The international Day of the Imprisoned Writer is this Saturday, November 15. This week, PEN is publishing a letter to five imprisoned writers around the world. From the Guardian:

Nine hundred writers around the world were harassed, imprisoned, murdered or “disappeared” last year, according to PEN International. On Monday, the writers’ organisation has selected just five of them, from a teacher and poet currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Iran to a Paraguayan writer who has just been sentenced to jail for allegedly plagiarising a novel, and has asked its free members to stand in solidarity with their silenced colleagues.

Pelican Bomb has a review of the Monster! show currently up at Skewer Gallery on St. Claude. The exhibition closes this week — as does your chance to take home a certain white whale.

New Orleans’ newest bookshop, Tubby and Coo’s in Mid-City, is celebrating its grand opening weekend celebration this weekend, with events, signings, and other mischief until late tomorrow night. Details available on their airship deck, that is, Facebook page.

It’s official — Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A History of the Hub City is now available for pre-order on the History Press website. With its full release confirmed for November 18, any copies ordered therein will be shipped as soon as the book returns from the printer. The History Press is currently offering a 25% discount on titles ordered online (their home page has details), so there’s no time like the present to stuff a stocking early…

For those in the New Orleans area, Tulane University is hosting a fantastic conference this weekend (Saturday, October 25) called “Thinking on the Page: Women in Biography and Memoir.” Featuring such accomplished writers as Patricia Bosworth, Vivian Gornick, Wendy Lesser, and Brenda Wineapple, the symposium includes readings and a panel discussion. And if that weren’t exciting enough, it’s free. More details available here.