What does having an amazing university, a plethora of fantastic local independent bookstores, and a pretty slam-bang public library system (if we do say so ourselves) bring to a town?
Authors. Lots and lots of authors.

In fact, so many authors pass through the area that sometimes it can be hard to keep track of who is speaking and when and where. To help guide you, Pulp curated a highlights list of August 2017 author events.

Vietnam vet Tim Keenan
➥ Tuesday, August 1, at 7 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Vietnam veteran Tim Keenan spent 47 years after his tour of duty in Vietnam hating the woods and jungle. He decided to confront his fears head-on by hiking the Appalachian Trail. His book The Good Hike tells of his experiences, both in Vietnam and on the trail.

Haroon Moghul
➥ Wednesday, August 2, at 7 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Moghul’s new book, How to Be a Muslim: An American Story, details his coming-of-age story as an American Muslim. He documents the crushing pressures of living in a world that shuns and fears Muslims, as well as his own complicated relationship with Islam and his battles with bipolar disorder. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Michelle Kuo
➥ Thursday, August 3, at 7 pm at Literati
Kuo’s recent memoir, Reading With Patrick, tells the story of her unique friendship with a young student during her time teaching in rural Arkansas with Teach for America. Described as a story of “race, inequality and the power of literature,” Kuo will read from the book and answer questions during the event.

Rhys Bowen
➥ Thursday, August 3, at 7 pm at the Ann Arbor District Library Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Bowen’s latest installment in her Royal Spyness Mystery series is On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service. The series has been a reader favorite since its very first installment and Bowen has won numerous mystery writing awards including the Agatha and the Anthony.

Lynne Cox
➥ Monday, August 7, at 7 pm at Literati
Lynne Cox was the first person swim across the Bering Strait and the Strait of Magellan, and has twice held the record for swimming the English Channel the fastest. Her latest memoir, Swimming in the Sink, deals with a troubling time in her life when she dealt with great loss and was forced to take a step back from what she loves most.

Molly Patterson
➥ Wednesday, August 9, at 7 pm at Literati
Patterson has just penned her debut novel, Rebellion, which spans continents and generations as the mystery of a missing American missionary to China unfolds.

Danya Kukafka
➥ Monday, August 21, at 7 pm at Literati
Kukafka’s debut novel, Girl in Snow, was named a Best Beach Read of 2017 by Elle, Yahoo, and Refinery 29. When a girl is found murdered in her Colorado suburb, the crime has implications that are far-reaching for those who knew her.

Sherry Stanfa-Stanley
➥ Thursday, August 24, at 7 pm at Literati
Stanfa-Stanley fought midlife stagnancy by doing The 52/52 Project: a year of weekly new experiences that pushed her far outside her comfort zone. She chronicles her experience in her memoir, Finding My Badass Self: A Year of Truths and Dares.

Grown Folks Story Time
➥ Thursday, August 24, at 7 pm at Bookbound
Local authors Patti F. Smith, Ken MacGregor, and David Pratt read from books based on the theme of “childhood.” Not for kids! Profanity, wry humor, and pseudo-intellectual banter will likely occur.

And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing -- Panel Discussion
➥ Wednesday, August 30, at 7 pm at Literati
Literati hosts a panel discussion of contributors to the new collection And Here: 100 Years of Upper Peninsula Writing, 1917-2017. Upper Peninsula literature is often overlooked, even when talking about Michigan literature. (In fact, the U.P. is often overlooked itself, being left off some maps or egregiously misplaced on others.) The new collection gives voice to U.P. writers, and contributors Keith Taylor, Sue Harrison, William Olsen, and others will speak at this event.

Last Fan Standing with Bruce Campbell
➥ Wednesday, August 30, at 7:30 pm at the Michigan Theater
Nicola’s Books hosts Bruce Campbell leading an interactive trivia quest that “tests your knowledge about the things that really matter.” Ticket price includes a signed copy of Campbell’s new memoir, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor.

Elizabeth Pearce is a Library Technician at the Ann Arbor District Library.