Live and Local : Oliver Stone’s Ojai book signing caps a year of noteworthy literary events.

An announcement that the famous and controversial writer-director Oliver Stone will sign his first novel, “A Child’s Night Dream,” at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Local Hero Books in Ojai reminded me to dig into the files and recount the literary events of 1997.

There were major writing conferences in Ventura and Santa Barbara that attracted editors, agents, authors and publishers from all over the country. And our bookstores hosted nationally known authors who shared their published works and personal lives.

Among the literary legends who visited were the poet Maya Angelou, writers Ray Bradbury, James Ellroy, Sue Grafton, Dean Koontz, William Styron, Anne Lamott, Robert Fulghum and Victorian mystery author Anne Perry, who came from Scotland.

We were introduced to publishing phenomena such as Deepak Chopra, Richard Paul Evans (“The Christmas Box”), Jack Canfield (The Chicken Soup books), James Redfield (“Celestine Prophecy”) and Monty Roberts (“The Man Who Listens to Horses”).

Actors-turned-authors who signed their memoirs were Karl Malden, Kirk Douglas, Edd “Kookie” Byrnes and Brad Dillman. And we listened to and laughed with Jonathan Winters (“Hang-Ups”), Fannie Flagg (“Fried Green Tomatoes in the Whistle Stop Cafe”) and Jeff Maxwell (“Secrets of the MASH Mess: The Lost Recipes of Private Igor”).

We had an opportunity to watch Charles Schulz, creator of “Peanuts,” and Kevin Fagan, who writes and draws “Drabble,” show us cartooning skills. And we could question Fred Goldman, father of the slain Ron Goldman, and O.J. Simpson prosecutor Chris Darden while they signed books locally.

ABC television anchor Diane Sawyer lectured at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, and world-renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin performed in Santa Barbara and spoke passionately about the intellectual and emotional joy that occurs when parents and children read together.

We also welcomed to our community Brian Lamb, founder of C-SPAN, who signed “Booknotes,” a compilation of his extraordinary television interviews with major authors. Sandor Vanocur, a regular commentator on television’s History Channel and a part-time Santa Barbara resident, drew a huge crowd when he addressed the Channel Club in Montecito. And literary rights lawyer-Los Angeles Times book reviewer Jonathan Kirsch signed his “Harlot by the Side of the Road” at a number of local bookstores.

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It was a successful year for touring authors and we trust a merry Christmas in the bookstores. I find myself dwelling on the letter M for merry. And suddenly a little research turns up a number of books written by local authors whose titles include the big M.

“Mangos, Bananas and Coconuts,” a magic realism novel by Milce Novas, is available in paperback, as is Gayle Lynds’ “Masquerade,” which hit the New York Times bestseller list and was lauded as one of the 10 best new thrillers of 1996 by the bookstore chain Murder Inc. Gayle’s new title “Mosaic” is due out shortly.

Neville Cramer’s memoir “Montecito Boy” keeps flying off the shelves at the Earthling Bookshop. And critics are raving about Paul Bishop’s “Tequila Mockingbird: A Fey Croaker Novel.” Sue Grafton, a local treasure and national icon, continues to attract hundreds of people at her “M is for Malice” signings. And released this week by Manifest Press is “Maverick Women” by Fran Laurence, which chronicles the lives of unusual 19th century women.

Happy holidays and a merry new year to you all.

Frances Halpern and Jon O’Brien are co-hosts of “Beyond Words” at 10 a.m. Sundays on KCLU-FM (88.3), Ventura County’s National Public Radio station.