Book Notes: National Book Award winner Alexie to read at the Bing

Sherman Alexie’s breakthrough book, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” is turning 20, and his most recent collection of stories, “Blashphemy,” is out in paperback soon. Must be time for Alexie to visit his old stomping grounds.

Alexie, a National Book Award winner who was raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation, will give a reading at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. The reading is free, but a suggested donation of $5 to pay for the venue is appreciated. The reading is sponsored by Auntie’s Bookstore, the Bing, and Get Lit!

Keeble book launch party at Auntie’s

On the agenda for Auntie’s: A book launch party celebrating John Keeble’s “The Shadow of Owls.”

Keeble is a professor emeritus of creative writing at Eastern Washington University. “The Shadow of Owls” tells the story of a marine biologist whose work theatens construction of a new oil pipeline in Alaska. The “literary thriller” is his fifth novel.

The launch party will be at 7 p.m. Friday at Auntie’s, 402 W. Main Ave. Admission is free; call (509) 838-0206 for details.

GU’s Visiting Writers Series kicks off

Finally, a reminder. The 2013-14 Visiting Writers Series at Gonzaga University kicks off Wednesday with two authors who aren’t visiting. They’re local.

Shawn Vestal, a columnist for The Spokesman-Review and author of the short-story collection “Godforsaken Idaho,” will share the stage with Bruce Holbert, an English teacher at Mt. Spokane High School whose first novel, “Lonesome Animals,” was released last year.

The fun begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Cataldo Hall Globe Room on the GU campus.