Book Briefs

HENDERSON WRITERS GROUP TO SPONSOR STUDENT COMPETITION

The Henderson Writers Group is sponsoring a writing contest for students of middle school through college age. Awards include cash prizes and scholarships for the 2011 Las Vegas Writers Conference. Visit henderson writersgroup.com for guidelines.

Library to host Fall Festival Local Authors Book Fair

Meet more than 30 local authors and writers groups at the Fall Festival Local Authors Book Fair from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road.

TRUE-CRIME JOURNALIST TO SPEAK TO WRITERS GROUP

Cathy Scott, best known for her true-crime books "The Killing of Tupac Shakur" and "The Murder of Biggie Smalls," is scheduled to speak to the Las Vegas Writers Group at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Tap House, 5589 W. Charleston Blvd. The event fee is $5.

For more information, visit www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Writers.

AUTHOR TO LEAD INTERNET WORKSHOP

Gregory A. Kompes is scheduled to lead a Henderson Writers Group workshop titled "Internet Ace Online Self Promotion" from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday in the Wengert room at NV Energy, 6226 W. Sahara Ave. The workshop fee is $35. For more information, visit hendersonwriters group.com.

COLUMNIST PLANS APPEARANCES AT COFFEE AND SPORTS SHOPS

View columnist Deborah Wall's "Base Camp Las Vegas: Hiking the Southwestern States" is October's Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf book of the month. Wall is set to visit the 3645 S. Town Center Drive store from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Wall also is scheduled to speak at the 710 S. Rampart Blvd. REI at 7 p.m. today. For more information about the book, visit basecamplasvegashikes.com.

SEARCH FOR TRUTH BEHIND FAMILY MURDER TALE TOLD IN NEW BOOK

Las Vegas writer Christy Leskovar left her successful engineering career to pursue a family mystery. Why was her great-grandmother arrested for murder? The search for the truth led her to Wales, Ireland, Pennsylvania and Montana and resulted in the High Planes Book Award Finalist "One Night in a Bad Inn." Now Leskovar is back with an account of her personal journey "Finding The Bad Inn," a new book she plans to sign from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 30 at the 8915 W. Charleston Blvd. Barnes & Noble.

For more information about the book, visit christyleskovar.com.

BOOK RELEASE PARTY TO FEATURE BANDS

A free, public book release party for the comic anthology "Tales From the Boneyard," edited by Pj Perez, and the sci-fi anthology "Dead Neon: Tales of Near-Future Las Vegas," edited by Todd James Pierce and Jarret Keene, is set for 9 p.m. Nov. 6 in the Brass Lounge, 425 Fremont St. The event will feature performances by the comixcore pop-duo Kirby Krackle and Keene's doom metal band also called Dead Neon. Other bands set to participate are As Yet Unbroken and Minor Suns.

AUTHOR TO ADDRESS HOA FEARS

Psychology professor Gary Solomon, author of "The Motion Picture Prescription: Watch this Movie and Call Me in the Morning," "Reel Therapy, Cinemaparenting" and the newly released novel "The Ballad for Allison Porter," is scheduled to appear on KNPR-FM's "State of Nevada" program at 10 a.m. Monday.

'BLOOD TRINITY EVENT SET FOR OCT. 26

An author event for "Blood Trinity" book one in the Belador series, written by Dianna Love and Sherrilyn Kenyon, is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 26 at the 567 N. Stephanie St. Barnes & Noble.

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 Saxby's Coffee Lounge, 72 Horizon Ridge Parkway on the first, third and occasional fifth Mondays.

Visit hendersonwritersgroup.com for more details.

Meetings are open to the public.

'BENEATH THE NEON' AUTHOR BACK WITH A SECOND BOOK

Matthew O'Brien, author of "Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas," is scheduled to release his newest title, "My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas," Monday, through Las Vegas-based Huntington Press. O'Brien already has gained recognition for one of the stories in the collection, "Another Day on Paradise," in the form of a fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council.

O'Brien is scheduled to speak as part of a panel titled "Storytelling in the Modern Southwest" set for 1:45 p.m. Nov. 6 during the Vegas Valley Book Festival in the auditorium of the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.

For more information, visit www.beneaththeneon.com.

'EATING LAS VEGAS' RELEASE DATE SET

John Curtas, Max Jacobsen and Al Mancini have combined skills honed on KNPR's public air waves, Seven magazine and CityLife, respectively, to write "Eating Las Vegas: The 50 Essential Restaurants."

Las Vegas-based publisher Huntington Press announced that the book will be out Nov. 15. The list of dining spots to make the cut is to remain under wraps until the release date. The authors are scheduled to participate in the Vegas Valley Book Festival's inaugural Feasting on Words literature and food festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Fourth St.

SHOWGIRL TO SHARE LAS VEGAS SECRETS IN UPCOMING BOOK

Holly Madison is due to debut her first book "The Showgirl Next Door: Holly Madison's Guide to Las Vegas." The star of "Peepshow" at Planet Hollywood promises to reveal her best-kept secrets and provide an intimate peek at some of the exclusive areas of Las Vegas. The book will be distributed by Stephens Press and is expected to launch Feb. 14, 2011.

CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS PLAN CRAFT SERIES

The Nevada Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is sponsoring a Fall-Winter 2010 Craft Series for Illustrators and Writers.

The next workshop in the series, featuring picture book and magazine writer Alexis O'Neill, is set for Nov. 13. Picture book writer and novelist Susan Taylor Brown is set to present at the final workshop in the series scheduled for Jan. 29. Workshops run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Las Vegas Day School, 3275 Red Rock St.

The fee for each workshop is $35 for members or $40 for nonmembers. For more information, visit nevadascbwi.org or call 290-3190.

SHARE POEMS AT 'HUMAN EXPERIENCE'

Polish up a poem or two and try them out live 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 or to view the events online as they happen, visit lasvegaspoets.org.

MEET THE AUTHOR OF 'WHINE FEST'

James Alexander is scheduled to speak about his novel "Whine Fest," a sequel to "Lost Wages: A Las Vegas Christmas Tale," from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 4 at Saxby's Coffee at 72 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway.

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.

NORTHWEST-AREA BORDERS OFFERS WRITERS GROUP ON TUESDAYS

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

SUNRISE COFFEE CO. ON SUNSET ROAD HOSTS OPEN MIC NIGHT

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.

UNIVERSITY FORUM LECTURE SERIES TO WELCOME VISITING AUTHORS

The UNLV University Forum Lecture Series schedule has been released and includes visits from several authors.

Richard Burgin, editor of Boulevard literary magazine, plans to read from his new novel, "Rivers Last Longer," at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 17. The free public lecture is scheduled to take place at the Barrick Museum Auditorium at 4505 S. Maryland Parkway.

For more information about the University Forum Lecture schedule, visit liberalarts.unlv.edu/calendar.

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, eBooks, music and video titles.

Each site is meant to look and feel just 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 or Smartphones.

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 http://search.overdrive.com.