Prize-winning novelist A.S. Byatt will be onstage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Crest Theatre as part of the California Lectures subscription series. She will speak about her work in general and her new novel, "The Children's Book," and lecture on "the creation of made-up documents and the use of real documents (letters and diaries) brought to life in writing the historical novel."

Byatt is an international literary figure, a critic and teacher who received the Shakespeare Prize in 2002 and was named a Dame of the British Empire in 1999. Two of her books – "Possession" and "Angels and Insects" – were made into movies. "The Children's Book," set between 1895 and World War I, focuses on a children's book author and a family whose dynamic is disintegrating.

At 6:30 p.m., a biographical overview of Byatt and her work will be presented by California State University, Sacramento, professor Wilfrido Corral.

Individual tickets are $30 general, $15 for students at tickets.com or (800) 225-2277; and at the Crest box office, 1013 K St., Sacramento, (916) 442-7378.

For more information: (916) 737-1300 or www.californialectures.org.

Writers scheduled to appear for California Lectures include novelist John Irving (Nov. 5), physician Abraham Verghese (Feb. 11), former Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl (March 26) and Scott Simon of National Public Radio (April 26).

A mysterious convention

If you're a fan of mysteries, you might want to participate in a global event from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

That's when Poisoned Pen Press and the Poisoned Pen Bookstore of Scottsdale, Ariz., present what they call "WebCon, the world's first virtual mystery convention."

Featured will be "live interactive discussions, author panels, videos and audio presentations, exclusive articles, book trailers and live chat rooms," said PPP publisher Robert Rosenwald. "The online format will bring together mystery fans, authors and editors from opposite ends of the world."

Details and registration ($25) are at www.ppwebcon.com.

Author appearances

• Garrett Peck for "The Prohibition Hangover" (Rutgers University Press, $26.95, 336 pages): Making, distributing, marketing and selling alcoholic beverages in the United States is a $189 billion-dollar-a-year industry, Peck writes. Among the issues addressed: Is alcohol "a consumer product or a controlled substance, an accepted staple of social culture or a danger to society?"

Events: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Avid Reader, 617 Second St., Davis; (530) 758-4040.

And 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Avid Reader at the Tower, 1600 Broadway, Sacramento; (916) 441-4400.

• Peter Grandbois for "The Arsenic Lobster" (Spuyten Duyvil, $16, 128 pages): The author teaches creative writing at California State University, Sacramento, and in 2006 showed his students how it's done with the publication of the award-winning novel "The Gravedigger." "Lobster" is a "hybrid memoir" in which Grandbois uses swordplay, music and writing as vehicles to arrive at middle age.

Event: 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Avid Reader, 617 Second St., Davis; (530) 758-4040.

• Bridgett Myrell for "Oh, How I Love Christmas" (Audacity, $16.95, 34 pages): The illustrated children's book is about a little girl who remembers Christmases past.

Event: 2 p.m. Sunday at Borders, 7415 Laguna Blvd., Elk Grove; (916) 691-1901.

• Today through Sunday, the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Citrus Heights hosts a book fair as a fundraiser for the Orangevale Library. "A mention of the library will trigger a donation (a percentage of the purchase) to the library," a spokesperson said.

Highlighting the book fair will be a Local Authors Appreciation Day on Saturday, at which 15 writers will sign their books. Among them will be Dahlynn and Ken McKowen with their newly released "The Wine-Oh! Guide to California's Sierra Foothills" (Wilderness Press, $17.95, 224 pages), a "behind-the-scenes look at wineries in five Sierra foothill counties."

Also: Halloween story time at 11:30 a.m.

The Bee's Allen Pierleoni can be reached at (916) 321-1128 or apierleoni@sacbee.com. Contact him with news of coming literary events that are open to the public.