The National Book Critics Circle will hold an event in the city this week, with panels featuring local authors at bars, and on Saturday, the announcement of the finalists for their annual awards. All the details are here. The panel on Friday featuring Suzanne Kleid and former metblogger Michelle Richmond looks particularly interesting.

Meanwhile, just in time, a local company has launched a new website for authors and readers, redroom.com.

The Chronicle gave Redroom major space yesterday, including big pix of its pretty CEO. Their about page makes them look more corporate than literary, but the inclusion of Litquake head Jane Ganahl lends credibility.

Of course, there are already two great websites for writers — Publisher’s Marketplace and MediaBistro. They’re less flashy and they’re more oriented toward the business of getting stuff published, not so much look-at-me — though authors can have their own page on Publishers Marketplace too.