Each week, we offer a roundup of the best literary events in the city. All events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. Want to submit an upcoming event for consideration? Go here.

Nigella Lawson (Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes) 

Friday, February 15, 6 pm, at Book Passage SF (1 Ferry Building)

Saturday, February 16, 12:30 pm, at Left Bank (507 Magnolia Ave., Larkspur)

Saturday, February 16, 5 pm, at Williams-Sonoma (340 Post St.)

Lawson, the British "domestic goddess," TV star, and author of eight cookbooks, goes Italian in her latest tome, with 120 recipes for pastas, main courses, and desserts inspired by the simplicity and purity of Italian cuisine. If you'd like to taste a meal prepared by Lawson herself, the Left Bank event will feature multiple courses of recipes straight from the book, paired with wine; tickets are $125 and include tax, tip, and a signed copy. 

Teddy Wayne (The Love Song of Jonny Valentine)

Friday, February 15, 7 pm, at Books Inc. Marina (2251 Chestnut St.)

Wayne's first novel, Kapitoil, earned praise for its humor and unique voice, and he's garnering even more plaudits for his follow-up, the tale of a Justin Bieber-like 11-year-old pop star who struggles to come to terms with his absent father, hard-partying manager mother, and burgeoning sexuality. Both a witty exploration of America's celebrity-obsessed culture and a tender coming-of-age story, Jonny Valentine is a major breakthrough for Wayne. 

David Shields (How Literature Saved My Life)

Wednesday, February 13, 7:30 pm, at The Booksmith (1644 Haight St.)

Shields, the provocative author of Reality Hunger, goes more personal in his latest book, exploring the books that have helped keep him afloat despite his self-admitted character flaws and his struggles with hopelessness and despair. Over time, however, Shields begins to realize that even literature isn't a solution to human loneliness, and his struggle with the acts of reading and writing inform an idiosyncratic and compelling narrative about why we read. 

Jamaica Kincaid (See Now Then)

Wednesday, February 13, 7:30 pm at Herbst Theatre (401 Van Ness Ave.)

Antigua-born Kincaid has been one of the most important black voices in modern fiction since her first novel, Annie John, appeared in the 1970s. Her new novel evokes a New England family that's unstuck in time, moving fluidly between the past, present and future in the voices of a mother, father, and their two children in a voice and language that are uniquely her own.