Author signings and events in the Albuquerque area (Sept. 14)

AUTHOR SERIES BEGINS

B.A. Shapiro will present her book “The Lost Masterpiece: A Novel” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21, in the kickoff event of the 2025-26 Book Fest and Visiting Author Series at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque.

Shapiro’s book brings the reader inside a circle of famous painters in late 19th century Paris, focusing on the anguished Impressionist artist Berthe Morisot. She was the sole woman in the group who never received the attention she deserved.

It is also the story of Tamara Rubin, Morisot’s great-great-great-great granddaughter, who inherited Edouard Manet’s painting “Party on the Seine.” With the inheritance, Rubin discovers a long-hidden family history with unanswered questions: How had the painting been stolen by the Nazis? Why had she never known about her ancestor Berthe Morisot?

Filled with plot twists, the novel tells a story of love, adultery, betrayal amid the birth of Impressionism.

Shapiro is also the author of “The Art Forger,” “The Muralist” and “The Collector’s Apprentice.“

Her presentation is the first of nine author events. The other eight are listed on the online version of this story.

For tickets and/or books visit jccabq.org/bookfest or call 505-418-4469.

Individual event tickets and series passes are available.

All events are in the auditorium of the JCC, 5520 Wyoming Blvd. NE.

TWO AUTHOR EVENTS AT BOOKS ON THE BOSQUE

Ronald Chapman of Albuquerque will discuss and sign copies of “The Reckoning of Grace,” Book 3 of the Saga of Grace series, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14, at Books on the Bosque.

The book is described as a thought-provoking psycho-thriller that blurs the line between fiction and spiritual reflection, delving into the personal and collective struggle bubbling beneath today’s social unrest.

In the story, investigative journalist Kevin Pitcairn and his beloved, Maria Elena Maldonado, are the main voices of a nationwide movement of silent, nonviolent resistance. They find themselves under threat by those who view their message as a danger to the established order.

When violence hits close to home, they go into hiding, guided by Father Anthony de Franco and a community of enlightenment seekers.

And at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, Caroline Starr Rose talks about “The Burning Season,” her new verse novel for middle-grade readers.

Twelve-year-old Opal is prepping to become a fourth-generation fire lookout. Opal, her mom and her Gran live in a single room at the top of a fire tower on Wolf Mountain in the Gila Wilderness in southwestern New Mexico.

But Opal would rather be starting seventh grade and attending classes with kids her age. Wolf Mountain has other ideas.

When her mom is off to town to gather supplies and Gran goes missing, Opal spots a curl of smoke and must face down a wildfire on her own.

Rose is an Albuquerque author.

The bookstore is at 6261 Riverside Plaza Lane NW.

AT BARNES & NOBLE

Author Doug Price will sign copies of his new book “Livengoods Living Well” from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at Barnes & Noble in Coronado Shopping Center.

The book encourages readers to embark on their own discovery, both in the world and in themselves. It also reminds readers that life, whether physical or metaphysical, is a powerful catalyst for understanding and empathy.

AT COLLECTED WORKS

A.B. Spellman will read from and discuss his latest poetry collection “Between the Night and its Music” at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Santa Fe bookstore.

Spellman is also a music critic and arts administrator and known as a leading figure of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s.

Collected Works is at 202 Galisteo St. in Santa Fe.