We make readers here. Oklahoma has played muse to playwrights, poets, and authors in traditions as rich and various as our places. Our readers are just as inspired. Oklahoma has seen a renaissance in recent years, a revival of its literary scene. Groups like Booksmart Tulsa, Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, and Louder Than a Bomb bring some of the most important writers working in America today to our state for lectures, poetry slams, and, this month, even a pajama party.

Here’s the best of what’s going on in Oklahoma’s well-read circles this month, including workshops and book events for our kids. Most of these events are free to attend.

Oct. 1

• Booksmart Tulsa BBQ with Mary Kay Zuravleff with special guests Rilla Askew and Constance Squires at Harwelden Mansion, 7 p.m.
• Smart Conversation at The Synagogue with Malcolm Gladwell via satellite on Underdogs Who Break The Rules, 7 p.m.
• Spooky Stories Contest for 3rd and 4th graders via Tulsa Library, through Oct. 18
• Book Talk: The Golden Age of Literary Piracy in America with Professor Robert Spoo, author of Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain, at 5 p.m.

Oct. 2

• The Penguin Book Truck stops in Tulsa, first at Guthrie Green at 11 a.m., then at Antoinette Baking Co., 6 p.m.

Oct. 3

• The Moth Mainstage at Rose State Performing Arts Center in Midwest City, 7:30 p.m.
• National Association for Campus Activities Regional Conference at Doubletree Hotel in downtown Tulsa, through Oct. 6, featuring poet Lauren Zuniga

Oct. 4

• Tulsa Reads: Up Close and Personal with Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and And the Mountains Echoed, at Greenwood Cultural Center via The Oklahoma Center for Poets & Writers, at 7 p.m.
• E.B. White’s Stuart Little, Tulsa Performing Arts Center, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m., Oct. 5 at 11 a.m.
• ESL Literacy Tutor Training sign-up deadline, Tulsa City-County Library
• From My Point of View: Manuscripts from the First Century of Encounter in Colonial Mexico and Peru with Dr. Stephanie Schmidt, at noon
• StoryTime on the Courthouse Lawn, Enid Public Library, at 7 p.m..

Oct. 5

• The Grapes of Wrath with Bob Santelli at Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, 5 p.m., in conjunction with the Steinbeck Center’s celebration of the 75th anniversary of the novel
• Pulitzer Prize Winner A. Scott Berg at Charles Schusterman Jewish Community Center, 7:30 p.m.
• Oral History Workshop at Oklahoma History Center, 2 p.m.
• Performances of C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters at Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Louder Than a Bomb Tulsa Saturday Series with workshops for teens in poetry and journalism, at 10 a.m. at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa

Oct. 7

• Books Sandwiched In at Schusterman-Benson Library with a review of Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle by Fiona, countess of Carnarvon.

Oct. 8

• Adult Pajama Party with Chuck Palahniuk, author of Fight Club, Lullaby, and Choke, with special guests Monica Drake and Chelsea Cain at Central Library at 7 p.m.

Oct. 9

• Ok, so…Tulsa Story Slam at ENSO Bar at 8 p.m., where it’s free to attend, $5 to tell a story, winner takes all
• PAWS for Reading, where kids are invited to read to registered therapy dogs, at Collinsville Library at 3 p.m.

Oct. 10

• An Evening with Cristina García, author of King of Cuba, Dreaming in Cuban, The Agüero Sisters, and Monkey Hunting at Martin Regional Library via Skype at 7 p.m.
• Spooky Tales with Territory Tellers at Arts & Humanities Council Black Box Theater in Ada
• Poetry reading with Jordan Stempleman in the Faculty Study at McFarlin Library at The University of Tulsa at 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 11

• Mowgli: The Jungle Book Ballet at OKC Civic Center Music Hall, 7 p.m. (with performances Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.)
• Emcee Olympics at The Creative Room in Tulsa with Louder Than a Bomb Tulsa

Oct. 12

• Global Table Experience book launch and presentation of food and drink from every country in the world, with author Sasha Martin at Philbrook Museum of Art starting at noon
• Louder Than a Bomb fall kickoff event, Crossing the Street, at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa at 1 p.m.

Oct. 14

• Books Sandwiched In at Schusterman-Benson Library in Tulsa with a review of Big Data: A Revolution that Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think by Viktor Mayer-Schonberger and Kenneth Cukier at noon.

Oct. 15

• Let’s Talk About It: Native American Writers of the Plains, a discussion of The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich at Stillwater Public Library, 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 16

• James Dean, author of the children’s book series starring Pete the Cat, at Barnes & Noble Woodland Plaza in Tulsa at 6 p.m.

Oct. 17

• Literary Death Match Tulsa Part 3 at All Souls Unitarian Church at 7 p.m.

Oct. 18

• Five Tribes Story Conference, through Oct. 19 at Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee
• Writers’ Open Mic for teens with original poetry and short stories, at Five80 Coffee House in Enid at 2 p.m.

Oct. 19

• Nimrod Journal’s Conference for Readers and Writers featuring National Book Award Finalist Cristina García with Oklahoma poet laureate Nathan Brown, Jacob M. Appel, Sarah Crossland, Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry, Lynn Shoemaker, Francine Ringold, Eilis O’Neal, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, A. J. Tierney, Jessica Spotswood, and many others at Allen Chapman Activity Center at The University of Tulsa, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
• Times Talks, a video series featuring today’s top talents and thinkers in conversation with New York Times journalists, at Circle Cinema, this time featuring Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Emeril Lagasse, David Bouley, Alex Atala, David Chang, and New York Times restaurant critics

Oct. 21

• Books Sandwiched In with a review of Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher by Timothy Egan from Brian Hosmer, H.G. Barnard chair of Western American history at The University of Tulsa, noon.

Oct. 24

• Modern Masters: An Evening with Jonathan Lethem at Congregation B’nai Emunah in Tulsa, 7 p.m.
• Seminar, by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright and TV writer Theresa Rebeck at Tulsa Performing Arts Center, with performances Oct. 24-Oct 26 at 8 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Oct. 27.

Oct. 25

• Deathtrap, a Broadway thriller about a writer of Broadway thrillers, at Tulsa Performing Arts Center Oct. 25-26, Oct. 30-31, and Nov. 1-2 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 and Nov. 3.
• National Teen Read Month library open house at South Broken Arrow Library, 1:30-5:30 p.m.
• Noon Brown Bag Lunch Lecture with author, wood sculptor, and designer Doug Stowe at Henry Zarrow Center for Art and Education at noon

Oct. 26

• Whispers in the Night, an evening of Oklahoma ghost stories and eerie tales with Territory Tellers, in Old Angus Barn Event & Cultural Center in Wolf at 7 p.m.
• Louder Than a Bomb Tulsa Saturday Series with workshops in poetry and journalism for teens at Zarrow Regional Library at 10 a.m.
• Ben Hatke, author of Zita the Spacegirl, at Anime Minicon at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa, 1-4 p.m.

Oct. 28

• Books Sandwiched In with a review of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn from Jane Wiseman, judge, Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals, noon.

Oct. 29

• Public reception for Poetry Out Loud competition for Norman High School students, judged by Ibtisam Barakat, Oklahoma poet laureate Nathan Brown, Ken Hada, and Daniel Simon, with poetry readings from Lauren Camp and Fady Joudah, at Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, 6:30 p.m.
• Theodore Roosevelt Comes Alive: Joe Wiegand as the Rough Rider President, a historian, writer, and lecturer’s portrayal of the 26th U.S. president, in Connors Cove at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa at 7 p.m.

Oct. 31

• Booksmart Tulsa Halloween: Poe In The Park at Guthrie Green at 8 p.m., a reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s creepiest work, prior to an outdoor screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Find more Oklahoma events and things to do on the This Land Events page.