James Salter, Author of 'The Hunters,' at Hampton Library This Friday

James Salter is the second to last author coming to Hampton Library in Bridgehampton for this summer’s “Fridays at Five” speaker series.

Salter, author of The Hunters and All That Is, was an officer in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s before his writing career took off. Both a screenwriter and a fiction writer, Salter received early praise for his realistic description of the Korean War in his first novel, The Hunters, and has continued to garner acclaim for his later works including short stories, and his 1997 memoir Burning The Days.

Salter's discussion, which will cost $15 to attend, will begin at 5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The Fridays at Five author series, which has been run by the Friends of the Hampton Library for almost 30 years, runs for eight weeks between July and August each summer, and brings in the big names to speak about their life and work and to field audience questions. In past years, speakers have included Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Caro and E.L. Doctorow. Each year, the money raised through admissions goes right back into funding the library’s programming.

The library’s director, Kelly Harris, called Fridays at Five, “A nice way to start out your Friday night before heading to you dinner reservation.” On average, the events don’t last very long — authors speak from the library’s backyard deck, discuss their most recent book, sign books and answers questions, wrapping up before 7 p.m. The process of finding speakers is long and arduous — the Author Committee of the Friends of the Hampton Library starts looking for the new line up for next year immediately after Labor Day.

According to Harris, “The authors tend to be very relaxed while they are here.”

The final Fridays At Five speakers will be Maryann Calendrille and Kathryn Szoka — owners of Canio’s Bookstore in Sag Harbor — who will appear at the library on Aug. 23.

Gates open at 4:30 p.m.