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HUNTINGTON -- As the calendar turns to November and the Christmas lights glow just over the horizon, there is a wealth of book signings around the region.

Here's a look at the author events this weekend.

California and back or bust

An Ohio native who now lives in California, Allan W. Eckert will be doing his first book signing in the region in about five years on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5-6, at his publisher's place, the Jesse Start Foundation, 1645 Winchester Ave., Ashland.

Book signings for the "Dark Journey: The Tragedy of the Donner Party" (334-page hardback, $25, JSF), will take place f3 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, and 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Nov. 6, as JSF makes this the first chance for the public to buy the new book from Eckert.

He is the author of 40 published books and has been nominated on seven separate occasions for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. He is widely acclaimed for his series of historical narratives titled "The Winning of America." He also is well known in this area and beyond as the writer of the script for "Tecumseh," the Chillicothe, Ohio-based outdoor drama that has been seen by more than 2 million people.

Eckert is promoting this new book both in Ashland and as a guest speaker at the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort this weekend.

Call the Jesse Stuart Foundation at 606-326-1667 or e-mail at jsf@jsfbooks.com. The Web site is www.jsfbooks.com.

Authors by the dozens

Empire Books and News at Pullman Square gives some love to a flood of more than two dozen local authors from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, to celebrate the National Bookstore Day, sponsored by Publishers Weekly.

Just a few of the authors featured on Saturday include Justine Rutherford ("Rough Lumber" and "Wild Mustard"), Tammy Auxier Barker ("The Witches Three"), Victoria Rose ("Until Death Do We Part") and Don Daniel McMillian ("The Very Best, West Virginia's 55 Counties").

Book lovers are asked to bring in canned food on Saturday to get 10 percent off that day's purchase. Empire will donate the food to the Huntington City Mission as part of National Hunger Awareness Month.

Lots of history, out wayne

The Wayne County Public Library will have a book signing by KYOWVA Genealogy Society president and author Debbie Chatterton Campbell from 2 to 4 Saturday, Nov. 7.

The first book is "The 120th Virginia Militia Regimental Book of Enquiry," which covers the years 1839 to 1845 prior to the Civil War and also contains extra militia lists and early militia history up to the year 1858.

In the book are the names of every able-bodied man aged 18 to 45 from the counties of Cabell, Wayne and surrounding areas. The book contains some biographies of the men who served, along with descriptions of their uniforms and muster locations and covers the transition period when Wayne County was split from Cabell County. The cost of the 118-page book is $25.

The second book for sale is "The History of Owens-Illinois, Volume II."

The Owens-Illinois glass plant in Huntington was one of the city's major employers until the early 1990s when the plant was shut down. This 302-page edition covers the time period of 1950 to its closing and contains 149 plant cartoons, new photos of the Rod and Gun Club on Millers Fork and numerous photos of plant workers and interviews with retirees. The book is $25.

Copies of volume one will be available as well. For more information, contact the library at 325 Keyser St., Wayne or call 304-272-3756.

Booked for Civil War Days

The 20th annual Guyandotte Civil War Days takes place this weekend, and the Guyandotte Library, 203 Richmond St., is celebrating by hosting historian and author Jack L. Dickinson who has written several books about the Civil War in West Virginia.

Dickinson will be signing those books including, "Cooney Ricketts: Child of the Regiment," which tells the story of a Guyandotte family caught up in the war and gives an account of the raid on Guyandotte.

The signing will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the library. The library will also be hosting a used book sale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8.

Call 304-528-5698.

Chris Harris/The Herald-Dispatch

Jack L. Dickinson signs a copy of his book titled “Civil War Paper Items: The Rosanna A. Blake Confederate Collection Marshall University” in this July 27 file photo. Dickinson and his wife, Kay, have written a new regional history book on the role of the Norfolk and Western Railroad special agents in guarding N&W property.

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The Herald-Dispatch

Allan Eckert is the author of 40 published books and has been nominated seven times for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. He will be signing copies of his most recent book “Dark Journey: The Tragedy of the Donner Party” on Nov. 5-6, at the Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1645 Winchester Ave., in Ashland.

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