Book Briefs for Mar. 13

Authors Ann Aguirre, Zoe Archer, Vivian Arend, Lauren Dane, Tessa Dare, Megan Hart and Courtney Milan plan to read excerpts from their novels during The Romance of Words, a Vegas Valley Book Festival pre-festival event, at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Chapel of the Flowers, 1717 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Organizer Richard Hooker said the event is scheduled to start late to accommodate St. Patrick’s Day nuptials. A local couple are scheduled to renew their vows as part of the event. For more information, visit vegasvalleybook festival.org or call 229-5431.

‘Vegas Rag Doll’ signing set

"Vegas Rag Doll" author Wendy Mazaros is set to sign books at 1 p.m. Saturday at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble. For more information about Mazaros, visit vegasragdoll.com.

Black Mountain Institute to present mixed-media performance

Australian-American novelist/media artist Kris Saknussemm is scheduled to be joined by tenor saxophonist Eric Wyatt and others for an original mixed-media performance from Saknussemm’s latest novel, "Reverend America," at 7 p.m. today in the Greenspun Hall Auditorium at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. For details, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

Boston College professor to lecture on personhood

Boston College political science professor Susan Meld Shell plans a free lecture titled "Are All Rights Human Rights? Personhood from Hobbes to Citizens United" at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. The author of three books on Immanuel Kant, Shell plans to address issues of granting legal protections routinely afforded to humans to animals and corporations. The lecture is sponsored by the UNLV Great Works Academic Certificate program, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of Political Science.

Center to host Literature That Lives

The West Las Vegas Arts Center Gallery, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd., plans to host Literature That Lives: An Afternoon with Walter Mason from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday . The event is set to include a performance by Mason and a reception. The event is free, but tickets are required. Call 229-4800 or visit lasvegasnevada.gov.

Author to lead free career workshops at local libraries

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District plans to offer free career workshops led by PJ Sheldon, local author of "Career Strategies for Success"

Workshops include:

"Your Best Image" scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday at the West Las Vegas Library, 951 W. Lake Mead Blvd.

"Navigating Interviews" scheduled at 10:30 a.m. April 14 at the Spring Valley Library, 4280 S. Jones Blvd. A book sale and signing is set to follow each workshop.

For details, visit lvccld.org.

Novelist to discuss evolution of short story

Maile Chapman, author of the novel "Your Presence Is Requested at Suvanto," is scheduled to lead a discussion on the evolution of the American short story during a Las Vegas Writers Group meeting scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. There is a $5 meeting fee. For more information, visit meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers. For more on the author, visit mailechapman.com.

Romance writers Group to discuss adding humor to work

Kris Tualla, author of The Hansens series, is scheduled to speak on adding humor to manuscripts during a meeting of the Las Vegas Romance Writers at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Wengert Conference Room inside the NV Energy building at 6226 W. Sahara Ave. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org.

Library plans Spring Fling Book Fair

Dozens of regional authors are scheduled to meet readers and sign books at the fourth annual Spring Fling Book Fair from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 7 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Select authors plan free lectures and workshops starting at 11:30 a.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit lvccld.org or call 507-3458.

Alexander Waugh to speak about his grandfather, Evelyn Waugh

Alexander Waugh sees positives and negatives in pursing a career as a writer in the shadow of his grandfather, British novelist Evelyn Waugh. He plans to share anecdotes and previously undisclosed information about his grandfather garnered over years searching for lost and hidden letters during a free lecture scheduled at 7:30 p.m. March 22 in the auditorium of the Marjorie Barrick Museum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Alexander Waugh is the author of "Fathers and Sons: The Autobiography of a Family" and "The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War."

The lecture is sponsored by the UNLV Great Works Academic Certificate program, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Department of English.

Author to sign books in Pahrump

Gary J. Miller plans to sign his book "Gary’s Low Fat, Low Carb, Low Calorie Cookbook" at 11 a.m. March 24 at the Pahrump Community Library, 701 S. East St.

Las Vegas Writers Conference scheduled for April 19-21

The Las Vegas Writers Conference is scheduled for April 19-21 at Sam’s Town, 5111 Boulder Highway. Registration for the full conference is $450 or $500 at the door. One-day registration also is available.

For more information, visit lasvegaswritersconference.com.

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 coffee shop at 520 Fremont St. inside Emergency Arts.

For more information, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

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 Saxbys Coffee Lounge, 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson, on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays. Meetings are typically canceled on holidays. Visit henderson writersgroup.com for more information. Meetings are open to the public.

‘Cinderella Dream’ signing set

Jill Stacey is scheduled to sign copies of her book "Cinderella Dream: A Memoir About a Shattered Life Restored" at 11 a.m. March 24 at the 8515 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

Active Adult Center Book Club to discuss ‘Blood From a Stone’

The Centennial Hills Active Adult Center book club plans to discuss "Blood From a Stone" by Donna Leon April 4 and "The Single Thread" by Marie Bostwick May 2 at the center, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive.

The book club meets at 12:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month and is free for center members.

For more information, call 229-1702.

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.

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.

ACCESS RECORDED BOOK PROGRAMS ONLINE

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, 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 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.

Teen Writing Club plans meetings

A Teen Writing Club meets at the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway. The club schedules meetings every other month. For more information, call 207-4260.