BOOK BRIEFS

TARGET CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL SET FOR SATURDAY

Target, Clark County Reads, Vegas Parents Vegas PBS Ready to Learn, Clark County School District, Lied Discovery Children's Museum, Mad Science of Las Vegas and more will be participating in the Target Children's Book Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Centennial Plaza, 401 S. Fourth St. on the campus of the Historic Fifth Street School. The event is free and open to the public.

POP! GOES THE ICON PLANS DEBUT WEEKEND FOR NEW COMIC

Pop! Goes the Icon will make its debut at the Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival, set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

The Utopian No. 1, the first print comic from Pop! Goes the Icon, will launch at the event. Publisher and Utopian creator Pj Perez will be on hand at the festival. The comic is also available online at www.theutopiancomic.com, as well as at Alternate Reality Comics, 4800 S. Maryland Parkway.

The celebration of The Utopian's debut continues with a release party from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday at Yayo Taco, 4632 S. Maryland Parkway. The party is free and open to the public.

'On the Road' next book for the Literature Club

Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" on will be the next novel up for study on Nov. 10 by the Literature Club, a discussion group led by Michael's Used Bookstore proprietor Michael Clark. The club meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. inside the ReJAVAnate coffee house, 3300 E. Flamingo Road, No. 23.

The club plans to discuss Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and Tom Wolfe's "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" on Dec. 8, and Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1972" and Theodore H. White's "Making of a President 1972" on Jan. 12.

Readers can sign up for the club via e-mail at Michaelsbooks@aol.com. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/michaelsusedbooks.

PASEO VERDE LIBRARY TO HOST WRITING WORKSHOP

Crime novelist Morgan St. James plans to offer a writing workshop titled "From Novice to Novelist" from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway. For more information, call 492-6580.

LOCAL PUBLISHER OFFERING THREE-PART WRITERS WORKSHOP

Jo Wilkins, author of the Tyranny sci-fi series, founder of Mystic Publishers and president of the Henderson Writers Group, is continuing a free three-part writers workshop at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Session three, "Breaking Into The Audiobook Business," is set for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

For more information, call 507-3458.

SCI-FI AUTHOR TO SPEAK AT LIBRARY

Kevin J. Anderson, author of more than 100 novels, including Dune prequels and sequels, the Star Wars Jedi Academy trilogy and the Young Jedi Knights series, and spin-off novels for The X-Files, will speak on writing for comics at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

BLACK MOUNTAIN FORUMS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The Black Mountain Institute is sponsoring and co-sponsoring presentations by a series of literary thinkers. All of the following events are free and open to the public.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, there will be an opening reading with Kay Ryan as part of the Vegas Valley Book Festival in the Fifth Street School Auditorium, 401 S. Fourth Street.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, E.L. Doctorow will give the keynote address for the Vegas Valley Book Festival at the Clark County Library Auditorium, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

Another reading with E.L. Doctorow will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 in the UNLV Student Union Ballroom, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

From 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 2, the UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, will host a reading with Er Tai Gao.

For more information on any of the lectures, call 895-5542 or e-mail blackmountain institute@unlv.edu.

LOCAL AUTHORS TO SELL WORKS AT FESTIVAL'S BOOK FAIR

More than 40 local authors will exhibit, sign and sell their work during the Vegas Valley Book Festival's local authors book fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in the Historic Fifth Street School's Fountain Courtyard, 401 S. Fourth St. The event will include short author readings from a podium.

AUTHOR'S BOOK TO BE INCLUDED IN NATIONAL AUDIO LIBRARY

Local author Sid Goodman has been recording books for the national organization Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic for more than six years.

Recently, Goodman learned his new children's book, "Grandpa's Unfatootzer," was accepted for inclusion into the Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic library for use by reading and sight challenged children in grades kindergarten through third.

For more information about the book, contact Goodman at shgauthor@embarqmail.com.

PAT MULROY HONORED IN NEW CHILDREN'S BOOK

The Public Education Foundation released a new children's book based on the life of Pat Mulroy, general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the Southern Nevada Water Authority. "A Hero Named Pat," written by Marilyn Dondero Loop and designed and illustrated by Mike Miller and William Verrill, made its debut at The Public Education Foundation's 13th annual Education Heroes Award Dinner.

The foundation began publishing the heroes books in 2006 with "A Hero Named Thalia" in honor of Thalia Dondero. In subsequent years, "A Hero Named Bruce" was published in honor of Bruce Woodbury, and "A Hero Named Jan" put the spotlight on Jan Jones.

The foundation places a copy in each Clark County public library and in the libraries of all elementary and middle schools in the Clark County School District.

Copies are available for purchase online for $25, including shipping and handling, at www.thepef.org.

BOOKSTORE OFFERS WRITERS GROUP ON TUESDAYS

Borders bookstore hosts a free writers group at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the 2190 N. Rainbow Blvd. location.

BOULDER CITY SENIOR CENTER WELCOMES WRITERS ROUNDTABLE

The Writers Roundtable is held on the second Tuesday of each month at 9:30 a.m. at the Boulder City Senior Center, 813 Arizona St. The group encourages and supports writers at all levels, published and unpublished. All ages are welcome.

For more information, call Doris at 294-1930.

POETRY SERVED UP ONCE WEEKLY AT REJAVANATE

The ReJAVAnate coffee house hosts live poetry performances from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays.

Some of the selections are intense and not intended for all ages. The shop is located at 3300 E. Flamingo Road, No. 23. Call 253-7721 for more information.

SENIOR POET WINS SECOND LAUREATE AWARD

Retired nurse Jane Logan, 79, from Sparks, has won the 2009 Nevada Senior Poet Laureate Award for her sonnet "The Trumpet's Mission" in the 17th annual national Senior Poets Laureate competition. Logan won the 2007 National Senior Poet Laureate award for her sonnet "Mona Lisa's Last Day of Posing."

The annual literary event, sponsored by Amy Kitchener's Angels Without Wings Foundation of Monterey, Calif., is open to all American poets born before 1959. All state laureate poems enter a finals round from which the best-overall poem is chosen as national winner.

Patricia Frolander, 66, from Sundance, Wyo., won the 2009 National Senior Poet Laureate Award. Details about the contest, and all winners' poems, appear in the online anthology Golden Words, which can be found at www.amykitchenerfdn.org.

ALIANTE LIBRARY TO HOST WRITERS GROUP

Writers of all ages are invited to the Aliante Library's writers group from 6 to 8 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month. The group will be led by retired creative writing teacher Kathleen Shrader. For more information, call the 2400 W. Deer Springs Way library at 839-2980.

HENDERSON LIBRARIES SELL BOOKS IN-HOUSE AND ONLINE

Readers can support Henderson Libraries through in-library and online book sales. A store has been created through Amazon.com and can be reached by visiting www.mypubliclibrary.com and selecting "book sales."

In-library book sales are held at the Paseo Verde Library, 280 S. Green Valley Parkway, the Gibson Library, 280 S. Water St. and the Green Valley Library, 2797 N. Green Valley Parkway.

SUN CITY WRITER'S WINNING STORY TO APPEAR IN MAGAZINE

Sun City Summerlin writer Gil Stern won first-place in a monthly writing competition sponsored by Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. His one-page mystery, "A Bag of Tricks" appears in the Nov. 9 edition of the publication. The 75-year-old retired advertising and public relations professional also wrote gags and skits for comedians and children's television.