We have a poetry slam and many other readings tonight.

Tess Gerritsen reads at Seattle Mystery Bookshop from her new mystery, The Keepsake, in which a supposedly ancient mummy turns out to be a very recent murder victim. (Cue Law & Order ch-chung! sound effect here.)

Up at Third Place Books, Emma Donoghue reads from her latest book, The Sealed Letter. Donoghue wrote Slammerkin, which was a pretty fun Victorian novel. I have not read anything by her since, however.

And Tony Wagner is at Town Hall with The Global Achievement Gap, which is a book about how our education system is well and truly fucked, especially when compared to other countries.

Then we have a couple different readings with poets and fiction. Up in Wallingford, Donato Mancini, who has created a giant poem constructed from “enormous chains of vinyl letters,” reads with Shin Yu Pai, who also plays with the visual aspects of letters.

And at Elliott Bay Book Company, Leni Zumas (who wrote a lovely collection of short stories called Farewell Navigator that I took on a Lunch Date some time back) reads with Stranger contributor and very good poet Travis Nichols. Nichols will be promoting his contribution to State of the Union, an anthology of political poems published by local press Wave Books.

Either of those last two readings would be a fine time out on the town.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here.