Nevada Humanities

Vegas Valley Book Festival

November 4–8, 2009

In 2002 Nevada Humanities founded the Vegas Valley Book Festival, now the largest literature event in Las Vegas.  Today, Nevada Humanities is one of four presenting partners, which also include the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

This year's festival will be held November 4–8, 2009, with most events taking place at the historic Fifth Street School downtown.  Now in its eighth year, this annual community festival was founded on the simple premise of bringing together those who write books and those who love to read them.  

The Vegas Valley Book Festival provides a range of exciting literature experiences to a growing audience widely representative of the community. The festival has brought together a number of key literature organizations in the Valley to share resources, build audiences, advance the craft of writing and share the joys of reading.

This year over 100 writers, primarily Nevada authors, will participate in the festival that celebrates contemporary literature, fiction and non-fiction in all genres. Over 8,000 attendees are expected to attend a full schedule of readings, panel discussions, book signings, workshops, poetry and spoken word performances, exhibitions, children’s literature, comics, and special events.

All programs and events are free and open to the public.

Bookend Keynote Speakers:

•    Kay Ryan, the Poet Laureate of the United States, presents the opening keynote on Thursday, November 5, at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the Historic Fifth Street School. Ryan, known for her compact short poems that revel in wordplay and internal rhymes, is making her first appearance in Las Vegas. Cosponsored by the City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs and Black Mountain Institute.

•    E.L. Doctorow, one of America's most accomplished and acclaimed living writers, presents the closing keynote on Sunday, November 8 at 7:00 pm at the Clark County Library auditorium, 1401 E. Flamingo. Presented by Black Mountain Institute, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and the City of Las Vegas, and Nevada Humanities.

Signature Speakers:

•    Aaron Betsky, author, critic, Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum and curator of the Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2008, will survey the world-wide building boom in museums – their design, function and meaning, in the opening lecture of the book festival, Wednesday, November 4, 7:00 pm at the Historic Fifth Street School.

•    John L. Smith, author and award-winning columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, hosts a reading and conversation, “Amelia's Long Journey: The Challenge of Writing What You Know, ” Saturday, November 7, 7:00 pm, at the Clark County Library Auditorium, 1401 E. Flamingo.

•    Michael Uslan, best known as the originator and producer of the Batman movie series, is also a noted authority on comic book history. He will appear as a speaker at the Comics Festival on Saturday, November 7, at the Clark County Library. Selections and art works from his expansive comics collection will be exhibited concurrently at the library.   

•    Cheech Marin, cultural icon and comedian, will open the Target Children’s Book Festival on Saturday, November 7, 10:00 am at the Historic Fifth Street School Auditorium. Reading from his book, Cheech the School Bus Driver, he will talk about his life as an actor, cultural activist and as a children’s book author.

Festival Presenters:
City of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, Nevada Humanities, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District.

Programming Partners:
Black Mountain Institute, UNLV School of Architecture Downtown Design Center, Nevada School of the Arts, UNLV Creative Writing Department, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Foundation, Clark County Cultural Division, and the Clark County School District School-Community Partnership Program.  

Sponsors:
TARGET, Nevada Arts Council, Barnes & Noble, the Neon Museum, National Endowment for the Arts, Nevada Public Radio: KNPR & KCNV, CityLife, Stephens Press and the local chapter of American Institute of Graphic Arts, the professional association for design – the festival’s creative branding partner.

For more information please see the Vegas Valley Book Festival website.