Las Vegas Book Briefs for Jan. 15-21, 2015

PARALYMPIC SNOWBOARD STAR TO SPEAK AT LIBRARY

Amy Purdy, bronze medalist in snowboarding at the 2014 Sochi Paralympics, “Dancing With the Stars” finalist and co-founder of the nonprofit Adaptive Action Sports, is set to talk about her debut book “On My Own Two Feet: The Journey from Losing My Legs to Learning the Dance of Life” at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 in the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

The Las Vegas native shares the story of her tangle with bacterial meningitis in her new book written with Michelle Burford. Within hours of experiencing flu-like symptoms, she found herself in the hospital on life support making the choice to live without legs.

For more information on the book, visit amypurdy.com. For more on free event, visit lvccld.org.

LAURA MCBRIDE PLANS TO PARTICIPATE IN BOOK EVENTS

Laura McBride is scheduled to speak on using setting as a character during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. A $5 meeting fee is charged. McBride’s debut novel “We Are Called To Rise” is set away from the neon lights of contemporary Las Vegas. For more information, visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers.

McBride is also set to read from and sign books from 5 to 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the 150 Las Vegas Blvd. North Rachel’s Kitchen. For more information, call 702-788-8800.

AUTHORS TO LEAD DISCUSSION

Lindsey Leavitt, local author of “Chapel Wars,” and “Ignite” author Sara B. Larson are set to lead a discussion and book signing at 7 p.m. Jan. 15 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more on the authors, visit lindseyleavitt.com and sarablarson.blogspot.com.

HIKING AUTHOR PLANS PRESENTATION

Branch Whitney, author of “Hiking Las Vegas,” plans to share his expertise at 6 p.m. Jan. 15 at the Whitney Library, 5175 E. Tropicana Ave., and at 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

THE WRITER’S BLOCK STAFF TO DISCUSS INDIE BOOKSTORE, SELF-PUBLISHING

Drew Cohen and Kristen Zory King are set to present a program titled Self-publishing, The Indie Bookstore and Me during a meeting of the Las Vegas Romance Writers scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 17 in the Findlay Chevrolet Community Room, 6800 S. Torrey Pines Drive. The Las Vegas Romance Writers group is slated to return to its Green Valley Library home for its March meeting. Cohen is co-owner of the downtown Las Vegas indie bookstore The Writer’s Block. King manages the store’s social media channels. For more on the event, visit lvrwa.org.

BLACK MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE ANNOUNCES UPCOMING EVENTS

The Black Mountain Institute announced literary events for its 2015 winter and spring season.

Events slated include “That’s Not a Feeling” author Dan Josefson speaking at 7 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Greenspun Hall Auditorium at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway; “The Miniature Wife and Other Stories” author Manuel Gonzales speaking at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Greenspun Hall Auditorium; Jamaica Kincaid and Caryl Phillips in a discussion titled Crossing the Black Atlantic at 7 p.m. March 19 in the Philip J. Cohen Theatre in the UNLV Student Union; poet Richard Siken speaking at 7 p.m. April 30 in the Greenspun Hall Auditorium; and Easy Rawlins mysteries series author Walter Mosley delivering a Jim Rogers Contrarian Lecture on higher education at 7 p.m. May 7 in the Student Union Ballroom.

For more information, visit blackmountianinstitute.org.

MOB TO TAKE OVER LIBRARY

Mob Month is underway, with free programs featuring authors, experts and more throughout January at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Events are planned from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays with “The Great Debate — Is The Mob Still in Las Vegas?” on Jan. 20 and “Our Kansas City Connection and a Screening of ‘Gangland Wire’ ” on Jan. 27. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3458.

POETS CAN SEEK FEEDBACK AT 5/5+

Poets are invited to share original work for five minutes followed by attendees offering comments for five minutes during 5/5+, a workshop series put on by Nick Marco, Lana Hanson and Lee Mallory, scheduled every two weeks at BooksorBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R. The next session is planned from 3 to 5 p.m. Jan. 17. For more information, call 702-754-5971, email jtjmarco@live.com, raisewomenup@gmail.com or leewmallory3@gmail.com or search for 5/5+ on Facebook.

BOOK LAUNCH PLANNED AT TUSCANY GRILL

Anthem author Robert Stern plans to launch his newest book “HOA Wars: What Happens in Vegas Can Happen Anywhere” with a party with hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar from 5 to 8 p.m. Jan. 29 at Tuscany Grill, 11105 S. Eastern Ave. For more information, visit hoawars.com.

POETS FROZE OUT OF JANUARY FIRST FRIDAY

Las Vegas First Friday Poets were planning to take poetry to the streets from 5 to 11 p.m. Jan. 2 during the monthly First Friday arts festival. But when First Friday organizers canceled all outdoor events due to frigid weather, the poetry gathering was put on hold for a month. Local poet and event producer Lee Mallory and local poet Lana Hanson now plan to host a gathering of bards during the Feb. 6 festivities on Colorado Avenue between Third Street and Casino Center Boulevard. For more information, contact Mallory at leewmallory3@gmail.com or 702-733-7734.

LIBRARY TO HOST POETRY RECITATION COMPETITION

The Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 702-507-3947.

DATES SELECTED FOR 2015 VEGAS VALLEY BOOK FESTIVAL

The 2015 Vegas Valley Book Festival is set for Oct. 15-17. Authors and volunteers interested in participating can register at vegasvalleybookfestival.org/2015-interest-form. Submissions will be taken through March 31. For more information, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.com.

UNLV WRITERS WELCOME ALL TO NEON LIT

Neon Lit, a public reading featuring writers from UNLV’s Master of Fine Arts and Ph.D. writing programs, is scheduled the fourth Friday of most months in the Trifecta Gallery in The Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd. Doors open at 6 p.m., and readings are set to begin at 7 p.m. Meetings are slated to be relocated to The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St., No. 100, when Trifecta closes in February. For more information, visit neonlit.org.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY GROUP TO LAUNCH IN LIBRARY

Readers, writers and editors of science fiction and fantasy are invited to check out a new group scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. Saturdays in meeting room two at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, call 702-334-0204.

BARNES & NOBLE TO HOST WRITING GROUP

The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble plans to host 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.

DRAGON CASTLE BOOKS TO HOST SIGNING

Local author Mary Crocco is set to sign copies of her new novel “In Kala’s Hands: A Lakota Sioux Proclamation” from noon to 2 p.m. Jan. 24 at Dragon Castle Books, 3142 N. Rainbow Blvd. She also plans a signing from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at BooksorBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R.

For more information, visit mcrocco.wordpress.com.

‘NEMESIS’ AUTHOR PLANS SIGNING

Eddie Lee, local author of the science fiction thriller “Nemesis,” is set to sign books from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 24 at BooksorBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R. For more information, visit booksorbooks.com.

POP-UP POETRY SERIES SLATED

The Las Vegas Poets Organization in conjunction with Nevada Humanities plans to present a monthly series in the 18b Las Vegas Arts District every First Friday at the Nevada Humanities offices at Art Square, 1017 S. First St. Each month featured poets are to be scheduled to present a reading from their works at 7 p.m. First on the schedule are Sean Critchfield and China Hudson. For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

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 and third Tuesday of each month at the Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way. For more information, email facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

SHARE POEMS AT HUMAN EXPERIENCE

Polish up a poem or two and try them out at Human Experience, a free spoken word event scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays in The Beat Coffeehouse inside Emergency Arts, 520 Fremont St. For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

ARTS CENTER TO HOST POETS CORNER

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

LIBRARY CAN BENEFIT FROM AMAZON PURCHASES

At no cost to you, your purchases made at Amazon can help the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District. The Library benefits not only when you buy books but also movies, CDs, electronics, appliances and more. To get started, visit wowbrary.org/lasvegas and the online retailer will donate roughly 7.5 percent of your purchases to the library district.

For more information, email ask@lvccld.org or call the Virtual Library section at 702-507-6300.

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.

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 plans to meet 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.

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled at noon Wednesdays and 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.

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 posts 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.”

AUTHOR JENNIFER DEBS PLANS SESSION

Jennifer Debs, who writes as JG Debs, plans an author session at 2:30 p.m. March 8 at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave.

Debs is the author of author of “Back in Two Weeks,” about her experiences in the Air Force and being deployed overseas.

For more information, call Marcela Chiarandini at 702-507-3631.