Book Briefs for Feb. 11-17, 2014

WRITERS SERIES TO FEATURE LENI ZUMAS

Novelist Leni Zumas is scheduled to speak as part of the Black Mountain Institute’s Emerging Writers Series at 7 p.m. Feb. 11 at Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

Zumas is the author of “Farewell Navigator” and “The Listeners.”

For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

HENDERSON LIBRARIES TO SPONSOR TEEN WRITING CONTEST

The Henderson Libraries District is slated to host a teen writing contest for writers in grades 6 through 12. Works of poetry, one-act plays, short stories or essays up to 2,000 words will be accepted for consideration. Entries can be made online through Feb. 28. All work must be original and unpublished. Entries are limited to three per teen. No school assignments will be accepted. Selected entries may be published in a digital literary magazine. A reception and unveiling of the magazine is expected in April. Writers are to be notified by March 31 if their piece has been selected for publication. A writers’ reception and unveiling of the literary magazine is slated for April to honor those selected. Teens do not have to live in Henderson to take part. For more information, visit mypubliclibrary.org.

ROMANCE WRITERS PLAN CONFERENCE FEB. 15

Writers are invited to learn the business of writing from experienced authors — from first idea, through character creation and plot development to submission to agents and publishers — during the Las Vegas Romance Writers annual Conference In-A-Day scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 15 at The Learning Village, 727 Fremont St. The conference is $20 for Las Vegas Romance Writers members and $35 for nonmembers. The fee includes lunch. Registration is required. For more information, visit lvrwa.org.

AUTHOR TO SIGN MEDICAL THRILLER

Local author Sean Dow is set to sign copies of his medical thriller “Debridement” at 1 p.m. Feb. 15 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

LOCAL AUTHOR TO SIGN CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Local author Paula Jones is set to sign copies of her books “Clark the Shark,” a children’s picture book dedicated to awareness about bullying, and “Dalton’s Dream,” a book about appreciating family history, at 1 p.m. Feb. 15 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Signing set at The Coffee House

North Las Vegas author David Bryant Perkins plans to sign copies of his book “Hitler’s Astrologer” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at The Coffee House, 117 S. Water St.

MAC KING TO SWAP SHOW TICKETS FOR BOOKS TO TAKE ON LITERACY TOUR

Comedy magician Mac King is swapping show tickets for books to give to kids in at-risk schools during his Magical Literacy Tour Nevada Reading Week visits scheduled for March 4-7. Donate three new or gently used books and get two tickets to King’s show at Harrah’s Las Vegas. Book drive partners include:

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria plans to collect books throughout February. Donors there are also to receive a $5-off card for the pizzeria. For locations, visit grimaldispizzeria.com.

Galaxy Cannery Luxury+ Theatre, 2121 E. Craig Road, and Galaxy Green Valley Luxury+ Theatre, 4500 E. Sunset Road, plan to collect books throughout February. Donors there are also to be given a free large popcorn.

Donations can also be taken to Preferred Public Relations, 2630 S. Jones Blvd. Donation perks are limited to one per person. For more information, visit mackingshow.com.

BOOK FESTIVAL SET FOR OCT. 16-18

Readers accustomed to attending the Vegas Valley Book Festival the first weekend in November won’t have to wait as long this year. This year’s main festival and the Vegas Valley Children’s Book Festival are slated for Oct. 16-18. For more information on the festival or to apply to be a volunteer or visiting author, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org. Festival organizers are slated to collect author submission forms through April 15.

JOHN L. SMITH TO ADDRESS ACTIVE ADULT GROUP AT TEMPLE BETH SHOLOM

The Active Adult 55 Plus group plans to host columnist and author John L. Smith as its guest speaker at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Temple Beth Sholom, 10700 Havenwood Lane. For more information, call 702-233-3785 or 702-382-6456.

EBOOK COACH TO SPEAK TO WRITERS GROUP

Ebook consultant Peggy Richardson is scheduled to speak during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting fee is $5. For more information, visit meetup.com/lasvegas-writers. For more on Richardson, visit her blog at wizardofebooks.com.

SIGNING SET FOR ‘WHY I’M RIGHT’

Jeff Adler is slated to sign copies of his book “Why I’m Right: An Average Guy’s View on Politics” at 1 p.m. Feb. 22 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

LOCAL AUTHOR SHARES ‘ZULU DREAMS’

Henderson author Richman Bongani Mahlangu plans a signing for his book “Zulu Dreams: From Apartheid To The Ivy League” at 1 p.m. Feb. 22 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble. The book traces the author’s path from growing up in South Africa during apartheid to escaping poverty through tennis and pursing higher education for himself and then his sons. For more on the book, visit zuludreams.com.

TEEN WRITING CLUB PLANS FEBRUARY MEETING

A teen writing club is scheduled to meet from 4 to 5 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, visit my public library.org.

‘THE AVIATOR’S WIFE’ AUTHOR TO VISIT

Melanie Benjamin is set to discuss her novel “The Aviator’s Wife,” which follows the story of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, during a free program scheduled at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled at noon Wednesdays and at 10 a.m. Fridays at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Library, 509 S. Ninth St. Four-week sessions are set to begin the first week of every month. For more information, call 702-382-9695.

BARNES & NOBLE TO HOST WRITING GROUP

The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble hosts a writing critique group at 5:15 p.m. the fourth Monday of each month. The group is limited to the first 20 participants per meeting. Sign up at meetup.com/las-vegas-creative-writing-class.

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 more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

AUTHOR PLANS MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION ON JAY SARNO

UNLV Center for Gaming Research director and author of “Grandissimo: How Jay Sarno’s Wild Life Changed Las Vegas” David G. Schwartz plans a multimedia presentation on Sarno’s impact on Las Vegas at 7 p.m. March 3 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

SUN CITY MACDONALD RANCH LITERARY GUILD PLANS AUTHOR EVENT

The Sun City MacDonald Ranch Literary Guild plans a literary event featuring David L. Berger, author of “Case Book of a Private Investigator,” at 2 p.m. March 9 at the Desert Willow Community Center, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway. Admission is free, and guests receive a 20 percent discount in the center’s restaurant the day of the event.

ALIANTE LIBRARY TO HOST WRITERS CLUB

The Aliante Library Writers Club is scheduled to meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Road. For more information, contact facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

BILINGUAL CHILDREN’S BOOK AUTHOR PLANS VISIT

Monica Brown, author of the award-winning bilingual children’s book “Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match,” is slated to visit with young readers from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 7 at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

NEW SERIES TO FEATURE POP-UP! POETRY

Pop-Up! Poetry: A Las Vegas Poetry Feature Series is set to present poets reading at 7 p.m. every First Friday in the Nevada Humanities offices at Art Square, 1025 S. First St. Upcoming poets to be featured include: Andrew Clark Hall on March 7, Vogue R. on April 4, A.J. Moyer on May 2 and Harry Fagel on June 6. The series is part of Las Vegas Poets Organizations’ celebration of 10 years of service to the community. For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

SPRING FLING BOOK FAIR TO FOCUS ON STATE SESQUICENTENNIAL

The Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, plans a Spring Fling Book Fair - Sesquicentennial Edition for 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 29. A panel of local authors is set to discuss their experiences writing about Nevada in celebration of the state’s sesquicentennial anniversary. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

ART CENTER HOSTS POETS CORNER

The West Las Vegas Arts Center, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., hosts poets corner readings with Keith Brantley at 7 p.m. the first and third Friday of each month. For more information, contact the center at 702-229-4800.

BESTSELLING AUTHOR TO SIGN ‘NIGHT BROKEN’

Patricia Briggs, New York Times bestselling author of “Frost Burned” is set to sign copies of her the newest novel in her Mercy Thompson series “Night Broken” at 7 p.m. March 14 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

FREE READ TO ME PROGRAM OFFERED

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.

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.

HENDERSON WRITERS GROUP MEETINGS SET

The Henderson Writers Group meets from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays in room C-2 at Community Lutheran Church, 3720 E. Tropicana Ave. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. For more information, visit hendersonwritersgroup.

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 videos and podcasts of many of its programs online. Selections available 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 blackmountaininstitute.org and select “multimedia.”

POET LYNN XU PLANS UNLV VISIT

Poet Lynn Xu is scheduled to speak as part of the Black Mountain Institute Emerging Writers Series at 7 p.m. April 8 in Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

The Shanghai-born poet is the author of the collection “Debts & Lessons” and the chapbook “June.” She is an editor at Canarium Books.

For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

UNLV PROFESSOR’S VERSE DRAMA TO DEBUT

A debut performance of “O, Heart,” a verse drama by local poet Claudia Keelan, is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 24 in the UNLV Student Union Theatre, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Keelan, whose books include “Refinery” and “Utopic,” is a creative writing and English professor at UNLV and the editor of Interim magazine.

For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.