Suzzy Roche, one of the three singing Roche Sisters who have delighted us with their folksy, quirky style since the mid-1970s, is the author of a novel, "Wayward Saints," just out from Hyperion.

She'll be in the Twin Cities on Friday night to read and perform. The fun begins at 7 p.m. at the Loft Literary Center, 1011 Washington Av. S. And if you can't make it, you can hear a song she and her daughter wrote to accompany the book at www.startribune.com/a926.

Also ...

• "The Melancholy MBA," poems by Richard Donnelly, has been published by Brick Road Poetry Press of Columbus, Ga. Richard Donnelly lives in Minneapolis. This is his first book.

• "Big! World Records in the Streets," by Beth Obermeyer, has been published by North Star Press. Obermeyer is the author of a previous book on tap-dancing, "The Biggest Dance."

• "Burr and Hamilton: A Drama for Voices," written by Jeff Humphries and illustrated with woodcuts by Betsy Bowen, has been published by Philsgood Press. Humphries' work has been published in Best American Short Stories and he is the recipient of an award from the American Academy of Poets. Bowen is an artist in Grand Marais. The two previously collaborated on "Borealis," a collection of poetry published by the University of Minnesota Press.

• "First to the Pole," by C.J. Ramstad and Keith Pickering, has been published by North Star Press of St. Cloud. The nonfiction work recounts the 1968 snowmobile expedition to the North Pole by Minnesotans Ralph Plaistad and Art Aufderheide.

• "Little Minnesota: A Nostalgic Look at Minnesota's Smallest Towns," by Jill A. Johnson, with photographs by Deane L. Johnson, has been published by Adventure Publications. The book spotlights 100 towns with populations from tiny (4) to small (141). The Johnsons live in Park Rapids.

• "A Leaf Can Be ... ," by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta Dabija, has been published by Millbrook Press, a division of Lerner Publications. Salas lives in Maple Grove and is the author of many picture books.

• This month's Readings by Writers will feature eight poets whose work is collected in the recent anthology, "The Wind Blows, the Ice Breaks," edited by Ted Bowman and Elizabeth Bourque Johnson and published by Nodin Press. In addition to Johnson, the other poets are Philip Bryant, Sharon Chmielarz, Georgia Greeley, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Leslie Adrienne Miller, Thomas R. Smith and Greg Watson. The reading takes place at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the University Club, 420 Summit Av., St. Paul.