Presented by the GLOBAL AFRICAN STUDIES PROGRAM, SEATTLE UNIVERSITY. We are delighted to help get word out and be present—with books—for this special visit by renowned Algerian novelist Anouar Benmalek. Presently living in France, he has written several novels—among them, translated to English, The Lovers of Algeria, The Child of an Ancient People, and, most recently, Abduction (Arabia Books, translated by Simon Pare). Abduction is the post-War of Independence story of a man whose 13-year-old daughter is abducted—part of the tempestuousness of Algeria in these times. "Ever since Camus, and perhaps in an inevitable reaction to his pessimism, Algeria has specialized in producing writers whose works are both hopeful and ripe with horror ... This is not to say these books are predictable; in fact quite the opposite. Abduction, Benmalek's seventh novel, is a case in point ... This is Abduction's greatest achievement, linking a crime in 2007 to one perpetrated over 50 years earlier. It is a journey through history, but also through the psychology of pain ... Simon Pare's translation proves masterful in clinching Benmalek's weighty but pacey narration and its garrulous madness." - André Naffis-Sahely, The Independent. Free admission. Piggott Auditorium is centrally located on the Seattle University campus (901 Twelfth Avenue). See www.seattleu.edu for more information.

Co-presented with the TOWN HALL CENTER FOR CIVIC LIFE. With an introduction by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and a complete comic book by Ted Rall, you might think there would be nothing left for someone in a book to say much. Where award-winning investigative journalist Greg Palast is concerned, that is not the case. In the new book he's written, with accompaniment by the other two, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits: How to Steal an Election in 9 Easy Steps (Seven Stories), he "investigates the Koch Gang, Karl Rove, and their Buck-Buddies," as the book's cover also notes. This is very timely, very important material—Greg Palast was one of those most onto the story of ballot fraud and irregularities with the 2000 and 2004 elections—he looks at how history could repeat itself this year. $5 tickets are available at the door starting at 6:30 p.m., or in advance via www.strangertickets.com. Town Hall Seattle is at 1119 Eighth Avenue (at Seneca). Preferred seating for Town Hall members. For more information on this evening, please call Elliott Bay at (206) 624-6600, Town Hall at (206) 652-4255, or see www.townhallseattle.org.