Author Samantha Dunn writes in today's Calendar section, "We should thank our lucky stars Mary McNamara's debut novel, 'Oscar Season,' arrives when it does, because if the writers strike goes on much longer it could be the only decent glitz, gossip and suspense we'll get this year about the Academy Awards. This cheeky, engaging roman clef is a guilty indulgence, like watching 'Entertainment Tonight' when you really should be tuned to 'The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.'" There is a character described as "a Los Angeles Times reporter whose ambition to earn a Pulitzer for entertainment journalism (snicker, snicker) has eclipsed her better nature." McNamara covers Hollywood for the Times and is married to Richard Stayton, editor-in-chief of Written By, the Writers Guild magazine.