Book Briefs for Nov. 6-12

Author PJ Sheldon to offer workshop

Local author/photographer PJ Sheldon is scheduled to direct a workshop on job interviews at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. Visit mypubliclibrary.com for details.

Signing set for 'Seeing the Light'

June Chen plans to sign copies of her novel "Seeing the Light" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

'You Can't Make This Up' event slated

Local author Stu Michaels is scheduled to sign copies of his memoir "You Can't Make This Up: Cops, Crooks and Celebrities from Brooklyn to Las Vegas" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

For more information, visit youcantmakethisupbook.com.

Las Vegas Romance writers Plan workshop with agent Laura Bradford

An all-day Las Vegas Romance Writers workshop is scheduled to feature literary agent Laura Bradford sharing tips on what editors and agents are looking for and taking pitches from participants from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Mountain Crest Community Center, 4701 N. Durango Drive. The cost is $35 for members and $50 for nonmembers, which includes lunch.

The Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, is signing up local published authors for the fifth annual Spring Fling Book Fair scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 6. Authors who have books to sell can sign up for signing table sessions from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Space is limited. The main theater is expected to feature a Hollywood authors panel, a concert and more.

For more information, contact library scheduling specialist Julie Okabayashi at okabayashij@lvccld.org.

Henderson Writers' Group members to read from 'Writer's Bloc IV'

A reading and signing of "Writer's Bloc IV," a collection of literary works published by members of the Henderson Writers' Group, is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Wednesday at the Nevada State Bookstore in the Dawson Building at Nevada State College, 1125 Nevada State Drive. Writers planning to attend include Deuvall Dorsey, A.L. Campbell and Elsa Barnhill, all current or former students at Nevada State College.

For more information, contact Ron Richards at 702-922-2349 or ron.richards@nsc.edu.

Mob museum hosting Inside Stories

The National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement, The Mob Museum, 300 Stewart Ave., is scheduled to continue its Inside Stories fall speaker series with a talk by crime-fighting lawyer G. Robert Blakey from 6 to 9 p.m. Nov. 13. Tickets are $35. The presentation includes a cocktail reception and hors d'oeuvres.

For more information, visit themobmuseum.org.

Bookstore Signing scheduled for Ellen Hopkins and Michelle Hodkin

A signing is scheduled for Carson City writer Ellen Hopkins, author of the Crank trilogy and novels "Triangle" and "Collateral," and Michelle Hodkin, author of "The Evolution of Mara Dyer," at 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at the 2191 N Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information, visit ellenhopkins.com or michellehodkin.com.

Veteran journalist to speak on marketing

Veteran journalist Marc David

is scheduled to talk about marketing yourself as a writer during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting fee is $5. In addition to his work for newspapers and magazines, David is the author of "The Addicted Runner" and "Available Male Tale." For more information, visit meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers/.

Meet the author of 'Every Day'

David Levithan is scheduled to sign copies of "Every Day," a novel about a teen who wakes up every morning in a different body, living a different life, at 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at the 2191 N Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information, visit davidlevithan.com.

Free Lecture on defending pornography as art scheduled at UNLV

Constance Penley, a film and media studies professor from the University of California, Santa Barbara, is scheduled to present a free lecture titled "Defending Pornography as Art and Popular Culture: The Expert Witness in the Court Case United States v. John Stagliano" at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Date My Book to return

Find love among the shelves at the Date My Book event scheduled from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Gibson Library, 100 W. Lake Mead Parkway. Singles are invited to bring a favorite book and chat with other readers in 5-minute sessions. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.com or call 702-565-8402.

Authors to discuss human trafficking

In recognition of National Runaway Prevention Month "Vegas Rag Doll" author Wendy Mazaros and Metropolitan Police Department detective Christopher Baughman, author of "Off The Street" are scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on human trafficking from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

Learn about the history of graphic novels at library event

Gene Ambaum, author of the daily web comic "Unshelved," is scheduled to chat with readers about the history of comics and graphic novels from 3 to 4 p.m. Nov. 18 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

Join guest host Deborah Coonts as she interviews "American Gypsy: A Memoir" author Oksana Marafioti during a Carr Chat series event scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. The chat series, founded by Henderson author Robyn Carr, brings in writers from all over for free informal discussions. Visit mypubliclibrary.com for more information.

BMI fall season is under way

The Black Mountain Institute plans several free author presentations including Wole Soyinka at 7 p.m. Feb. 12 in the UNLV student union, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; A Nevada Emerging Writers Series featuring Leslie Jamison at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Greenspun Hall auditorium at UNLV; Mustapha Marrouchi at 7 p.m. March 6 in the UNLV student union; and a conversation with BMI Fellows Criselda Yabes and Oksana Marafioti, moderated by Richard Wiley, at 7 p.m. April 10 in the UNLV student union. For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

Half-off book sale to benefit summer reading program

Help support the Henderson Libraries' Summer Reading Program and save money at a half-off Scholastic children's books sale scheduled throughout the day Nov. 29 and 30 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Visit mypubliclibrary.com for details.

Teen Writing Club to meet at library

A teen writing club is scheduled to meet from 4 to 5 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. Visit mypubliclibrary.com for details.

Henderson Writers Group meets Mondays

The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays 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.

Barnes & Noble to host writing group

The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble hosts a writing critique group the fourth Monday of each month. The group is limited to the first 20 participants per meeting. Sign up at www.meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.

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.

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 702-240-2665.

Both databases are frequently updated with fresh stories. Parents and teachers can download lesson plans for each book on the website.

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 Coffeehouse inside Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. For details, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

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 Coffeehouse in Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St.

The library is 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.

Local author series to feature Phil Simon

Meet Phil Simon local author of the non-fiction book "The Age of the Platform: How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google Have Redefined Business" from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 28 in the lobby of the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, as part of the READ Local Author Series. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.