Wednesday August 24: D&D Encounters!

If you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, or if you haven’t played since your friends’ mom kicked you out because your hoodie smelled like weed, this is the meet-up for you. Roll up a new character (or play with a pre-generated one) and let expert Dungeon Masters walk you through a simple adventure. Phoenix Comics & Games, 113 Broadway E, 328-4552, http://phoenixseattle.com. Free. All ages. 6:30 p.m.

Thursday August 25: Cyberwarfare, Russia, and the CIA

What does it mean that Donald Trump called for Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails? When the hell did Russia become the cyber bogeyman, anyway? This group discussion features Nada Bakos, a former CIA analyst, talking with Bainbridge Island-based biographer Mort Kondracke and Whidbey Island historian Robert W. Merry. Folio: The Seattle Athenaem, 324 Marion St., 402-4612, http://folioseattle.org. $10. 7 p.m.

Friday August 26: Psychiatric Criminology

Stop scaring yourself to death with Law & Order reruns and educate yourself instead. In his newest book, UW alumnus Dr. John Liebert, a leading expert in “suicidal rampage murders,” examines the public health gap in dealing with violent crime and calls for changes in policing dangerously unbalanced individuals. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday August 27: Nevertold Casket Co. Reading Series #1

See our Literary Event of the Week column for more details. Nevertold Casket Company, 509 13th Ave., http://nevertoldcasket.com. Free. 21+. 8 p.m.

Sunday August 28: Intro to Comics Journalism with Sarah Glidden

As part of comics and art festival Short Run’s summer school programs for local artists, new-to-Seattle cartoonist Sarah Glidden will share techniques and lessons she learned in creating her first graphic novel, How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, and her upcoming book about Seattle journalists traveling the Middle East, Rolling Blackouts. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave, http://shortrun.org $20. All ages. 7 p.m.

Monday August 29: Love and Ruin

Atavist Magazine editor Evan Ratliff brings a new Atavist anthology featuring “Stories of Obsession, Danger and Heartbreak” to town. He’s joined tonight by terrific local journalists Brooke Jarvis and Jon Mooallem, who are published everywhere — Mooallem wrote a great Spielberg profile for Wired a while back — but who really shine in longform publications like Atavist.

Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday August 30: Three Sci-fi Authors Walk Into a Bar

The Science Fiction Writers of America bring their summertime Pacific Northwest Reading Series to a storied Kirkland bar with three Northwestern sci-fi authors. Tonight’s star is Portland’s David D. Levine, author of the terrific swashbuckling Edgar Rice Burroughs-ian novel Arabella of Mars, which sees a young woman stow away on a spacefaring ship bound for Mars. Wilde Rover Irish Pub, 111 Central Way, 425-822-8940. http://ubookstore.com. Free. 21+. 7 p.m.