WSU and the Bookpeople of Moscow bookstore will host a number of visiting authors in the coming weeks.

WSU, through the Visiting Writer Series, will host Crystal Wilkinson on April 4. She is a well-decorated author and professor, and has received numerous awards for her novels and short stories. Wilkinson’s novels include “The Birds of Opulence,” “Water Street” and “Blackberries, Blackberries.”

The Moscow-based store Bookpeople of Moscow is also hosting a number of authors.

“It is a really special thing we can offer to the community, bringing in an author to read their work,” said Carol Price, owner of Bookpeople of Moscow. “They can open themselves up to questions and feedback from the audience. It is always really special to hear an author talk about their work and see people respond to that.”

The first event is Thursday from 7-8 p.m. They will host University of Idaho professor Mary Clearman Blew. Blew is the author of “Ruby Dreams of Janis Joplin,” a novel about the role of music in a young woman’s life. Debbie Lee, an English professor at WSU, will be the special guest at the event and will be reading from her recent memoir.

The event is free and the bookstore will be selling Blew’s books, including “Ruby Dreams of Janis Joplin.” Blew will be available to sign books after the event, Price said.

The event will take place at the bookstore, located at 521 S. Main St. in Moscow.

“It is good to come early and get a seat up front … it is going to be really enjoyable,” Price said. “It is not something that we do to make money … it is something that we do to provide culture, literature and to just add to the life of the community here on the Palouse.”

The Hemingway Fellowship Showcase on March 4 will include a reading from University of Idaho professor Daniel Orozco and Caitlin Palmer, a fellow at the University of Idaho.

Professor and author Jennifer Ladino will read from her book “Memorials Matter” on March 6. For those interested in poetry, Laura Read will read from her poetry collection “Dresses from the Old Country” on March 7. Further poetry readings in March include Kimberly Kruge and Kimberly Burwick on March 20, and Geffrey Davis, Keetje Kuipers and Erika Meitner on March 23.

More information about future readings and author visits can be found on the Book People of Moscow website and the WSU Visiting Writer Series website.