READINGS BY WRITERS: First program of the new year features poets Danny Klecko, Paula Ciesawski and Wang Ping. Free. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 16, University Club, 420 Summit Ave., St. Paul.

BONNIE JO CAMPBELL: Presents “The  Waters,” an antidote to the dark side of masculinity, celebrating the resilience of nature and the brutality and sweetness of rural life. In conversation with Lisa DuRose. 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. Registration required. Go to magersandquinn.com.

MINNESOTA MYSTERY NIGHT: Monthly reading series kicks off the new year with a conversation between guest author James Bennett, who has published  “Catechisms,” his second murder mystery after a 15-year gap between books. In conversation with award-winning short story writer Jessica Laine. Guest host will be Greg Clausen, retired educator and state senator, filling in for host Rob Jung. Free. 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 15, Axel’s Restaurant, 1318 Sibley Memorial Highway, Mendota. Reservations at 651-686-1840 for the program and pre-program dinner beginning at 5 p.m.

MONA POWER: Opens a new season of the Fireside Reading series, presented by Friends of the St. Paul Public Library, with a program about her novel “A Council of Dolls,” which traces three generations of Dakota women and the roles their dolls played in their lives. Power is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and author of  “The Grass Dancer,” “Sacred Wilderness,” and “Roofwalker.” Free. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, Rondo Community Library, 461 N. Dale St., St. Paul. For registration information on attending via Zoom, go to thefriends.org/fireside.

ALEX SOLOSKI: Introduces “Here in the Dark”, which takes readers behind the scenes of New York theater, lifting the curtain on the lies we tell ourselves and each other. In conversation with Jacqueline Holland.  7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.

ANNE URSU: One of Minnesota’s most popular award-winning writers introduces her new middle-grade novel “Not Quite a Ghost,”  a personal story about the ghosts that surround us and the ones we carry inside. In conversation with Kelly Barnhill, author of the Newbery award-winning “The Girl Who Drank the Moon” and other novels. Free. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul.

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