January 31: A Brush with Poetry Bonus: Room and Zoom. Hear contemporary and traditional voices at the free open mic soirée. Café on Queen, 15 Queen St, Binalong, 1.30pm for 2pm. Link to Zoom on Binalong Arts Group Inc Facebook page or via email. Bookings essential: robynsykespoet@gmail.com or 0401 289 178.

Ina J Photography is calling for people to register by January 30 for a fundraising book project, Tails of Canberra. The coffee table book will showcase dogs of Canberra big and small photographed in various locations around Canberra. The limited-edition book will raise funds and awareness for rescue dogs with 50 per cent of the registration fees being donated to ACT Rescue and Foster. The $90 registration fee will cover a professional pet photography session with Ina J Photography and a double spread feature in the Tails of Canberra book. The photo shoot will be conducted between February and June with the book scheduled to be published in spring/summer before Christmas 2021. More information: email ina@inajphotography.com and inajphotography.com/book-project.

The Canberra chapter of the Tough Guy Book Club will meet at 7pm at King O'Malley's, 131 City Walk, Canberra, on the following dates: February 3, March 3, April 7, May 5 and June 2. More information: phone Darren Saffin on 0411 089 209.

Geoff Page's Poetry at Smith's 2021 begins on February 1 at 7pm with a Rosemary Dobson Centenary Tribute (Suzanne Edgar, John Foulcher, Geoff Page) and Owen Bullock. Admission: $10 waged, $5 unwaged. Smith's Alternative Bookshop, 76 Alinga Street, Civic (Melbourne Building). Maximum 48 people. Bookings with online payment: smithsalternative.com. There is no open mic.

Recent controversy about the Netflix series The Crown has drawn attention to the relationship between history and fiction. Canberra historian Stephen Foster is offering a U3A course, Based on a true story: History, Fiction, and the space between, with nine sessions focused on a specific book or film. Presenters include Kiera Lindsey on her book The Convict's Daughter, Michael McKernan on the film The Two Popes, Pip Williams in conversation with Amanda Laugesen on Williams' The Dictionary of Lost Words, Craig Cormick and Harold Ludwick in conversation with Tim Rowse on their recent book On a Barbarous Coast, Frank Bongiorno on two episodes of The Crown, and more. The course will be held on Monday mornings from 10am to noon, beginning on February 22, at Griffith Neighbourhood Centre. It is open to U3A members for a small fee, plus $30 U3A subscription (open to all aged 50 or over). More information and enrolment: fostersg@iinet.net.au

The Nature Conservancy's sixth biennial Nature Writing Prize is now accepting submissions. A prize of $7500 will be awarded to the author of an essay between 3000 and 5000 words in the genre of "Writing of Place". The prize will be awarded to an Australian writer whose entry is judged to be of the highest literary merit and which best explores his or her relationship and interaction with some aspect of the Australian landscape. The winning entry will also be published in Griffith Review online as a multimedia essay. The competition's judges are literary critic Geordie Williamson and winner of both the 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award and the 2020 Prime Minister's Literary Award, Tara June Winch. The writer of one Highly Commended essay will receive the Rosina Joy Buckman Award, which is a two-week residency at Life at Springfield, in the NSW Southern Highlands. The prize is open to Australian citizens and permanent residents. Participants will need to pay an entry fee of $25. Submissions close at 5pm on Friday, February 19, 2021. Visit: natureaustralia.org.au/nwp.

For consideration for Litbits, email litbits@canberratimes.com.au by 5pm Monday.