Author events, March 20-26

Jodi Picoult, "Sing You Home." 7:30 p.m March 21. Talk and signing. Free. St. Mark United Methodist Church, 781 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-873-2636, www.stmarkumc.org/ourevents/calendars/weekly.html.

Picoult’s latest explores what it means to be gay in today’s world and what constitutes a “traditional family.”

Pearl McHaney, "Eudora Welty: Narratives of the South in Word and Image." 7 p.m. March 22. Members $5, nonmembers $10; reservations required. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.atlantahistorycenter.com.

McHaney will present and discuss photographs Welty took in the 1930s.

Randall Fuller, "From Battlefields Rising: How the Civil War Transformed American Literature." 7:15 p.m. March 22. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-8450, Ext. 2225; www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.

Rodney Crowell, "Chinaberry Sidewalks" tour. 8 p.m. March 23. $20. The Loft, Center Stage, 1374 W. Peachtree St., Atlanta. 404-885-1365, www.centerstage-atlanta.com.

The Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter will read from his new memoir and perform a selection of songs, old and new.

Joelle Biele, "Elizabeth Bishop and The New Yorker: The Complete Correspondence." 7:15 p.m. March 23. Decatur Library Auditorium, 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. 404-370-8450, Ext. 2225; www.georgiacenterforthebook.org.

Four Atlanta poets will read Bishop’s poems: Tom Lux, Bruce Covey, Laurel Snyder and Sharan Strange.

Allen Tullos, "Alabama Getaway." 4 p.m. March 23. Talk and signing. Free. Barnes & Noble at Emory, 1390 Oxford Road, Atlanta. 404-727-6222, http://emory.bncollege.com.

Karen Finley, "The Reality Shows." 7:30 p.m. March 23. Signing. Free. Outwrite Books, 991 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 404-607-0082, www.outwritebooks.com.

Finley reimagines headline-making events of the past decade through a series of monologues by famous figures, including Liza Minnelli, Terri Schiavo, Martha Stewart and Silda Spitzer.

Agnes Kamara-Umunna, "And Still Peace Did Not Come." 7 p.m. March 24. Reading and signing. Free. Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. 404-865-7100, www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov.

A survivor of the brutal Second Liberian Civil War, Kamara-Umunna has dedicated her life to bringing her country's painful past into reconciliation with the present.