Books

Give the people what they want: week after week of award-winning authors.

That seems to be the principle behind the 2008 Arts & Letters Live lineup, which was announced Thursday. The schedule overflows with Pulitzer winners, Newbery honorees, National Book Award winners and more.

Among the highlights:

•Geraldine Brooks, author of the Pulitzer-winning March and the upcoming People of the Book, Jan. 16.

•Anne Lamott, author of Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, March 13.

•Marjane Satrapi, author and illustrator of the graphic novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2, April 11. Her animated Persepolis won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

•Elaine Pagels, who won a National Book Award for The Gnostic Gospels, April 25.

•Louise Erdrich, author of Love Medicine and the upcoming The Plague of Doves, May 12.

•Tony Kushner, Pulitzer- and Tony­winning playwright of Angels in America, May 21. The Fort Worth Opera will be performing an adaptation of his work at that time.

"Our audiences really come out for award-winning writers, both fiction and nonfiction," said Carolyn Bess, producer of the series. "They really seem to value the literary and not just the lighter, more popular books."

She added, "I've always been impressed and pleased to see how much poetry resonates with Dallas audiences. Billy Collins and Seamus Heaney have drawn significant crowds."

Robert Hass, former U.S. poet laureate and recent National Book Award winner for Time and Materials, will fill that niche this year, on April 18.

Among small changes to the festival this year, the Arts & Letters Live Jr. series for younger readers has been rechristened BooksmART. It will feature, among others:

•Gary D. Schmidt, Newbery Honor winner for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Feb. 24.

•Patricia MacLachlan, Newbery Medalist for Sarah, Plain and Tall , March 30.

•Mo Willems, Caldecott Honor-winning author of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, April 6.

Capping the season this year: The Southeastern Festival of Song will present Blithe Spirits, billed as "an evening of song, interwoven with art, letters and literary excerpts" about Sara and Gerald Murphy, friends and inspirations for the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Picasso and more.

Ongoing renovations at the Dallas Museum of Art will force the series to roam early in the season to locales such as Temple Emanu-El of Dallas and St. Mark's School of Texas. Partnerships with The Writer's Garret, First United Methodist Church and others will also provide alternate venues.

Ms. Bess has also been reaching beyond Dallas for collaborations. Coordinating with Houston's Inprint! series helped bring Mr. Kushner, Mr. Hass and Ms. Satrapi to town.

Movie fans will notice several tie-ins this year, including Ms. Satrapi, Joanne Harris (Chocolat) and Tracy Chevalier (Girl With a Pearl Earring.)

Ms. Chevalier, in fact, has been one of the writers most requested by audiences, Ms. Bess said. Another fine example of giving people what they want.

For a link to the complete schedule, including locations, visit the Texas Pages blog, www.guidelive.com/texaspages.

JANUARY

16 Geraldine Brooks, People of the Book

18 Define-a-Thon, with Steve Kleinedler

20 Eoin Colfer, Airman

FEBRUARY

15 Nancy Horan, Loving Frank

24 Gary D. Schmidt, Trouble

29 Tracy Chevalier, Burning Bright

MARCH

13 Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith

17 Thomas Cahill, Mysteries of the Middle Ages and How the Irish Saved Civilization

21 Singer-songwriters Joe Ely, Beth Wood and Billy Crockett

30 Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall

APRIL

6 Mo Willems, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

11 Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis

18 Robert Hass, Will Richey and young writers

25 Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels

29 Joanne Harris, Chocolat and The Girl With No Shadow

MAY

12 Louise Erdrich, The Plague of Doves

16 Brock Clarke, An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England

21 Tony Kushner, Angels in America

JUNE

8 Brian Selznick, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Plan your life

Tickets are available by mail order. A form is downloadable at www.dallasmuseumofart.org/ALL. Starting Jan. 2, phone orders will be taken at 214-922-1818. (Individual ticket orders for Geraldine Brooks and Eoin Colfer are available by phone immediately. Tickets for Louise Erdrich available at www.eisemanncenter.com or 972-744-4650.)