Book Festival events cover all ages

Most Vegas Valley Book Festival events will take place in and around the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St., as well as the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

This year’s 13th annual festival is scheduled to include participation by more than 165 authors, with more than 100 separate events, including panel discussions, readings, book signings, art exhibitions, spoken word performances and author presentations.

All events are free and open to the public.

Here are a few highlights. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.VegasValleyBookFestival.org.

THURSDAY

■ “An Evening with B.J. Novak,” will feature the author, actor, director and comedian. Novak’s book, “One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories” and “The Book With No Pictures” will be available for purchase, and a book signing will follow. (7 p.m., Clark County Library Theater)

FRIDAY

■ A reception for Illustrators 56, an annual traveling show by the Society of Illustrators that features the best works created this year by cutting edge and popular illustrators around the world. Works that will be on display have appeared in adult and children’s books, magazines and newspapers, CD and album covers, ads and theater posters. Co-sponsored by Mark Fine, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation. (7 p.m., Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. Exhibit hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Oct. 31)

SATURDAY

■ “Especially for Children!” a children’s literature program, will include SteveSongs, aka Mr. Steve, of PBS Kids (performances made possible through support from PBS and Vegas PBS), and Las Vegas comedy magician Mac King with his Magical Literacy Tour. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fifth Street School auditorium)

■ What’s billed as the largest free gathering of Young Adult authors in the country will feature more than 100 authors on 10 panels discussing their work and YA books aimed at tweens and younger teens. Also featured will be two panels for older teens. And, as part of the state’s sesquicentennial celebration, a YA panel featuring Nevada authors will be presented. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fifth Street School)

■ “A Literary Fusion, From Essays to Horror” for adult readers will feature genre panels, including Bram Stoker Award-winning author Rena Mason discussing the horror genre with some of the genre’s biggest names. Also scheduled will be a discussion with contributors to the 2014 Vegas Writes Project, “Lost and Found in Las Vegas: What the City Hides and What It Reveals,” a debate about media in the digital age, and local authors of biographies, romance, book club and literary fiction, mysteries and essays. Also scheduled are panels and workshops on ancestry, publishing options, editing and publicity. (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fifth Street School)

■ “Sylvia Day in Conversation with Tracy Wolff” will feature Day, a New York Times best-selling romance novelist, and her friend and fellow romance author, Tracy Wolff, in conversation about Day’s books and work. Afterward, Day and Wolff will take questions and sign books. (9 a.m., Fifth Street School auditorium)

■ “Celebrating Our Sesquicentennial” with Vicki-Ann Bush, Tracy Clark, Diane Crawford, C.L. Gaber, Stephanie Greenhalgh, Shaunta Grimes, Christene Houston, Jessie Humphries and Lindsey Leavitt. (10 a.m., Fifth Street School, YA Tent Two)

■ A performance by Sign Design Theatre. (10 a.m., Fifth Street School, Children’s Main Stage)

■ “Pop-Up at Nevada Humanities Featured Poets” with The Las Vegas Poets Organization (10 a.m., Fifth Street School, Poetry Courtyard)

■ “Vegas Writes: Lost &Found in Las Vegas: What the City Hides and What it Reveals” with David Armstrong, Mason Bundschuh, Heidi Kyser, Joseph Langdon, Launce Rake, Moniru Ravanipour, Geoff Schumacher, T.R. Witcher, Mercedes Yardley. (11 a.m., Fifth Street School, auditorium)

■ Performance with Secret Agent 23 skidoo. (11:15 a.m., Fifth Street School Children’s Main Stage)

■ “Someone Else’s Story: A Writing and Editing Workshop” with Ginger Meurer. (11:30 a.m., Fifth Street School, Room 125)

■ “Inside Baseball — Biographies of Living Legends” with Jerry Izenberg, Ron Kantowski, Ken Korach, Rob Miech and Jerry Reuss. (noon, Fifth Street School, Reader’s Tent)

■ “Story Telling” with Mac King (12:05 p.m., Fifth Street School, Story Telling Tent)

■ “Fiction: West of Eden” with Charles Bock, Maile Chapman, David Fuller, Laura McBride and Vu Tran. (12:15 p.m., Fifth Street School Auditorium)

■ “150 years in Nevada: The Silver State’s Colorful History and Resilient Future” with Ralph Burns, Patricia Cafferata, Joanne L Goodwin, Gene Moehring, Geoff Schumacher, Doug Sawnson. (1:30 p.m., Fifth Street School, Auditorium)

■ SPARK! Youth Poetry Competition and Award Ceremony with various young authors. (1:30 p.m., Fifth Street School, Poetry Courtyard)

■ “Publishing Options: What Writers Need to Know” with Danielle Barclay, Peggy DeKay, Kelly Simmon, Nicole Steinhaus (2 p.m., Fifth Street School, Reader’s Tent)

■ Crystal Bookmark Award Presentation. (2:45 p.m., Fifth Street School Auditorium)

■ Nevada Humanities presents storyteller and cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell (3 p.m., Fifth Street School auditorium)

■ “Media In A Digital Age” with Joe Donnelly, Jenny 8 Lee, Steve Sebelius, Rebecca Theim (3 p.m., Fifth Street School, Room 125)

■ “Book Club Selections: The Art of Humor” with Christopher Beha, Melinda Brown, Susan Coll and Carrie Mesrobian. (3 p.m., Fifth Street School, Reader’s Tent)

■ “A Sampling of the Supernatural” with Chris Cannon, Angela Corbett, Rebecca Ethington, Tara Hudson, Jenna Johnson, Jana Oliver and Alexia Purdy. (4 p.m., Fifth Street School, YA Tent One)

■ Author Aimee Bender will offer the festival’s closing keynote address in a presentation of The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute. (4 p.m., Fifth Street School auditorium, 702-229-3515)