The 14th annual San Diego Jewish Book Fair will kick off Friday, Oct. 31, and then resumes Nov. 6 through 13 at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus. “The biggest night will be when Christopher Hitchens and Rabbi David Wolpe are hashing it out,” said Dan Shapiro, director of marketing for the San Diego Center for Jewish Culture. “Hitchens, a well-known atheist, is known to be abrasive, and Wolpe’s written a lot of books, so it’s an interesting [match]. It’s a face-off of sorts.” This year’s biggest draw, Shapiro says, will occur during the fair’s final night, when Wolpe – author of “Why Faith Matters” – encounters journalist Hitchens – author of “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.” The two will express their views, which are at polar opposites of the religious spectrum. “I don’t know if we’ve ever had a well-known atheist,” Shapiro said. “And Hitchens also writes about politics. He’s generally more conservative than liberal.” The book fair offers hundreds of books and book-related events for Jewish and non-Jewish people, Shapiro said. Featured authors speak and sign books afterward, he said. This year’s San Diego Jewish Book Fair kicks off on Halloween at noon, with Etgar Keret, director of Jellyfish. Keret will comment on and sign his new book, “The Girl on the Fridge: Stories.” Book fans then must wait a week until the fair starts again Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. with journalist Sheila Weller, author of a biography of three well-known women. Weller will comment on her book “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon – And the Journey of a Generation.” “She wrote for Rolling Stone and is a well-known journalist who wrote about famous women from the ’60s and ’70s that all happen to be Jewish,” Shapiro said. “It’s kind of dishy, so you get the dirt behind what’s going on. She’s a good feminist author.” Saturday, Nov. 8, actor Evan Handler from HBO’s “Sex and the City” and “Californication” talks about his battle with leukemia. Handler wrote “It’s Only Temporary: The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive.” Sunday, Nov. 9, is family day with actor, producer and director Henry Winkler – most notably the Fonz on television’s “Happy Days” – who at 7:30 p.m. is scheduled to talk about a series of 14 books he co-authored with Lin Oliver. The series follows a fourth-grade boy named Hank Zipzer with “learning differences,” and Winkler is scheduled to discuss his own struggles with dyslexia while growing up. Families are invited to the fair free of charge from 1 to 5 p.m., Shapiro said. “This year, there’s a Noah’s Ark petting zoo and a puppet show,” Shapiro said. “There are authors of interest to parents, too, with painting and storytelling, and it’s all free.” Children’s authors scheduled for this year’s family day include Larry Keough, Naomi Howland, Ryan Lederer, Sylvia Lieberman and Michelle Shapiro. At 9:30 a.m., Ruth R. Wisse, author of “Jews and Power,” is scheduled to speak. At noon, Rabbi Benjamin Blech and Roy Doliner, authors of “The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican,” will speak and then sign books. Monday, Nov. 10, Jonathan Safran Foer, author of “Everything is Illuminated,” will speak at 7:30 p.m. about his new book, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” “Safran Foer is the young author who wrote ‘Everything is Illuminated’ that they made into a movie, and he’s considered one of the best young writers. He’s very happening right now,” Shapiro said. Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 7:30 p.m., Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt, will speak with Middle East expert Scott Lasensky, sharing their thoughts on the Middle East and their book, “Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace: American Leadership in the Middle East.” Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., NBC Tel-Aviv Bureau Chief Martin Fletcher will talk about his time as a war correspondent and his book “Breaking News: A Stunning and Memorable Account of Reporting from Some of the Most Dangerous Places in the World.” “Martin Fletcher writes about the Middle East. He’s one of the better-known reporters for NBC,” Shapiro said. Thursday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m., Jesse Kellerman, author of “The Genius,” will speak about his third book. The book fair concludes at 7:30 p.m. that day with Wolpe and Hitchens. “We are a nonprofit organization, and all the proceeds go to benefit the Jewish community,” said Jackie Gmach, book fair program director. “The benefits go to all the departments of the Jewish community book fair.” The bookstore offers thousands of books for sale. The store will be open Nov. 6, 6 to 9:30 p.m.; Nov. 7, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Nov. 8, 6 to 9:30 p.m.; and Nov. 9 through 13, 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. For information about tickets, go to: www.lfjcc.org/bookfair or call the box office, (858) 362-1348. The Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, Jacobs Family Campus is at 4126 Executive Center Drive.