This October 22, the Valley’s book lovers are invited to Downtown Las Vegas’ Historic Fifth Street School to browse through titles written by locals, and to enjoy discussions by some of the best-selling authors in the country today, at the Las Vegas Book Festival, now in its 21st year. The free, one-day event will feature author readings, poetry, activities for kids and panel discussions on topics ranging from writing techniques to racism, along with four unique headliners.
Kicking it off will be chef Hubert Keller, formerly of Mandalay Bay’s Fleur and Burger Bar, who will discuss food and dining in Las Vegas. He has several books under his belt, including Hubert Keller: Souvenirs, a collection of recipes, personal stories and more. Author Kiley Reid will discuss her 2019 debut novel, Such a Fun Age, which tells the story of a young Black woman who is wrongly accused of kidnapping while babysitting a white child.
Elin Hilderbrand, known as the “queen of the beach reads,” is the author of 28 novels. Her latest work, The Hotel Nantucket, was released over the summer and follows Lizbet Keaton, the new general manager of a hotel who hopes to win the favor of its billionaire owner.
And legendary investigative reporter and author Carl Bernstein will also make an appearance at the festival and discuss his new book, Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom. He’s best known for his work uncovering the Watergate scandal with Bob Woodward while at The Washington Post, which inspired the pair to write the classic best-seller, All the President’s Men.
The Weekly caught up with Lisa Morris Hibbler, chief community services officer for the City of Las Vegas and festival organizer, to chat literature in Las Vegas and beyond.
Big picture-wise, what can we expect from the Las Vegas Book Festival this year?
Our goal and focus this year is to bring out new people and to make sure that there’s something for all, and really celebrating the literary arts. It’s a free event, and open to all; I think that’s incredibly important. It includes lectures and workshops and book signings. We have [four] headliners that are going to be there. It is an all-day event; [we’ll] have food trucks. We have vendors and [we’ll] have children’s activities as well. So, it’s just great fun for everybody, for families, for younger people, for older people. [It] doesn’t matter what their passion is, there’s something that they’re going to connect with.
What sets this year’s festival apart from prior editions?
The fact that we’re going to have [multiple] headliners this year. Typically, in the past, we’ve had one headliner. Carl Bernstein, Elin Hilderbrand and Kiley Reid [are] three very popular but very different authors. They have very different audiences. I would think that will help with the draw.
Why did these authors make sense for this year’s festival?
We were looking at what’s popular right now. … One of the things that our library does is they actually look at the books that are checked out plus [what] their own staff [is reading], and they come up with these booklets. So [Kelvin Watson, executive director of the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District] said, ‘Hey, go on our site.’ So, we looked at that list and we looked at the other lists, like The New York Times bestsellers, Oprah’s book lists, Reese Witherspoon’s book lists [and] Amazon’s book list. We were able to cross-reference those and come up with a shortlist of authors in those different genres that I mentioned. Then we sent out the interest letters.
Is there any desire to expand the festival in the future, perhaps to multiple days?
In the past, we’ve toyed with that, where we’ve had events that lead up to the actual book festival. But right now, coming out of the pandemic, people are just starting to feel comfortable coming out, so the one-day event is what we’re comfortable with. Our goal is to maintain the interest and support for the book festival and the support of literary arts. Swho knows, we may grow it [from] one day to two days, but right now we’re pretty satisfied. We have a full day of activities.
How does the literary scene in Las Vegas feel to you right now?
I think Las Vegas is more diverse than people give us credit for. I think there are a lot of people who really support the literary arts and really want to have these types of events as part of the fabric of our diverse, cultural-centric community.
Catch if you can
For Brown Girls With Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts (10:30 a.m., Auditorium)
Feminist, theologian, storyteller and advocate Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez will discuss topics included in her book, which explores the issues brown girls face, like imposter syndrome and colorism. She will also engage in a Q&A and read from the Spanish translation of her book.
Co-Zi Las Vegas Zine Workshop (10:45 a.m., Conference Room 140)
Create your own mini-zine! Gina Parham and Nicole Espinosa of Comics and Zines Fest Las Vegas will lead an introductory workshop to zines for kids ages 6-15.
The Colony and the Cartel (2:45 p.m., Inspired Tent)
Author Sally Denton’s latest book, The Colony, explores the fundamentalist Mormon communities in Mexico. In this panel, Denton, in conversation with author and educator Dorothy Allred Solomon, will explore the inner workings of these communities and the 2019 ambush killing of the fundamentalist Mormon women and children by the drug cartel gunmen.
Las Vegas Writes: Stories From the Editors (3:30 p.m., Empowered Tent)
Scott Dickensheets, Jarret Keene and Geoff Schumacher have edited 13 volumes of the Las Vegas Writes anthology between them. These volumes bring together an array of talented writers who have created 131 stories, essays or poems about Las Vegas. Contributing authors will sit in on the conversation to discuss themes that appear in the series.
LAS VEGAS BOOK FESTIVAL October 22, 10 a.m., free, Historic Fifth Street School, lasvegasbookfestival.com.
