Book Briefs for April 17
Nevada Emerging Writers Series to feature Lara Glenum
Lara Glenum, author of "The Hounds of No" and "Maximum Gaga," is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Greenspun Hall Auditorium at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, as part of the Black Mountain Institute's Nevada Emerging Writers Series. For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.
Las Vegas Writers Conference to include free public reception
The Las Vegas Writers Conference is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday at Sam's Town, 5111 Boulder Highway. Registration for the full conference is $450 or $500 at the door. One-day registration also is available. Mary Wilson of The Supremes is set to be the keynote speaker.
A Stephens Press-sponsored opening reception scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday in the Virginia City Room is free and open to the public.
For details, visit lasvegaswriters conference.com.
Deborah Coonts to speak at Las Vegas Writers Group meeting
Local author Deborah Coonts is scheduled to speak about series writing at a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. A $5 meeting fee is charged. For more information on the group, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers.
Coonts is the author of the popular Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventure series. For more information on the author, visit deborahcoonts.com.
Author to lecture on food and fitness
Author and clinical psychologist Dr. Cortney Warren Fishkin plans a free lecture titled "Psychology, Eating and You" at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Downsize Fitness gym, 321 N. Buffalo Drive, Suite 120. For more information, visit downsizefitness.com.
Las Vegas Romance writers to welcome Morgan Kearns
Morgan Kearns, author of "Heart Ache," "In It To Win It" and "His Destiny is Karma," is scheduled to speak on making book cover art eye-catching and saleable at the Las Vegas Romance Writers meeting scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in the Wengert Room at NV Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave. The public is welcome. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org.
Seniors invited to memoir workshops
LifeStories Nevada plans to sponsor three free four-week memoir-writing workshops for seniors 50 or older. The first is scheduled from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursdays May 3-24 at the Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 Racetrack Road in Henderson. The second is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays May 22-June 12 at the Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive. The third is scheduled from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays May 22-June 12 at the Barbara Greenspun WomensCare Center West, 7220 S. Cimarron Road. Online registration is available for the Henderson class at cityofhenderson.com/parks. The class code is 191057-80. To register for the other classes, contact Jean Norman at 940-5423, email normanj@unce.unr.edu or visit lifestoriesnevada.org.
Star Wars book event scheduled
Meet author Dan Wallace, who worked on the Dorling Kindersley book "Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide," during a book event set for 2 p.m. Sunday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. All-ages costume contests and Star Wars-themed drinks in the cafe are planned. Visit barnesandnoble.com.
Camp to raise funds through cookbook
A new cookbook has been launched to raise funds for Camp to Belong, a nonprofit dedicated to camps that reunite siblings who were separated in foster care. For more information, visit camptobelong.org.
Events planned for career and environmental books
"Career Strategies for Success" author P.J. Sheldon plans to sign books at noon on Saturday and author C.S. Goldsmith plans to sign copies of the book "Uninhabitable: A Case for Caution" at 1 p.m. Sunday at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.
Romantic thriller author plans launch
Local author Ni'cola Mitchell plans to launch her new romantic thriller, "A Cold Piece," with a discussion and signing at 6 p.m. April 24 in the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Mitchell is also the author of "Twisted," "Between the Sheets," "The Appetizer: When You're Not His Main Course" and "Over & Over Again." For more information, visit nicolacmitchell.com.
Lindsey Leavitt plans appearance
Lindsey Leavitt, local author of the teen novels "The Royal Treatment," "Princess For Hire" and "Sean Griswold's Head" is scheduled to make an appearance at 7 p.m. May 3 at the 2191 N Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information on the author, visit lindseyleavitt.com.
'Lords of Las Vegas' events planned
Veteran author Kurt Divich plans to speak about his first work of fiction, "Lords of Las Vegas," from 7 to 8 p.m. April 27 in room D-101 at the College of Southern Nevada's Charleston campus, 6375 W. Charleston Boulevard.
Divich also plans a book launch event from 5 to 8 p.m. May 8 at the Three Angry Wives Irish pub, 8820 W. Charleston Blvd., No. 105, which is featured in the book that follows two young men battling greed, adultery and each other in the cauldron of Las Vegas politics. For more on the author, visit lordsoflasvegas.com.
Food critic to visit senior facility
"Personal Favorites: The Chefs of Las Vegas" author Heidi Rinella is set to talk about the Las Vegas restaurant scene" from 2 to 4 p.m. April 28 at the Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 Racetrack Road in Henderson. For more information on Rinella's book, visit chefsoflasvegas.com.
Signing set for 'Defying Evil'
Local author Ben Wood plans to sign copies of his book "Defying Evil: How the Italian Army Saved Croatian Jews During the Holocaust" at 1 p.m. May 5 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.
Free storycorps toolkit helps collect memories
The national StoryCorps' Memory Loss Initiative encourages people with memory loss to share their stories with loved ones and future generations. To make that task easier, a free step-by-step toolkit is available to download at storycorps.org/mli.
The Commemorate toolkit offers an individual reminiscence program that family members can initiate or memory loss care facilities can add to activities.
The initiative has collected more than 1,800 interviews with 180 partner organizations. For more information, visit storycorps.org or call 646-723-7027.
Share poems at human experience
Polish up a poem or two and try them out at Human Experience, a free spoken word event, from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in The Beat coffee shop at 520 Fremont St. inside Emergency Arts. For details, visit lasvegaspoets.org.
Henderson Writers Group meets Mondays
The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays. Meetings are at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 4550 S. Maryland Parkway on the second and fourth Mondays and at Saxbys Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com for more information. Meetings are open to the public.
Active Adult Center Book Club to discuss 'Blood From a Stone'
The Centennial Hills Active Adult Center book club plans to discuss "The Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick May 2 at the center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive.
The book club meets at 12:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month and is free for center members. For more information, call 229-1702.
Sunrise Coffee Co. on Sunset Road set to host open mic night Wednesdays
Sunrise Coffee Co. welcomes poets and poetry fans to participate in its open mic night starting at 7 p.m. every Wednesday at 3130 E. Sunset Road.
Access recorded book programs online
Too busy to get out to book programs? The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has started posting videocasts and podcasts of many of its programs online. Selections available so far include: "An Afternoon with Tony Curtis," John L. Smith's presentation "Amelia's Long Journey: The Challenge of Writing What You Know," "Batman" movie producer Michael Uslan's presentation at the 2009 Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, Jami Carpenter's "ABCs of Editing" workshop and Brian Rouff's "Getting Published: A Long Strange Trip." To access the programs, visit lvccld.org, select "Books, Movies & More" and then "Video and Podcasts."
The Black Mountain Institute has offered recordings of its programming since 2006. To access recordings of a gamut of writers from E.L. Doctorow to Alissa Nutting, visit blackmountain institute.org and select "multimedia."
Free read to me program offers stories online and by phone
Celebrity storytellers Oscar Goodman, Rita Rudner, Clint Holmes, Terry Fator, Carrot Top, The Scintas and others have donated their talents to the Clark County Education Association Community Foundation's Read To Me program. Children can view more than 15 videos of celebrities reading books on the website at readtomelv.com. Stories also can be accessed by calling 240-2665.
Both databases are frequently updated with fresh stories. Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for each book on the website.
Download books and more from your public library
Virtual Branch websites make it easy to browse, check out and download digital books and more to a home computer for free. All patrons need is a valid library card and an Internet-connected PC.
Virtual Branch download websites feature a digital catalog of downloadable audio books, e-books, music and video titles.
Each site is meant to look and feel like the library's main site, and it has many easy-to-use features similar to an online store.
Digital book downloads are borrowed just like print materials. Once patrons select the title or author they want, they follow the steps to check out and then download the title to their home computer.
Patrons can transfer most titles to portable media players, such as MP3 players, PDAs, Kindles or smart phones.
Each title that is downloaded has a designated lending period. When the title expires, it is automatically returned to the Virtual Branch, so there are no late fees.
For more information, visit search.overdrive.com.
Zine library open in Emergency Arts
Grab a cup of coffee and check out the independently crafted magazines at the Las Vegas Zine Library inside the Beat Cafe in Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St.
The library is still small, more of a collection on display for reference and on-site reading than a checkout repository. Contributions of zines are appreciated. For more information, visit lvzinelibrary.blogspot.com.
Teen Writing Club plans meetings
A Teen Writing Club meets at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. The club schedules meetings every other month. For more information, call 207-4260.
