Book briefs

'Lords of Las Vegas' Launch planned

Kurt Divich plans to launch his first work of fiction, "Lords of Las Vegas," with an event from 5 to 8 p.m. today at the Three Angry Wives Irish pub, 8820 W. Charleston Blvd., No. 105. The pub is featured in the book that follows two men battling greed and each other in the cauldron of Las Vegas politics.

Divich also plans to sign books from 5 to 7 p.m. May 17 at Le Book Nook, 3655 S. Durango Drive, No. 23.

For more on the author, visit lordsoflasvegas.com.

Lee Ann Krusemark to speak at Las Vegas Writers Group meeting

Local author/journalist/public relations professional Lee Ann Krusemark is scheduled to speak about establishing credibility with publishers at a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled at 7 p.m. May 17 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.

Las Vegas Romance writers to welcome Heather Jeffers

Heather Jeffers is scheduled to share public speaking tips at the Las Vegas Romance Writers meeting scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon May 19 in the Wengert Room at NV Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave. The public is welcome. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org. For more on Jeffers, visit hbennettbooks.com.

'Vegas Ragdoll' appearance planned

Wendy Mazaros is scheduled to sign copies of "Vegas Rag Doll: A True Story of Terror and Survival as the Wife of a Mob Hitman," from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at The Mob Museum, 300 Stewart St. For more on the author, visit vegasragdoll.com.

BMI magazine releases spring edition

Witness, the Black Mountain Institute's literary magazine, has released its spring 2012 edition titled "Disaster." Featuring work from David H. Wells, Hugh Fox, Marisa Handler, Colleen Kinder, Sarah Blake, Robert Shuster and others, the online edition can be accessed at witness. blackmountaininstitute.org. The magazine plans to accept submissions for its 2013 online Summer and Fall issues Sept. 1 through Dec. 1.

Seniors invited to memoir workshops

LifeStories Nevada plans four-week memoir-writing workshops for seniors 50 or older. Workshops are scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon Tuesdays May 22-June 12 at the Centennial Hills Active Adult Center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive, and from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesdays May 22-June 12 at the Barbara Greenspun WomensCare Center West, 7220 S. Cimarron Road. To register, contact Jean Norman at 940-5423, email normanj@unce.unr.edu or visit lifestoriesnevada.org.

Carr Chat series to feature Victoria Dahl

Local author Robyn Carr plans a conversation with Victoria Dahl, author of The Donovan Brothers Brewery Series, from noon to 1 p.m. May 18 at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, as part of the Carr Chat series. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

Mixed Martial Arts fighter pens book

Mixed Martial Arts fighter Urijah Faber, known as "The California Kid," plans to promote his new book "The Laws of the Ring: How Passion Runs the World" with a signing at 7 p.m. May 24 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more on the writer, visit urijahfaber.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.

Dennis Goode to sign 'Time Squares'

Las Vegas author Dennis Goode is scheduled to sign copies of his novel "Time Squares" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Goode is a former co-director of the Southern Nevada Writing Project at the University of Nevada.

Las Vegas native to sign poetry book

Las Vegas native An Howard plans to promote her poetry book "Whispers of Words Spoken at 1 p.m. May 26 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble and at 4 p.m. June 2 at the 3860 Maryland Parkway Barnes & Noble. For more on the poet, visit thoughtsofanhoward.com.

Library to host READ Local Author series

Meet local writer Tina Douthat Marreez, author of the novel "Road to Tahrir Square: My Life, My Love, My Revolution," as part of the READ Local Author series, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. May 21 in the lobby of the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. Visit mypubliclibrary.com for details.

Humane Society CEO to sign books

Humane Society of the United States president and CEO Wayne Pacelle plans to answer questions and sign copies of his book "The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them" at 5:30 p.m. May 22 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble. For more on the author, check out his blog at humanesociety.org.

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 Wednesday 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 hosts open mic nght 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.