Thursday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m.

Notwithstanding the homogenization of American language and culture, not everybody talks the same way. Characters shouldn't, either. Aspiring writers and all fans of quality crime fiction will want to join us for this free workshop with one of our favorite visitors. Bill Fitzhugh, award-winning author of seven satiric crime novels, will lead a discussion of how to write dialogue in general, how to write regional dialects, and how to tell if you've overdone it. The New York Times write that Fitzhugh's "facility and wit, and his taste for the perverse, put him in a league with Carl Hiaasen and Elmore Leonard." His novels include Highway 61 Resurfaced, Heart Seizure, and Pest Control; and he'll be back later in the month to discuss The Adventures of Slim and Howdy, based on the alter egos of country superstars Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. He also writes, produces, and hosts a weekly show on XM Satellite Radio's Deep Tracks channel called "Fitzhugh's All Hand Mixed Vinyl."