Book Briefs

Author to promote books at Applebee's

Vicki-Ann Bush plans to promote her books "Winslow Willow the Woodland Fairy," "The Queen of It" and "Through the Door to Dusk" at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the 10305 S. Eastern Ave. Applebee's in Henderson.

Local author S.P. Grogan's newest project takes on Bin Laden

S.P. Grogan, also published as Stephen Grogan, has a new serialized book project titled "Retaliate: Beyond the Grave, Bin Laden's Last Attack on the United States," set to be released via e-book one week at a time. To subscribe to e-book updates, visit retaliatethebook.com.

"I decided to use the serial e-book format to keep the story accurate and time sensitive," Grogan said in a press release. " 'Retaliate' will be a 'flash' work-in-progress that follows current events -- much like a weekly TV show, ending with cliff-hanger plots."

Grogan's previous books, "Vegas Die" and "Captain Cooked," were best known for interactive searches for hidden weapons.

The local author plans to sign books from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

For more information on the author, visit spgrogan.com.

View outdoors columnist schedules events for 'Base Camp Las Vegas'

View outdoors columnist Deborah Wall plans to speak and sign copies of her book "Base Camp Las Vegas: Hiking the Southwest States" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway; and at 2 p.m. Aug. 13 for readers 50 or older at the Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 S. Racetrack Road.

For more information about the book, visit basecamplasvegashikes.com.

'The Orbiter' author to sign books

Patrick Cristobal plans to sign his science fiction novel "The Orbiter" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

'Sammy the Semi' authors to visit

Children can join Perry and Celia Johnson, authors of "The Adventures of Sammy the Semi," for songs and stories about the couple's travels as truck drivers from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Gibson Library, 100 W. Lake Mead Parkway in Henderson. To register, visit mypubliclibrary.com.

Inspire Your Muse at Children's Writers and Illustrators workshop

The Nevada Society Of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators plans to host a one-day boot camp titled "Autumn Fire: Inspiring Your Muse" from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Las Vegas Day School, 3275 Red Rock St. Advance registration received by Sept. 7 is $90 for society members and $115 for others. Registration at the door is $100 for members and $125 for others. Manuscript and portfolio critiques are available for an additional $40. Manuscripts, limited to 10 pages, must be submitted by Wednesday. Portfolios review registration is due by Aug. 17.

Scheduled faculty includes literary agents Michael Bourett and Kelly Sonnack, Little, Brown Children's Books For Young Readers senior art director Patti Ann Harris, and authors Susan Taylor Brown, Kristin Clark Venuti and Ellen Hopkins, and the society's Work-in-Progress winner Tracy Clark.

For more information, visit nevada scbwi.org, email ellenhopkins@charter.net or call 290-3190.

Boneyard comic book results in cash for library

Sales of the locally produced comic book compilation "Tales From the Boneyard" resulted in a $1,052 donation to the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation in support of the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival. The book, spearheaded by Pop! Goes the Icon founder Pj Perez, is set to be followed up by a noir-themed "Tales from Fremont Street," to be released at this year's festival scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information about the festival, visit vegasvalley comicbookfestival.com.

Summer reading program under way

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's Summer Reading Program is under way and set to continue through Aug. 6. The free program offers toddlers, children, teens and their families the opportunity to share reading time together and attend guest programs while keeping track of their reading successes.

Children from birth to age 5 can join the Rubber Ducky Reading Club, with a duck toy and board books as rewards for prereading activities. Kids in kindergarten through grade 5 can participate in One World, Many Stories, with free books from the library's used bookstore and children's museum admission as the carrot to keep kids reading. You Are Here, the program for teens, rewards readers with free used books and a chance to win a Target gift card. For more information on the program, stop by any library branch, visit lvccld.org or call 734-7323.

Read Richard Wiley's work for free

Black Mountain Institute associate director Richard Wiley has made two of his most popular novels -- "Commodore Perry's Minstrel Show" and "Indigo" -- available for free download at the Concord ePress website. "I'm delighted to have my books available on what is surely the format of the future," Wiley said in a press release. To download the books, visit concordepress.com.

Extension program to teach free memoir workshop for seniors

Life Stories Nevada, a University of Nevada Cooperative Extension program designed to help seniors 50 or older record their memoirs, is sponsoring free four-week memoir workshops.

The Heritage Park Senior Facility at 300 S. Racetrack Road in Henderson plans to host a Life Stories Nevada workshop from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Thursdays from Sept. 1-22.

To register, call 940-5423.

For more information about the program, visit lifestoriesnevada.org.

BMI names 2011-12 fellows, announces fall schedule

The Black Mountain Institute has a new batch of Bennett Fellows set to take residence at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the fall. Las Vegas-raised Charles Bock, author of the highly acclaimed first novel "Beautiful Children," has been selected as the Diana L. Bennett Fellow. Kelle Groom, author of three poetry collections and the memoir "I Wore the Ocean in the Shape of a Girl," has been selected as the Kluge Fellow, in partnership with the Library of Congress. Author/media artist Kris Saknussemm, whose first novel, "Zanesville," is a science fiction cult classic, has been selected as the Gallagher Fellow.

The institute also recently announced its fall schedule, which includes readings by poet Joshua Kryah (scheduled for Sept. 15) and novelist Jane Smiley (set for Nov. 5 as part of the Vegas Valley Book Festival.)

For more information, visit black mountaininstitute.org.

Sun City Anthem author named award finalist

Sun City Anthem author Richard S. (Dick) Rose's "Tarnished Brass Curtain: A Novel of Vietnam" has been selected the finalist of the 2011 Indie Excellence Award in the Military Fiction Category. A complete list of the honorees can be found at indieexcellence.com/indie-results-2011. For more information about the book, visit dickroseauthor.com.

Henderson libraries summer reading program under way

Henderson Libraries Summer Reading Program is under way. The program is designed to take people of all ages -- children, teens and adults -- on a literary trip around the world. The kids program follows a One World, Many Stories theme, the teen theme is You Are Here and adults can participate in Novel Destinations, a program that rewards reading with prizes donated by local businesses. Adults also are invited to participate in writing and photography competitions.

For details on program events, drop by any Henderson library, visit mypubliclibrary.com or call 492-6581.

North Las Vegas Library Summer Reading Club under way

Discover how much fun reading can be by signing up for the Summer Reading Club at any North Las Vegas library. This year's program, designed to take readers around the literary world, is set to continue through July 31. Call or visit any North Las Vegas library for details. The North Las Vegas Library, 2300 Civic Center Drive, can be reached at 633-1070. The Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way, can be reached at 839-2980. The Alexander Library, 1755 W. Alexander Road, can be reached at 633-2880.

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.

Sunrise Coffee Co. on sunset road hosts 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.

Share poems at Human Experience

Polish up a poem or two and try them out live 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 more information or to view the events online as they happen, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

Access recorded book programs online through library district

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."

Northwest-area Borders offers writers group on Tuesdays

Borders bookstore hosts a free writers group at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at 2190 N. Rainbow Blvd.

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 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.

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 Saxby's Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays.

Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com for more details.

Meetings are open to the public.

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.