As the days grow shorter, the list of literary events grows longer.

The region's established programs -- the International Poetry Series, Drue Heinz Lectures, Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series and Gist Street -- are joined this fall by several literary festivals. It's a schedule that could both entertain and exhaust the most dedicated follower of the printed word.

The reading season gets up and running in two weeks with a trio of programs inspired by Central America, poetry and jazz.

Here's the overview:

Sept. 11 -- The focus is on the troubled lands of El Salvador and Guatemala when American Shorts presents writers Horacio Castellanos Moya and Francisco Goldman.

Moya, now living in exile here from his native El Salvador in the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh sanctuary, will read from his first novel translated in English, "Senseless."

Goldman, an American with Guatemalan family ties, discusses "The Art of Political Murder," his account of the assassination of Guatemalan Bishop Conedera in 1998.

The program is at 7:30 p.m. in the New Hazlett Theater, North Side. Tickets are $10. 412-622-8866.

Sept. 11 also launches "Lifting Belly High," a three-day examination of poetry by women since 1900.

First, a word on that title. It comes from the poetry of Gertrude Stein, explains Duquesne English professor Linda Kinnahan, one of the organizers of the conference at the university.

"Since Stein was from Allegheny County, was a woman and a poet, we picked that phrase," Kinnahan said. She added that the organizers "saw a need for a conference on the work that women do in poetry and to give them a space to discuss their work."

Poets Kathleen Fraser, Jan Beatty and Dawn Lundy Martin open the program with readings at 7 p.m. Sept. 11 in Duquesne's Power Center Ballroom.

On Sept. 12, the poetry continues at 11:15 a.m. with Rachel Blau DePlessis, Mei-mei Bressenbrugge and Annie Finch in the student union.

Later that day, poet and Jamaica native Claudia Rankine joins photographer John Lucas for "Documentary Poetics: A Multimedia Collaboration" at 7 p.m. in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium on the University of Pittsburgh campus.

Pitt's Contemporary Writers Series is co-sponsor.

Two sets of readings conclude the conference Sept. 13:

Cynthia Hogue, Lisa Samuels and Jeanne Heuving at the student union at 11:45 a.m.; Lesley Wheeler, Arielle Greenberg, Elisabeth Frost, Judith Johnson and Elizabeth Willis at Power Center at 9:30 p.m.

All readings are free. More details at www.duq.edu/womenpoets.

Sept. 13 -- This will be a day of poetry and jazz in a wide-ranging program from City of Asylum/Pittsburgh.

The work of nine writers form the material for an original jazz composition by Oliver Lake, performed by Lake's jazz quartet and Flux Chamber Quartet.

Henry Reese, the impresario and City of Asylum organizer, promises that all nine poets will attend. They are:

Gerald Stern, Lynn Emanuel, Terrance Hayes, Roman Antopolsky, Cvetka Lipus, Patricia Jabbeh Wesley, Maryam Ala Amjadi, Nickola Madzirov and Rogelio Saunders.

The latter three are from Iran, Macedonia and Cuba.

Jazz-Poetry Concert will be held in Sampsonia Way, home to the City of Asylum's writers' homes in the Mexican War Streets and begins at 7:30 p.m. It's free.

Before the concert, five War Street gardens will be the site of readings by writers Lois Williams, Shauna Seliy, Nancy Krygowski, Yona Harvey, Sherrie Flick and Kazim Ali. By reservation only at coapgh@yahoo.com.

Details: http://coapghdev. com. or 412-321-2190.

Oct. 4-5 -- Chatham University adds a literary festival to the local mix with its Bridges to Other Worlds. Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass delivers the keynote speech Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m., then joins poet Naomi Shihab Nye for readings at 8 p.m.

The festival, which includes readings and panel discussions, wraps up Oct. 5 at 5 p.m. Details: 412-661-1809.

This long-established series held in the Carnegie Music Hall, Oakland, kicks off its season Sept. 22 with the baroness of celebrity watching, Tina Brown.

Former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker, Brown published her first book, "The Diana Chronicles," last year, an appreciation of the life of Princess Diana. She's now using her gossipy reporting style to profile Bill Clinton.

Edwidge Danticat follows Oct. 6. A native of Haiti who lives in the United States, she's emerged as a powerful, artistic new voice of Caribbean-American literature. She was just nominated for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

The writer of a steady stream of best-selling novels, Richard Russo visits Oct. 20. His books include "Empire Falls," "Nobody's Fool" and his latest, "Bridge of Sighs."

David Macaulay illustrated and wrote the classic young person's science book, "The Way Things Work" in 1988 and followed that book with a series of well-illustrated books explaining a variety of things.

His newest, "The Way We Work," delves into the mysteries of the human body.

The conundrum crowd will find a night with Will Shortz a treat when the creator of puzzles speaks Dec. 1.

He's director of the World Puzzle Championships and produces The New York Times crosswords.

All lectures are at 7:30 p.m. Call 412-622-8866 for ticket information.

Pitt's English Department organizes this wide-ranging series at several Oakland sites.

Sept. 29: Maxine Hong Kingston's 1976 novel, "The Woman Warrior" marked her as a strong voice in the Asian-American writing community.

Kingston has contributed both fiction and nonfiction works dealing with issues of war and race. She appears at 8:30 p.m. in David Lawrence Hall.

Oct. 15: The winner of the 2008 Drue Heinz Literature Prize, Anthony Varallo, joins contest judge Scott Turow for readings at 7:30 p.m. in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium.

Varallo's entry, "Out Loud," is the 28th winner of the short-story prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press. He won both $15,000 and Pitt Press publication.

Turow, a former federal prosecutor, has written a series of elegant legal thrillers starting with "Presumed Innocent" in 1987.

Oct. 29: "The Reserve" is Russell Banks latest novel in a long string of best-sellers including "The Sweet Hereafter," "Cloudsplitter" and "The Rule of the Bone."

Banks is also president of the International Parliament of Writers and a founder of the Cities of Refugee -- still called City of Asylum in Pittsburgh -- that gives exiled writers a home. He speaks at 8:30 p.m. in Lawrence Hall.

Nov. 13: Fiction writer Sabina Murray is this year's Fred Brown Literary Award winner. It's the second year of the $5,000 prize sponsored by Fred and Melanie Brown, Pitt alumni.

Murray also has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for her short-story collection, "The Caprices," in 2003. The reading is 8:30 p.m. in the fine arts auditorium.

All programs are free. 412-622-6506.

Held in the Simon Sculpture Studio, 305 Gist St., Uptown, this long-running venture brings a mix of poets and prose writers from the alternative literary scene.

Sept. 12: Fiction writer Shauna Seliy and poet Kazim Ali.

Oct. 3: Short-story writer Amy Knox Brown and poet Jan Beatty.

Nov. 7: Novelist Ellen Litman and poet Miriam Levine.

Dec. 5: Poet Anne Marie Macari and novelist Robert Marshall.

Cost is $5 at the door, which opens at 7:15 p.m. Readings at 8 p.m. Details: www.giststreet.org.

At This Instant is the forum's theme for its 42nd season, highlighting the sense of immediacy a spoken poem creates, said Forum Director Samuel Hazo. The readings are at 8 p.m. in the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, Oakland

Oct. 15: The much honored Irish poet Paul Muldoon launches the series. He teaches literature at Princeton University and has published 11 poetry collections.

Nov. 12: A teacher of creative writing at Skidmore College, Peg Boyers is the author of two poetry collections, literary review editor and translator.

Dec. 10: "The Apology Project" is a one-man show by Yannis Simonides of the prosecution of Socrates.

Call 412-621-9893 for ticket information.

This program of the English Department of Carnegie Mellon University offers one program this fall. Poet Matthea Harvey reads Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. in Baker Hall on the campus. It's free.