WORDS AND IMAGES : Where the Guys Are--On Vacation : New at area bookstores is a guide to night life, great beaches and tips on where singles are hanging out in such locales as Brazil and Thailand.

The world’s best destinations for the adventurous single male is what author Bruce Cassirer is offering in “Travel & the Single Male,” published bS. M. Publishing of Oxnard. If you’re interested in a detailed guide to exciting night life, great beaches and meeting women in exotic locales such as New Orleans, Costa Rica, Brazil and Thailand, this book may be worth perusing. If you are a single female, check out the guide to discover where all the single guys are hanging out. The book is available at local bookstores or call 1-800-688-3838.

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Sharan Newman will sign her novel “Death Comes as Epiphany” from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Mysteries to Die For, 2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks.

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Dick Wimmer, author of “The Schoolyard Game,” an anthology of essays, articles and anecdotes on basketball, will be at B. Dalton from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday in The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks.

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Randy Ringen and Walt Hunter will read their poems on faith, despair and joy in the modern age at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the Arcade Poetry Project in The Performance Studio, 34 N. Palm St. Ventura. Open readings will follow.

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Members of Sisters In Crime--Serita Stevens (“Bagels for Tea”), Cynthia Lawrence (“Take Down City”), Judith Garwood (“Sing a Song of Death”) and the co-authors Barbara Pronin and Nickolae Gerstner (“Ties that Bind”)--will sign their books at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks.

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In conjunction with the annual Animation Festival, the Ojai Film Society will screen the science fiction anthology “Neo-Tokyo Animation Trilogy” at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the Ojai Playhouse. Jerry Beck of Streamline Pictures will take part in a discussion after the film. Call 646-8946 for details.

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The Ventura County Writers Club meets the second Tuesday of the month at the Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist church in Southern California, which was organized June 12, 1869, with 23 charter members.

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The 26th biennial California Writers Club Conference, scheduled July 23-25 at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, will attract many local literary folks, including Ventura publisher Monte Elchoness, a panelist at the 1991 conference. Inella Hoggan, who will be going for the fourth time, says, “As students and instructors we share experiences in a wonderful environment which turns us into storytellers.” The conference brings together editors of major publications, agents and experienced authors who will motivate and guide novice or professional writers seeking knowledge and markets. To receive a brochure, contact CWCC, 2214 Derby St., Berkeley, Ca 94705, or call (510) 841-1217.