As The Players’ Ring gears up for its  production of “Body,” two authors will speak about the play’s subject, Marilyn Monroe, at Portsmouth Library.

Marilyn Monroe. Her name alone is enough to conjure images of platinum blonde, a beauty mark above red lipstick, a plunging neckline and classic Hollywood glamour. It’s also enough to earn her estate at least $20 million per year, more than she saw in life, said John De Lito, co-author of “The Immortal Marilyn: The Depiction of an Icon.”

Vintage International, 2000: One’s enjoyment of “The Elementary Particles” hinges directly on one’s capacity to stomach obscenity in exchange for the promise of a big intellectual payoff. On the one hand, it’s a thought-provoking novel that has earned author Michel Houellebecq comparisons to Huxley and Camus. On the other, it features pornographic descriptions of sex and violence that can be more than a bit unsettling.

Nationally-known authors who visited the Seacoast in 2011 discuss how technology is affecting the way people read and write stories.

The way we buy and read books has changed dramatically over the last 12 months: once-mighty national chain store Borders closed its doors, and sales of digital e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iPad and Barnes & Noble’s Nook increased exponentially. New advances in electronic reader technology are taking place all the time, such as the Kindle Fire, which came out in November. While the potential impact of e-books was fuzzy just a few years ago, it’s now clear that sales are competitive with printed books and could perhaps displace them in the foreseeable future.

New Hampshire consistently ranks as one of the safest states in the nation. But, judging from the second volume of the New Hampshire Pulp Fiction Series, violent crime runs rampant in the imaginations of local writers.

The Poetry Society of New Hampshire is seeking submissions for a poetry book competition open to all college undergraduates in the state, and Rochester is searching for its next poet laureate.

Roughly a month after RiverRun Bookstore owner Tom Holbrook announced the business was in danger of closing, the store appears to be saved. Holbrook recently announced RiverRun will remain open in downtown Portsmouth in the New Year—but in a new location with a new owner partnership.

Books are ideal holiday gifts, but to choose the right one, you might need a little help from your friendly neighborhood bookstore.

Whether they like history, mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, romance, horror or drama, there’s a perfect book out there for every person on your holiday gift list. Selecting the right book can be a bit of a challenge, but alas, help is on hand. One of the advantages of shopping at a local community bookstore rather than, say, Amazon.com, is that you can speak with informed staff members who are passionate about books and eager to share their recommendations. Not sure what dear Aunt Trudy likes to read? An employee will be able to point you in the right direction.

A special annual installment of The Press Room’s monthly Beat Night event will focus on the poetry of local teenagers. “Young Writers Beat Night” takes place at the Portsmouth bar on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. Writers between the ages of 13 and 19 are invited to read their work while a live band led by guitarist Larry Simon provides improvised musical accompaniment.

Following reports that it would end its lease in December and might close for good, RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth has received a flood of support, leading owner Tom Holbrook to express cautious optimism that it could be saved

by Frederick Exley, Harper & Row, 1968: For many sports fans, autumn is a time of death and monotony disrupted only by the weekly punctuation of Sunday NFL games. Never has this been truer than in the 21st century, as “Fantasy Football” has become an obsessive fixation for millions of rabid subscribers. But even their fandom pales in comparison with that demonstrated by late author Frederick Exley in the 1950s and early ’60s.

Water Street Bookstore marks 20 years with Dan Brown signing and PitchaPalooza, while RiverRun ends lease after five years

Online markets and digital books threaten to debase the experience of reading to its most impersonal form, but Dan Chartrand’s approach to his independent bookstore stands in the way. “It’s not my job to sell stuff. It’s my job to build community,” said the owner of Water Street Bookstore. “My job has evolved. It’s about what we do together.” Water Street Bookstore in Exeter is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an open house party on Friday, Nov. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. New Hampshire resident Dan Brown, the bestselling author of “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons,” will be there to sign books, including special illustrated editions. But reflecting the other side of the modern bookselling experience, RiverRun Bookstore owner Tom Holbrook recently announced he's not renewing the lease for the store's prominent but costly space on Congress Street in Portsmouth, which ends on Dec. 31.

For many people, fulfilling the dream of writing a novel comes down to finding the time. For some, the time is the month of November. National Novel Writing Month is a national, creative challenge that encourages aspiring novelists to write at least 50,000 words of a fiction work in 30 days. Portsmouth Public Library is participating for the first time this year by transforming the Hilton Garden Room into a Writer’s Café every Tuesday throughout the month.

After suffering three psychotic breakdowns in rapid succession in the early 1970s, Mark Vonnegut thought he had mental illness whipped. He was still in his early 20s and had recovered admirably from his attacks, graduating from Harvard Medical School and achieving emotional stability that he thought would endure for the rest of his life. He published his first book, “The Eden Express: A Memoir of Insanity,” in 1975 to critical acclaim. In it, he shared his newfound wisdom about the keys to beating mental illness. But then, 14 years after this third mental break, Vonnegut suffered a fourth crack-up. No one saw it coming.

summoning poets laureate from around the nation to New Hampshire

New Hampshire poet laureate Walter Butts has long believed that, of all literary forms, poetry comes closest to expressing what it means to be human. “I think poetry both observes and participates in the culture that it’s generated from, and so I think the reflections and insights of poets who give voice to communal concerns are an extraordinarily valid and necessary force,” Butts said. That’s part of the premise behind Poetry and Politics, a two-day event bringing  together state poets laureate from around the country Oct. 14 and 15. It’s part of the first ever New Hampshire Book Festival, which runs from Oct. 9 to 23.

Jeremy D’Entremont traces the true story of Ocean-Born Mary

A baby girl was born to immigrant parents on their way to New Hampshire in 1720, either during or just before the ship was boarded by pirates. With her, a legend also was born. Mary’s effortless heroics were celebrated every year in her hometown of Londonderry, and her long life led to an impressive lineage that settled that part of the state. But, years after her death, the legend continued to grow. “Legends get a life of their own,” says Jeremy D’Entremont.

Like her character Della, author Vanessa Veselka has studied paleontology, has worked as a waitress, and has dabbled in activism and the counter-culture. She’s also a long-time musician who has opened for The Ramones and The White Stripes, and once ran her own indie record label. She drew on many of her own experiences while writing “Zazen,” including the real-life sex party scene in her home city of Portland, Ore.  Before reading in Portsmouth on Aug. 17, She spoke to The Wire about the parallels between the events and conflicts that transpire in the book and those that take place in the real world.

With “The Vaults,” local author Toby Ball created a fictional 1930s-era metropolis filled with crime and corruption, and populated by a cast of memorable characters. Ball is now following up his debut novel with a sequel titled “Scorch City.”

Since becoming poet laureate of New Hampshire in 2009, Walter E. Butts has worked to increase the visibility of poetry across the state. He’ll continue that mission with a reading at Water Street Bookstore in Exeter on Wednesday, Aug. 17.

The 1990 murder of Gregg Smart in his Derry home, and the subsequent trial and conviction of his wife Pamela, remains one of the most notorious crime sagas in New Hampshire history. A new book by Gregg Smart’s brother Dean reveals the personal side of a tragedy that shocked the nation.

Ben Mezrich goes to incredible lengths to bring readers a story that is both accurate and spellbinding, honest and riveting. He’s marched through airport security with a bunch of Vegas card-counters and $250,000 taped to his body. He’s done a face-to-face interview with a Japanese mafia boss in Osaka. And now, he’s befriended an ex-con who pulled off one of the biggest heists in American history. He'll tell more when he's in Portsmouth on July 21.

Viola carried around a mouse named Whiskers, like a secret, and Mena kept beach sand in mason jars in her closet, if you want to believe it. Guy Capecelatro III wants to believe. He collects vintage pictures and writes poetic vignettes that succinctly and eloquently make guesses about the most distinctive traits of women from the past. In a sense, he brings them back to life, even if it’s a reincarnation.

Local writers looking to share their work in a supportive environment are invited to attend a forum at Portsmouth Public Library on Tuesday, July 19. Playwright and actor Genevieve Aichele, artistic director of New Hampshire Theatre Project, will offer a presentation on reading or performing work in public.

A new workshop series will offer walking tours around Portsmouth to inspire the development of haiku.

Anchor Books, 2001: Margaret Atwood begins her Booker Prize-winning novel with a hook: “Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge.” Like Joe Gillis floating dead in Norma Desmond’s pool in the opening scene of “Sunset Boulevard,” the story begins with the end. And with Laura’s own end as a foregone conclusion, readers are left picking out the hows and whys of her demise.

Neil Gaiman’s limo driver got lost after arriving in Portsmouth on June 22, and so the English author received an impromptu tour of the city. That night, he told an adoring crowd at The Music Hall that he had been especially fascinated by “a large submarine parked in a ditch.” Gaiman was referring, of course, to the U.S.S. Albacore, the Navy vessel-turned-museum on Market Street. This was just the sort of bizarre cultural phenomenon that would have fit naturally in Gaiman’s 2001 fantasy-horror novel “American Gods.” “In my head and, to some extent, even in reality, there is a large box in which I’m putting stuff that’s going to go into ‘American Gods 2,’” Gaiman said. “I don’t know that the Albacore is going to go in there,” he added to hopeful applause.