View book briefs, Oct. 8-14

FICTION WRITING IN THE DIGITAL AGE CONFERENCE OFFERS EARLY DISCOUNT

The Writers of Southern Nevada group is slated to put on a Fiction Writing in the Digital Age conference Oct. 11 and 12 at the Plaza, 1 S. Main St. Workshops are planned in the craft of writing for any media with an emphasis on the art of getting published in new mixed media. Conference registration is $325, which includes meals. For more information, visit nevadawriters.org.

AUTHOR MY HALEY PLANS BOOK SIGNING

My Haley, author of “The Treason of Mary Louvestre,” has a book signing scheduled at 2 p.m. Oct. 12 at the West Las Vegas Arts Center Community Gallery, 947 W. Lake Mead Blvd. Haley’s novel is inspired by the true story of a black female spy during the Civil War who helped the North in the naval battle at Hampton Roads, Va., in 1862. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 702-229-4800.

SUN CITY MACDONALD RANCH PLANS EVENT

The Sun City MacDonald Ranch Literary Guild plans a literary event featuring Jazzin’ Jeanne Brei, author of “House Party Tonight,” a biography of saxophonist Don Hill, for 2 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Desert Willow Community Center, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway.

SUMMERLIN LIBRARY PLANS WRITING WORKSHOPS

The Summerlin Library plans to offer Readers’ & Writers’ Corner at 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at 1771 Inner Circle Drive. The lineup is slated to include: Oct. 12 — How To Build a Story: What If? And Then. Learn how the pros create a powerful novel, scintillating short story, shocking screenplay, epic poem or tantalizing tweet with writer/educator James L. Kring; Nov. 9 — Creating Memorable Characters in Fiction & Film. Create, explore or simply enjoy unforgettable characters in the novels you read (or write) and the movies you view. For more information, visit lvccld.org.

THREE GENERATIONS OF WRITERS TO SPEAK AT BLACK MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE EVENT

Fiction writer George Saunders plans a conversation with his former student, Maile Chapman, and his former teacher, Douglas Unger, during a public Black Mountain Institute discussion titled “Three Generations of American Writers” scheduled for 7 p.m. Oct. 15 in the UNLV Student Union Theatre, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. Saunders is a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant, and his most recent collection, “The Tenth of December,” is a 2013 New York Times best-seller. Chapman is the author of “Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto.” Unger’s five books include “Leaving the Land,” a Pulitzer Prize finalist. For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

‘MESQUITE’ EXHIBIT SHOWCASES BOOKS AS ART

Clark County Parks and Recreation plans to host “Mesquite,” an exhibition of book art by artist and graphic designer M. Hill through Nov. 22 at the Clark County Government Center’s Rotunda Gallery, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway. The exhibit is also part of the Vegas Valley Book Festival’s Illustrated Word program. An artist reception is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 18 with an artist talk at 6:30 p.m. in the Pueblo Room.

COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL TO OFFER VIP PACKAGE

Novelist and comic book writer Greg Rucka and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” artist Georges Jeanty are two of the many creators scheduled to participate in the annual Vegas Valley Comic Book Fest set for 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. The festival is free, but for $5 this year fans can register for a VIP package, which is to include a VIP badge, swag bag, preferred seating at panels, screenings and concerts and a limited-edition poster. For more information, visit vegasvalleycomicbookfestival.org.

HOT MOJAVE NIGHTS ROMANCE READERS AND WRITERS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED

Romance readers and writers are invited to a Hot Mojave Nights convention scheduled Oct. 18-20 at Sunset Station, 1301 W. Sunset Road. The event is to include interaction with authors, romance cover models, a masquerade ball and more. A free public book signing featuring conference participants and visiting and local authors and bloggers is scheduled from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 20. Registration is $125. For more information, visit hotmojaveknights.com.

PROGRESS IS THEME FOR THIS YEAR’S LAS VEGAS WRITES PROJECT

Editor Scott Dickensheets rounded up a cast of contributors such as novelist and memoirist Kris Saknussemm, horror writer Rena Mason, journalists Geoff Carter and Henry Brean and writer Sarah Jane Woodall to provide original essays and short fiction on the theme of progress for the 2013 Las Vegas Writes anthology, the fifth in a series of annual books showcasing the city’s literary talents in cooperation with the Vegas Valley Book Festival. Anthology contributors are slated to participate in a panel discussion at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. For more information, visit lvccld.org or vegasvalleybookfestival.org.

MEMOIR-WRITING WORKSHOPS SLATED

An ongoing series of free four-week memoir-writing workshops is scheduled from 10 to 11 a.m. Fridays at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Library, 509 S. Ninth St. For more information, call 702-382-9695.

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.

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, North Las Vegas. For more information, contact facilitator Glory Wade at glorywadewriter@gmail.com.

BARNES & NOBLE TO HOST WRITING GROUP

The 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble hosts a writing critique group 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.

CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTRATIONS TO BE DISPLAYED

An exhibit titled “Imaginings through Illustrations: Work by Children’s Book Illustrators” featuring artwork by illustrators Jorge Betancourt-Polanco, Elisha Cooper, Adam Gustavson, Bethanie Murguia, Kip Noschese and Joseph Watson is slated to be on display through Nov. 30 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St. The exhibit is scheduled to be open during Vegas Valley Book Festival events and by appointment. For more information, visit vegasvalleybookfestival.org or call 702-229-1012.

ROMANCE WRITERS TO WELCOME SPEAKER

Erin Kellison is slated to speak during a Las Vegas Romance Writers meeting scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 19 at The Learning Village, 727 Fremont St. For more information, visit lasvegasrwa.org.

WESTERN ROMANCE AUTHORS PLAN VISIT

Western romance authors Melissa Cutler, author of “Two Times as Hot”; Laura Drake, author of “The Sweet Spot”; and Cat Johnson, author of “Cowboy Justice,” plan to visit with readers at 2 p.m. Oct. 27 at the 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

JUSTIN TORRES TO BE FEATURED AT EMERGING WRITERS SERIES EVENT

Justin Torres, author of the coming-of-age novel “We The Animals,” is slated to speak as part of the Black Mountain Institute’s Emerging Writers Series from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 29 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway. The University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate served as a 2010-12 Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and as a 2012-13 fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard. For more information, visit blackmountaininstitute.org.

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 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.

FREE STORYCORPS TOOLKITHELPS 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 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 blackmountaininstitute.org and select “multimedia.”