Book briefs

Pioneering policewoman to sign books

Debra Gauthier, one of the first female police officers in Las Vegas, plans to sign copies of her book "Bright Lights, Dark Places" at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Carr Chat to feature Pamela Morsi

Robyn Carr plans to interview author Pamela Morsi during a Carr Chat series event from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. For more information about Morsi, visit pamelamorsi.com. For more information about the event, call 492-6580.

New book explores weather legend

Connie Sage plans to discuss and sign her book "Frank Batten: The Untold Story of the Founder of the Weather Channel" at 7 p.m. Thursday at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Library to mark Banned Books Week

Mark Banned Books Week with local writers and dignitaries who plan to read from previously banned works at Uncensored Voices: Celebrating Literary Freedom, a preview event of the Vegas Valley Book Festival, scheduled at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 in the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

Participants expected include Carol Harter, Charles Bock, Bob Brown, Maile Chapman, Jeanne Goodrich, Jane Heenan, Laura Henkel, Andrew Kiraly and Steve Sebelius.

For more information, visit lvccld.org.

'Ghost Road Blues' author to visit

Jonathan Maberry, author of "Ghost Road Blues" and "Patient Zero" and contributor to "The Monster's Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes," is scheduled to appear at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information about the author, visit jonathanmaberry.com.

Library offers ebook classes

The Windmill Library, 7060 Windmill Lane, has scheduled an eBook classes from 10:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 30 in the virtual training lab.

Participants will learn how to download an eBook and transfer it to an eReader. The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District has many titles that can be downloaded for free.

Bring your eReader, its USB cord and your library card.

For more information or to register, call 507-6300.

Local authors to speak at historians conference

Local authors have been tapped to present workshops at the 17th annual Association of Personal Historians Conference scheduled for Oct. 16-20 at Harrah's Las Vegas, 3475 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Historian/author Michael Green is set to share stories about the families who built Las Vegas, and Oksana Marafioti, author of the upcoming memoir "American Gypsy," plans to speak on the road to finishing a personal history. Other speakers lined up include documentary filmmaker Benjamin Patton and Nikki Silva from National Public Radio's "Hidden Kitchens."

For more information about the conference, visit tinyurl.com/aph-workshops.

SHARPEN WRITING SKILLS DURING WORKSHOP SERIES

Author Maxwell Alexander Drake plans a series of free workshops to sharpen writing skills this fall at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive. The seminars are set for 3 p.m. Oct. 9, 4:45 p.m. Oct. 11, 3 p.m. Nov. 20 and 4:45 p.m. Nov. 22.

For more information, call 507-6100.

Senior Memoir workshop planned

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.

Sun City MacDonald Ranch plans to host a workshop from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Fridays Oct. 7-28 in its clubhouse at 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway. The facility can be reached at 270-7000. To register, call the location or the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension at 940-5423. For more information about the program, visit lifestoriesnevada.org.

Photographer shares true story

"Feathers & Gifts" author PJ Sheldon is set to sign her true story about a life-changing photo assignment in the wilderness at noon Oct. 29 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

Lecture series to include book events

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University Forum Lecture Series event schedule is online at liberalarts.unlv.edu/calendar.html. Highlights of the free series include "Emerald Isle Escapade: A Literary Jaunt of Ireland," scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26, and "Dylan Thomas at Age Nineteen: A One-Man Play," scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15. Most of the lectures are hosted by the Barrick Museum on the 4505 S. Maryland Parkway campus.

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.

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 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."

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.

Book lovers can sign up now for updates on events leading up to the Vegas Valley Book Festival at vegas valleybookfestival.org.

Prefestival highlights include Uncensored Voices: Celebrating Literary Freedom, a reading featuring authors and community leaders reading banned literary works scheduled for 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Clark County Library, and Readings in the Pumpkin Patch, a children's book event set from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 8 at Gilcrease Orchard.

The full festival is scheduled to kick off with a keynote presentation by "World War Z" author Max Brooks at 7 p.m. Nov. 3, at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, and conclude with a reading by "A Thousand Acres" author Jane Smiley at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5, at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.

The festival is expected to bring in more than 100 authors for panel discussions, readings, exhibitions and more. Most events are free. Highlights include the Children's Book Festival, the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival and "Feasting on Words: The Literature and Food Fair" featuring Rick Moonen and other chefs and cookbook authors.

Panels are set to focus on fiction about Las Vegas and the history of women in the casino workforce. Free writing workshops will cover topics such as poetry, memoir, science fiction/fantasy and travel writing.

For updates, visit the website or call 229-5431.

Friends of North Las Vegas Library District to meet

The Friends of the North Las Vegas Library District is planning a meeting at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 17 at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way. Those interested in becoming a member or wanting to share your ideas are welcome. For more information, contact the North Las Vegas Library District at 633-1070.