Lectores at UT presents Valeria Luiselli, Jeff VanderMeer and more

Bestselling author Tim Dorsey (Naked Came the Florida Man) will discuss and sign his new novel at these free events:

• Thursday: 3:30 p.m., Gulf Beaches Library, 200 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach; 6:30 p.m., St. Pete Beach Library, Community Center, 7701 Boca Ciega Drive
• Friday: 7 p.m., Skipper’s Smokehouse, 910 Skipper Road, Tampa
• Saturday: 1:30 p.m., Bruton Memorial Library, 302 W McLendon St., Plant City; 5 p.m., Myakka River State Park, 13208 State Road 72, Sarasota
• Sunday: 1:30 p.m., Countryside Library, 2642 Sabal Springs Drive, Clearwater; 3:30 p.m., Haslam’s Book Store, 2025 Central Ave., St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg Museum of History’s Happy Hour with the Historian presents music historian Bob Kealing (Elvis Ignited: The Rise of an Icon in Florida) discussing his book. Free for museum members, $10 nonmembers; cash bar. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. St. Petersburg Museum of History, 335 Second Ave. NE. (727) 894-1052. historystpete.org.

The Oxford Exchange presents YA fantasy authors Isabel Ibañez (Woven in Moonlight) and Adrienne Young (The Girl the Sea Gave Back) in conversation, with signing to follow. Admission $5, applicable to book purchase. 6:30 p.m. Thursday.Oxford Exchange, 420 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. (813) 253-0222. oxfordexchange.com/pages/calendar.

The University of Tampa’s low-residency MFA program presents its Lectores reading series this month. All events begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free to attend:

• Thursday: Novelist and memoirist Valeria Luiselli (Lost Children Archives), Crescent Club, Vaughn Center, 401 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa
• Friday: Novelist Jeff VanderMeer (Dead Astronauts), ninth floor, Vaughn Center
• Saturday: Nonfiction writer Fernanda Santos (The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots), ninth floor, Vaughn Center
• Sunday: Fiction writer May-lee Chai (Useful Phrases for Immigrants), ninth floor, Vaughn Center
• Tuesday: Poet Marcus Jackson (Pardon My Heart), Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, 310 N Boulevard, Tampa
• Jan. 15: Fiction writers Shane Hinton (Pinkies) and Alan Michael Parker (Christmas in July), ninth floor, Vaughn Center

The Oxford Exchange presents Cassandra King Conroy (Tell Me a Story) discussing and signing her memoir about her late husband, writer Pat Conroy. Admission $5, applicable to book purchase. 2 p.m. Sunday. Oxford Exchange, 420 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. (813) 253-0222. oxfordexchange.com/pages/calendar.

Tampa Bay Times book editor Colette Bancroft will discuss Colson Whitehead’s novel The Nickel Boys. Free; lunch available, $5. Noon Tuesday . St. Peter’s Cathedral, 140 Fourth St. N (enter on Second Avenue N), St. Petersburg. (727) 822-4173, spcathedral.org/upcoming-events.

To place an item in Book Talk, send author’s name, book title, appearance time, date, venue name and address, admission cost (if any) and a contact phone number to cbancroft@tampabay.com (with “Book Talk” in subject line) or Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Deadline is 14 days before publication.