The wonderful wealth that this fall will bring

Over the last few weeks, news has dribbled out about the authors who are coming to town for the state's most significant writers series: Talking Volumes; Talk of the Stacks; Good Thunder: Pen Pals; and Club Book.This doesn't even include the lineup for the Rain Taxi Review Twin Cities Book Festival, which will be announced next week. (They did announce today that Nicholson Baker will be one of the guests.)

All of the lineups are so impressive that it seems worth recapping them for you. There's a little overlap--Tracy K. Smith, for instance, will be here twice, once for the Good Thunder Writing Series in Mankato, and once for Pen Pals in Hopkins. And Luis Alberto Urrea will be here twice as well -- again, once for Good Thunder, and once for Pen Pals. But it's an impressive list just the same, with novelists, poets and masters of creative nonfiction.

A person could go to an event nearly every week between now and spring--and sometimes twice in one evening--and that doesn't include the impressive lineup coming to indie bookstores (including, I hear, Jhumpa Lahiri in October) or the University of Minnesota (Bonnie Jo Campbell and Katherine Boo later on this fall).

Talk of the Stacks, Good Thunder, the Twin Cities Book Festival and Club Book are all free.

Pen Pals and Talking Volumes require tickets. Both offer tickets for the entire series, and individual tickets. (For Talking Volumes, series tickets are available now, and individual tickets will go on sale tomorrow. Call 651-290-1200 or visit the Fitzgerald Theater Website. Individual tickets are $25.) (For Pen Pals, individual tickets will go on sale Aug. 12. Call 612-543-8112 or download a form from www.supporthclib.org/ Individual tickets are $40.)

So here's the list:

Aug. 17, Will Alexander, Club Book.

Sept. 12: Tracy Kidder. Good Thunder Reading Series, Mankato. Sept. 17, Emily Rapp, Club Book Sept. 25, Edwidge Danticat, Talking Volumes Sept. 26, Eric Schlosser, Club Book. Oct. 1, Margaret Atwood, Talking Volumes Oct 3-4: Swati Avasthi and Rachael Hanel, Good Thunder, Mankato. Oct. 9, Atina Diffley, Club Book. Oct. 10 and 11, George Saunders, Pen Pals Oct. 12, Nicolson Baker, Rain Taxi Twin Cities Book Festival Oct. 15, Rick Riordan, Talking Volumes Oct. 15, Sarah Stonich, Club Book Oct. 24: Alicia Catt and Alan Davis, Good Thunder, Mankato Oct. 24, Erin Hart & Paddy O'Brien, Club Book. Oct. 25: Dessa, in conversation with Rain Taxi Review editor Eric Lorberer. Talk of the Stacks. Nov. 4 and 5, A.S. Byatt, Pen Pals Nov. 4, Andy Sturdevant, Club Book Nov. 12, Pat Conroy, Talking volumes Nov. 13: Amy Tan, Talk of the Stacks Nov. 14-15: Angela Duryee and Luis Alberto Urrea, Good Thunder Dec. 2, Ed Bok Lee Club Book Dec. 12: Nikki Giovanni, Talk of the Stacks Jan. 30: Sarah McKinstry-Brown and Christopher Howell, Good Thunder Feb. 6 and 7, Luis Alberto Urrea, Pen Pals Feb. 18-21: Pete Hautman and Alex Lemon, Good Thunder. March 20: Matt Rasmussen and Tracy K. Smith, Good Thunder. April 10: Jesmyn Ward, Good Thunder. April 24 and 25, Art Spiegelman, Pen Pals April 24: Candace Black, Good Thunder. May 8-9: Tracy K. Smith, Pen Pals

Good Thunder events are held at the Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Club Book events are held at various venues around the metropolitan area; check the Web for specific locations.

Talking Volumes is held at the Fitzgerald Theatre in downtown St. Paul.

Pen Pals is held at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hopkins.