Don't miss the most star-studded reading in Hamtramck this weekend

Of course, calling something "the most star-studded reading in Hamtramck this weekend" may not be the best way to qualify this weekend's Good-Tyme Writer's Buffet, but Saturday's bill has the biggest names yet for the unpretentious literary series.

If you're not familiar with the GTWB, it brings together several writers of fiction to read their work. They seldom read longer than 10 or 15 minutes. They also bring some delicious dish they've prepared for the guests to enjoy. The Public Pool gallery, which hosts the event, provides beer for a donation. It's been going on for four years now, and organizer-author Steve Hughes has done his level best to strip away the pretentiousness and tedium that usually attend a literary event. "Readers" have done everything from address the crowd half-naked to picking up an electric guitar and summoning blaring sounds.

But this weekend's event is notable for several reasons. First of all, 92-year-old National Book Award-winner Gloria Whelan will read, giving the local lit event a national name. The event also includes the return of Bonnie Jo Campbell, an outstate Michigan author who's both a gifted writer and a lively in-person speaker who needs no microphone. There will also be more out-of-town talent in the form of Jared Yates Sexton, the editor of BULL, a men's fiction magazine; he is driving up from Georgia just to appear. And, to top it off, the theme is "Normal Nudity." Given all this, who knows what could take place?

The event starts at 7 p.m. Dec. 12, at 3309 Caniff, Hamtramck; apublicpool.com.