struggle to escape the ghosts of his past. "Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire" is published by Coffee House Press.

Mura, of Minneapolis, is a poet and memoirist. Writing fiction, he told novelist Alexs Pate in an interview, is quite different from writing memoir. "The tricky part of the book was to let the history -- of the internment camps, of the No-No Boys -- inform the book without making it the main subject of the book," he said.

Mura will read at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Loft, 1011 Washington Av. S., Minneapolis, and at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 at Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 3038 Hennepin Av. S., Minneapolis.

Also ...

• The ninth celebration of Minnesota Authors and Illustrators will take place at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Anderson Center in Red Wing. The festival will include presentations by writers and illustrators, book-signings and storytelling. Participants include local authors Marion Dane Bauer, John Coy and Julie Schumacher. Call the Red Balloon Bookshop at 651-224-8320 for more information.

• Anthony Bukoski's first collection of short stories, "Twelve Below Zero," will be republished next month by Holy Cow! Press of Duluth with five new stories. Bukoski, who teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, has published four other collections of short fiction.

• "Tell Me True: Memoir, History, and Writing a Life," edited by Patricia Hampl and Elaine Tyler May, will be published in September by Borealis Press. The 14 essays -- by Hampl, May, Cherie Register ("Packinghouse Daughter"), Samuel G. Freedman ("Small Victories") and others -- explore the intersection of memory and history.

• A publication party for "Wellstone: Conscience of the Senate" will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Common Good Books, 165 N. Western Av., St. Paul. Royalties will be donated to Wellstone Action and the Mary McEvoy and Tom Lapic scholarships at the University of Minnesota.

• "Beyond the Sports Huddle: Mona on Minnesota" was published this month by Voyageur Press. Dave Mona's book covers the years that he was sports editor of the Minnesota Daily (when his office was near Garrison Keillor's) through his years at the Strib and WCCO.

• Poets, you have less than 24 hours to submit your work to Rain Taxi's State to State Poets Exchange. The winning poet will be sent to New York City in November to do a public reading and onstage interview. Send a cover letter, resume, and 10 pages of new poetry to info@raintaxi.com. The deadline is, um, Monday. As in, tomorrow. Get cracking!

Laurie Hertzel • 612-673-7302