Las Vegas book briefs for Sept. 15-22, 2016

An evening with H. Lee Barnes: The College of Southern Nevada creative writing teacher and author of “The Gambler’s Apprentice” is scheduled to read an excerpt and discuss writing from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Visit lvccld.org.

Las Vegas Writers Group: Mercedes M. Yardley, author of “Pretty Little Dead Girls: A Novel of Murder and Whimsy” and the Bram Stoker Award winner “Little Dead Red,” is scheduled to offer advice on submitting manuscripts to agents and editors during a meeting of the Las Vegas Writers Group at 7 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The meeting fee is $5. Visit meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers.

Books for Louisiana: Nevada Oral and Facial Surgery, with offices at 6950 Smoke Ranch Road, Suite 200, and 1525 W. Warm Springs Road, Suite 125, is hosting a book drive to help restock school library shelves in flood-stricken Louisiana. Books can be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The first shipment is set to go out Sept. 16. Visit nevadaoralandfacialsurgery.com or call 702-360-8918. Lexus of Las Vegas, 6600 W. Sahara Ave., and Lexus of Henderson, 7736 Eastgate Road, are also collecting books for flood victims. Donations can be dropped off in the parts departments.

Stillpoint Reader’s Series: Gail Collins-Ranadive is set to discuss her inspirations and stories from her book “Nature’s Calling” at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at Stillpoint: Center for Spiritual Development, 8072 W. Sahara Ave., Suite D. Admission is free, but donations are suggested. A coffee discussion of Collins-Ranadive’s work is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Sept. 22. Visit stillpointcsd.org.

The Delectable Intellectual: Novelists Gabriel Urza and Yelena Akhtiorskaya are set to speak at a Black Mountain Institute event scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in room 113 of Rogers Literature & Law at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Brown-bag lunches are welcome. RSVP at blackmountaininstitute.org.

Romance writers: Beth Spaur, president of the Las Vegas Romance Writers, is scheduled to speak on researching to lay a foundation for stronger stories during a Las Vegas Romance Writers meeting at 10 a.m. Sept. 17 in the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. Visit lvrwa.org.

“First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare”: The exhibit, on tour from the Folger Shakespeare Library, is scheduled to be on display Sept. 1-29 on the third floor of the Lied Library at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Admission is free, but space is limited. Visit library.unlv.edu to reserve tickets. As part of the tour, the library plans free events and lectures in the library’s Goldfield Room. A workshop for families with children ages 6 to 9 is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sept. 17. A Shakespeare insult session for children ages 9 to 12 is scheduled at 1 p.m. Sept. 17. A Create a Folio session for families with children 6 to 12 is scheduled at 3 p.m. Sept. 17. University of Nevada, Reno English department chair Eric Rasmussen is set to talk about the discovery of the Saint-Omer Shakespeare First Folio at 2 p.m. Sept. 18. Visitors can learn about Folger’s secret search for First Folios at 4 p.m. Sept. 15, the Edwin Booth Prompt Books at 4 p.m. Sept. 20 and Shakespeare and environmental crisis at 4 p.m. Sept. 21. There are also sessions oncashing in on Shakespeare at 4 p.m. Sept. 22, and 16th and 17th century printing technologies at 4 p.m. Sept. 29.

“Children of Exile”: Margaret Peterson Haddix is slated to sign copies of her novel “Children of Exile” at 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Emerging Writers Series: Poet Jamal May is set to speak at 7 p.m. Sept. 22 as part of a Black Mountain Institute event at in the Rogers Literature & Law Building at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

Book Drive: Drop off new or gently used books at Kidville, 440 S. Rampart Blvd., during September and in return, new members will receive 50 percent off the first month of membership with a three-month commitment . Spread the Word Nevada is a children’s lit­er­acy non­profit, dedicated to advancing early childhood literacy by placing books into the hands and homes of children within Southern Nevada’s at risk, low income communities . Call 702-277-3752.

Craft exploration: Krista Lukas is set to lead a writing workshop at 9 a.m. Sept. 24 in the community room at Findlay Chevrolet, 6800 S. Torrey Pines Drive. The fee is $40 for Henderson Writers’ Group members and $50 for nonmembers. Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com.

Story Salsa: Storyteller Liz Mangual is set to perform at 4 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Windmill Library, 7060 W. Windmill Lane; at 10:30 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Centennial Hills Library, 6711 N. Buffalo Drive; and at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the West Charleston Library, 6301 W. Charleston Blvd. Visit lvccld.org.

Debate discussion: Alan Schroeder, professor at the Northeastern University School of Journalism in Boston and author of “Presidential Debates: Risky Business on the Campaign Trail,” is slated to speak from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Sept. 27 in Greenspun Hall at UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Visit unlv.edu.

Uncensored Voices: Columnist Steve Sebelius is set to host an event to mark Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 1) from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. A panel of educators and experts is to discuss the state of censorship in Nevada, and Cockroach Theatre is to present a staged reading of challenged and banned books. Visit lvccld.org.

Library love: The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is teaming with Nevada Ballet Theatre to encourage library card signups. Throughout September, those who sign up for a card or like the district on Facebook will be entered into a drawing for four tickets to “The Sleeping Beauty” or “The Nutcracker.” Those who already have cards can save $10 on ballet tickets at nevadaballet.org. Use the code NBTLIB. Visit lvccld.org.

Transcribing Nevada: An invitational exhibit of Nevada artists and poets sharing selections from their sketchbooks and journals is set to be on display through Sept. 28 at the Nevada Humanities Program Gallery, 1017 S. First St., Suite 190 in the Art Square garden courtyard. Work is slated to be featured by poets Angela Brommel, Rachel Dexter, Andrew Hall, Jocelyn Paige Kelly, Heather Lang, Joseph Langdon, Matthew O’Brien, Joan Robinson and Elizabeth Quiñones-Zaldaña; and artists Jose Alverez, Montana Black, Elizabeth Blau, Gig Deipo, Stewart Freshwater, Suzanne Forestieri, Connie High, Mary Hill, Wayne Littlejohn and Gary Mar. A reception is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 1, and a hands-on journal and sketchbook project is slated from noon to 2 p.m. at the Nevada Humanities booth at the Vegas Valley Book Festival. Visit nevadahumanities.org.

Author signing: Local author JG Debs plans to speak and sign copies of her books from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 28 at Atria Sunlake, 3250 S. Fort Apache Road.

Violence in art: Joshua Wolf Shenk is set to moderate a discussion on the literature of violence featuring panelists William T. Vollmann, Kerry Howley and Jonathan Gottschall at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Si Redd Room in the Thomas & Mack Center,4505 S. Maryland Parkway. RSVP at blackmountaininstitute.org.

Conservation lecture: UNLV assistant professor and author Scott Abella is scheduled to talk about conserving America’s national parks from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 1 at Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Visit lvccld.org.

Local author showcase: The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St., is slated to feature fiction authors RJ Stastny, Cassandra Jefferson, Dave Wollert and Stephen Murray at a signing and meet-and-greet from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 1. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Diane Cameron: The author is set to talk about “Never Leave Your Dead: A True Story of War Trauma, Murder, and Madness,” a book about her stepfather, a former Marine who murdered his first wife and mother-in-law, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 8 at The Writer’s Block, 1020 Fremont St. Visit thewritersblock.org.

Poetry competition: Clark County students in grades 9-12 are invited to submit original poems for the Spark! Poetry Writing & Recitation Competition. Modeled after the national Poetry Out Loud and the Scholastic Writing competitions, students who register by Sept. 30 will be invited to prepare three poems for performance before a panel of poets, authors and educators from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Vegas Valley Book Festival at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. The first prize is $300, second $200 and third $100. Visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org/spark.

Communication seminar: Jill Spiegel, local author of five books, including “How to Talk to Anyone About Anything,” is set to lead a communication seminar from 10 a.m. to noon Oct. 8 at the College of Southern Nevada Charleston campus, 6375 W. Charleston Blvd. The course fee is $50. To register, visit csn.edu/workforce or call 702-651-4747. For more on the author, visit jillspiegel.com.

Linda Stiles Fox: The contemporary romance fiction author of “A Cabin in the Woods” and “Forever Again” is set to speak at 6 p.m. Oct. 11 at Atria Sutton, 3185 E Flamingo Road.

Vegas Valley Book Festival: The 15th annual Vegas Valley Book Festival is slated to host panel discussions, author readings, workshops, signings and more for all ages from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. This year’s book festival is set to host authors including Katherine Boo, Amy Rose Capetta, Don Calame, Mary Guinan, Nathan Hale, Amy Ignatow, Craig Johnson, Norm Kresge, Cori McCarthy, Megan McDonald, Jim Nisbet, Stephan Pastis, Thomas Perry, Sharon Schaaf, Stephen Savage, Stacy Schiff, Eliot Schrefer, Frank Shankwitz, Adam Silvera, Mister G, F. Andrew Taylor, Jodi Thomas, Randy Sutton, Alisa Valdes and Chuck Williams. School visits by some authors are planned on Oct. 14. The festival also plans a Spark! teen poetry writing and performance competition with entries due Sept. 30. Visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

Stillpoint Reader’s Series: Max Oliva, author of “Becoming A Person of Mercy:Personal Reflections and Practices on the Works of Mercy” is set to speak as part of the Stillpoint Reader’s Community Series from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 20 at Stillpoint: Center for Spiritual Development, 8072 W. Sahara Avenue, Suite D. Admission is free, but donations are suggested. A coffee discussion of Oliva’s work is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27. Visit stillpointcsd.org.stillpointcsd.org

Deepak Chopra: The author of “Radical Beauty: How to Transform Yourself from the Inside Out” is scheduled to discuss the future of well-being and ways to enhance consciousness at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets start at $35. Limited VIP packages with a meet and greet pre-show reception, refreshments and a signed copy of “Radical Beauty” are $175. Visit thesmithcenter.com.

Bob Newhart: The comedian and best-selling author is set to speak at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave. Tickets start at $29. Visit thesmithcenter.com.

ONGOING EVENTS

Online fiction: Overton resident Elizabeth Trombley offers free short stories for readers 12 or older at her website, authorinwaiting.com.

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.

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 writing group: 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.

Barnes & Noble 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: 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.com.

Memoir-writing workshops: 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.