Las Vegas book briefs for July 2-8, 2015

VICKI PETTERSSON TO LAUNCH NEW BOOK

Former Las Vegas showgirl turned urban fantasy romance author Vicki Pettersson is slated to promote her first psychological thriller, “Swerve,” at 7 p.m. July 7 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble. Visit vickipettersson.com.

LOCAL AUTHOR BIRTHS BABY NAMES BOOK

Kendra Shaw is set to sign her book “The Bizarre Baby Name Book” from 1 to 3 p.m. July 11 at BooksorBooks, 3460 E. Sunset Road, Suite R.

SIGNING SET FOR SUNDAY ROSE SERIES

R. Jay Berry is slated to sign her Sunday Rose Series books, inspired by events in her grandmother’s life, at 1 p.m. July 11 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

AUTHOR TO SPEAK ABOUT RUNNING INJURY PREVENTION

Dr. Donald A. Ozello, owner of Championship Chiropractic and author of “Running: Maximize Performance & Minimize Injuries,” plans to speak on preventing running injuries at 2:30 p.m. July 12 at the Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave. Visit championshipchiropractic.com.

POETRY TO BE FEATURED 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. July 4. Call 702-754-5971, email jtjmarco@live.com, raisewomenup@gmail.com or leewmallory3@gmail.com or search for 5/5+ on Facebook.

C.L. GABER TO SPEAK TO WRITERS GROUP

C.L. Gaber, local author of “Ascenders” and co-author of the Jex Malone series, is scheduled to speak about how to create a new world for fictional work during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group scheduled for 7 p.m. July 16 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. A $5 meeting fee is charged. Visit meetup.com/las-vegas-writers.

CLARK COUNTY POET LAUREATE TO HOST WORKSHOPS

Clark County’s new poet laureate, Bruce Isaacson, plans to conduct a series of three free workshops on the subject of beatnik poetics at 2 p.m. July 18, Aug. 15 and Sept. 12 at the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive. Registration is required at poetlaureateclarkcounty@cox.net.

Isaacson studied under Allen Ginsberg and knew other beat poets, such as Gregory Corso and Diane di Prima.

The first workshop is set to focus on precursors to the beats, starting with the Bible, French poets, Walt Whitman and others.

Isaacson also plans to lead a series of open readings at the center at 6:30 p.m. Fridays, except for the third Friday.

For more information, visit clarkcountdnv.gov.

ROMANCE WRITERS TO MEET

A meeting of the Las Vegas Romance Writers is scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon July 18 at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. The July event is set to feature a presentation on crossing over from one genre to another by local author Vicki-Ann Bush. Visit lvrwa.org.

LEE MALLORY HEADS UP SEVENS LIVE!

Poet Lee Mallory plans to present Sevens Live!, a new poetry, music and comedy showcase, from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays inside the Cantina at the Silver Sevens, 4100 Paradise Road. Admission is free with a one-drink minimum. Call 702-733-7300.

STORE TO OFFER FREE MEMOIR WRITING WORKSHOP

“Confessions of a Do-Gooder Gone Bad” author Ann K. Howley plans to conduct a free memoir writing workshop at 1 p.m. July 19 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

MOVIEMAKER ‘WILD BILL’ WELLMAN’S SON TO READ FROM BOOK

A reading and book signing with William Wellman Jr., author of “Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel” is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. July 24 at The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St, No. 100. The biography focuses on director “Wild Bill” Wellman, whose 82 movies, included “Wings,” winner of the first Academy Award for best picture. Written by his son, the book draws on Wellman’s unpublished letters, diaries and unfinished memoir. For more on the book, visit williamwellmanjr.com.

SUMMER READING PROGRAMS OFFERED

Summer reading programs are underway in libraries across the valley. For details on Las Vegas-Clark County Library District programs, visit lvccld.org. For more on Henderson Libraries, visit mypubliclibrary.com. Visit nlvld.org.

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 11:30 p.m. Mondays at The Center, 401 S. Maryland Parkway. Participants 18 or older are welcome. Visit facebook.com/humanexperiencelasvegas.

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. Email facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

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. Call 702-229-4800.

SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY GROUP UNDERWAY 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. Call 702-334-0204.

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 at The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St., No. 100. Visit neonlit.org.

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.

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. 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. Call 702-382-9695.

VEGAS VALLEY BOOK FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES KEYNOTES

Brad Meltzer and Colum McCann have been selected to be keynote speakers for this year’s Vegas Valley Book Festival, Oct. 15-17.

Meltzer, author of “The Inner Circle,” “The Book of Fate” and seven other best-selling thrillers, is set to open the festival Oct. 7 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

McCann is the author of two story collections and six novels, including the National Book Award-winning “Let the Great World Spin.”

Other festival events are set to include vendor booths, panel discussions, readings and workshops for adults, teens and children. All events are free. Volunteers are needed. For more information, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

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.”

LIBRARY CAN BENEFIT FROM AMAZON PURCHASES

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

Email ask@lvccld.org or call the Virtual Library section at 702-507-6300.

CLARK COUNTY NAMES FIRST POET LAUREATE

The Clark County Commission named Bruce Isaacson as the first Clark County poet laureate. His term started June 1 and is set to last two years. A committee of poets and writers also selected Jessica “Jes Flo” Washington as alternate poet laureate during the term. Isaacson, 59, has lived in Las Vegas since 1995. He studied at Brooklyn College unde Allen Ginsberg, who guided his studies and his Master of Fine Arts thesis. Isaacson was also mentored by poet Robert Haas’ workshop at the University of California, Berkeley. Isaacson is known in the San Francisco Bay Area as an organizer and poet in the Café Babar readings in the 1980s and 1990s for Zeitgeist Press, which he founded with two other poets in 1986. He remains publisher and co-editor of Zeitgeist, which has more than 100 titles, including notable Las Vegas books. In 1992, he became involved in poetry and translation at the Writers Union in Leningrad, Russia. Starting in 1997, he participated in readings in Las Vegas at Café Espresso Roma and Enigma Garden. His work has appeared in a number of Las Vegas publications, including Red Rock Review, which he also edited. He now runs a Las Vegas-based employment agency, real estate and consulting business.