A Gathering for Ideas
By George Tsz-Kwan Lam
The 2024 Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl returned on Saturday, October 12, featuring panel discussions and interactive activities throughout downtown Reno.
The Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl is an annual gathering of people, ideas, inspiration, and communities. The event began in 2014 as a choose-your-own-adventure evening of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and has since expanded to include conversations that celebrate the written word through wide-ranging genres and disciplines that include oral traditions, film, spoken word, and the visual arts. Over 70 authors, performers, and artists — representing the literary and artistic talents of northern Nevada, southern Nevada, California, and beyond — contributed to this year’s Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl.
The festivities began at the Nevada Museum of Art with a conversation between authors Anthony Doerr and Christopher Coake. Doerr is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land. Doerr and Coake reflected on their friendship and the creative process, and Doerr provided a behind-the-scenes look into how he approached his stories and characters for his novels.
The keynote event’s convivial atmosphere set the tone for the rest of the day, which included over 30 events at eight venues across downtown Reno. Participants at a letter printing activity hosted by Black Rock Press pulled one-of-a-kind prints of original designs by artists Tanya Gutierrez and Lee Carney. Paiute language teacher Esha Hoferer and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony’s Language and Culture Coordinator Stacey Burns led a discussion on preserving the Numu language in Nevada. Three authors from the Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas — Maryam Ala Amjadi, Alejandro Heredia, and Monica Macansantos — shared their experiences and journeys as writers who recently moved to Las Vegas. Alica Barber, Demetrice Dalton, and Helen Townsell-Parker returned to the Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl for a screening and discussion of Tsanavi Spoonhunter’s award-winning documentary film A Black Springs Homecoming: Finding History, which was filmed in part at the 2022 edition of the Crawl. Reno community members Lesie Mix and Antonio Solorio, who earlier this year recorded a StoryCorps “One Small Step” interview, joined a conversation with KUNR Public Radio’s Natalie Van Hoozer to discuss their experience. J. Diego Zarazúa hosted a bilingual conversation with the Washoe County School District’s Fátima Rivas and Northern Nevada Public Health’s Yeraldin Deavila on how organizations navigate the challenges of communicating to Nevadans who speak Spanish. The event concluded with two open mics hosted by Dayvid Figler and City of Reno Poet Laureate Jesse James Ziegler, inviting community members to share their own words and stories as the event came to a close.
Finally, I would like to highlight the artwork by Chris Lanier, who currently serves as the Reno City Artist. Lanier created original illustrations for this year’s Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl; graphic designer Kellee Morgado and the team at Mabble Media incorporated Lanier’s art into a playful and energetic design for this year’s program book and the first-ever bandanna created especially for the Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl.
I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with our authors, artists, vendors, and venue partners to bring the 2024 Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl to life. A very special thanks to The Radical Cat who hosted a special pop-up bookstore for the event; our Community Curators who contributed their vision and expertise to this year’s program; and our team of 25 volunteers and staff members who contributed their time and energy throughout the day. Participants tell us that they look forward to the Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl every year, and I look forward to welcoming you to next year’s Crawl on Saturday, September 13, 2025 in downtown Reno.
Credit: Jessica Lifland/Nevada Humanities
George Tsz-Kwan Lam is the assistant director of Nevada Humanities and served as the program director for the 2024 Nevada Humanities Literary Crawl. In addition to his role with Nevada Humanities, George is also a composer who has recently collaborated with the Atlanta Opera, the Crane School of Music, and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute. George has served on the music faculty at the City University of New York and Hong Kong Baptist University.