Nevada Humanities

10/16/2026

Join Nevada Humanities tomorrow at the 2026 City of Las Vegas Government Las Vegas Book Festival for an exciting day of panel discussions, book signings, readings, workshops, poetry, and more! The festival is free and open to the public 🌟 Not sure where to begin? Here are some events we are looking forward to:

🏔️ Find your way to the Empowered Tent at 11:45 am where Nevada Humanities board chair and Nevada Arts Council Nevada Poet Laureate Shaun T. Griffin will be moderating a panel with fellow Western state poets laureate Lisa Bickmore, Crisosto Apache, and Lee Herrick exploring poetry, place and the communities we call home.

📣 Don't miss out on the Spark! Recitation presentation and award taking place in the Poetry Pavilion at 1 pm! Come cheer on our young teen poets as they share original poems judged by a panel of poets, authors, educators, and other community members.

💟 From 10 am to 4 pm, poets will be on hand at the Nevada Humanities tent to help you make a postcard or flip book celebrating the things you love about Nevada! This is part of our ongoing Nevada, P.S. I Love You Postcard Project.

Learn more and find the full schedule of events on the Las Vegas Book Festival website: https://lasvegasbookfestival.com/

10/15/2026

" I took memories and stories and turned them into something to share. In the same way that a recipe can be passed from one generation to the next, our stories can too. Poetry and baking are taking ingredients inherited and making something new. Something that still tastes like home."

✍️ Latest on the Double Down blog: The newest City of Reno Poet Laureate, Elisa Garcia, reflects on food, family, memories, and poetry and shares her original poem "Cafecito and Conchas." Reno Big Arts Little City

Read the full post and poem: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/blog/2026/10/15/tastes-like-home

10/14/2026

We're just one day away from the newest Las Vegas Writes book launch! 🤩

Join Nevada Humanities and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District at 7:00 pm tomorrow, Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Clark County Library Theatre for a conversation with Las Vegas Writes authors Ethan Andrew, Wendy Chen, Stephanie Elkins, Katie Grierson, Elijah Howe, Shane Joaquin Jimenez, Summer Rain, Jon Ralston, Paul Delos Santos, Steve Sebelius, Gabriel Urza, and moderated by editor Jarret Keene.

This event is free and open to the public. Learn more and RSVP: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/events/2026/10/15/las-vegas-writes-book-launch-and-conversation-with-the-authors-2026

10/13/2026

🌲📝 We had a wonderful time celebrating creativity in nature at our recent Sagebrush to Sandstone program in Lamoille Canyon. From two legged humans to four legged furry friends, thank you to everyone who joined us!

🔗 Learn more about Nevada Humanities' Sagebrush to Sandstone program on our website and grab your free digital copy if you haven't already: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/sagebrush-to-sandstone

📸 Photographs courtesy of Katie Karnehm-Esh and Christie Osborne

10/12/2026

💬 We are just one week away from our "Endangered Eating" event featuring author and culinary historian Sarah Lohman in conversation with author and journalist Alan Deutschman (Reynolds School of Journalism). Join Nevada Humanities next Monday, October 19, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Auditorium on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, as we learn more about how communities are shaped by their culinary landscapes, and the often surprising ways that our own food practices and ingredients are rooted in social and political histories.

👉 This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and registration is required. Learn more and register: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/events/sarah-lohman-alan-deutschman

10/09/2026

🎉📚 Celebrate Nevada's largest literary event with Nevada Humanities, as the City of Las Vegas Government Las Vegas Book Festival returns to the Historic Fifth Street School next Saturday, October 17, 2026 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm!

25 years ago Nevada Humanities founded the Las Vegas Book Festival (called the Vegas Valley Book Festival at the time) in partnership with Henderson Libraries and the City of Henderson Government with a commitment to sharing literature and stories in all of their many dynamic forms (history tidbit: the first ever LVBF keynote author lineup included John Irving, Tom Robbins, and Louis Anderson). We are excited to gather in Downtown Las Vegas to celebrate 25 years of bringing the authors that you love to the Vegas Valley. Join us!

📣 High school students in grades 9 to 12 residing in Clark County, Nevada, are invited to present their original poems at the Spark! Youth Poetry Competition during the Las Vegas Book Festival on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Recitation and awards will take place in the Poetry Pavilion from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

Students will be asked to present three of their own original poems to be judged by a panel of poets, authors, educators, and other community members. The top three highest-scoring students will determine first, second, and third place. Registration is required. Don't miss the student submission deadline on Monday, October 12, 2026!

✨ Find the full schedule of events at lasvegasbookfestival.com and learn more about Spark! on the Nevada Humanities website: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/spark

10/08/2026

📖 Mark your calendars, Las Vegas lit fans! We are one week away from celebrating the latest release of our Las Vegas Writes series, "Neon Keepsakes: Nevada Authors on Toys and Trifles" 🌟

Join Nevada Humanities and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District at 7:00 pm next Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Clark County Library Theatre for a conversation with Las Vegas Writes authors Ethan Andrew, Wendy Chen, Stephanie Elkins, Katie Grierson, Elijah Howe, Shane Joaquin Jimenez, Summer Rain, Jon Ralston, Paul Delos Santos, Steve Sebelius, Gabriel Urza, and moderated by editor Jarret Keene. Cover art by Kayce Wondolleck.

👉 This event is free and open to the public. Learn more: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/events/2026/10/15/las-vegas-writes-book-launch-and-conversation-with-the-authors-2026

Las Vegas Writes is a program of Nevada Humanities. Neon Keepsakes: Nevada Authors on Toys and Trifles, Las Vegas Writes, Volume 17, is supported by Nevada Humanities with support from editor Jarret Keene, Huntington Press, contributing authors, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, College of Liberal Arts.

10/07/2026

"Paying homage to the Moulin Rouge, the first integrated hotel and casino in Las Vegas (and the country), the house now hosts Moulin Nights where local bands and singers take the stage in the front yard and on that concrete porch. On these nights, the neighborhood once again reverberates with drums and crooning and dancing. On these nights, the house comes back to life, threading the past and present together..."

✍️ Latest on the Double Down blog: DW McKinney, a 2026 Nevada Arts Council Literary Fellow, reflects on a visit to the Harrison Guest House in Las Vegas's Historic Westside.

Read the full post:

By DW McKinney Since my mother moved to Las Vegas last year, we’ve taken to exploring the city together. Because she’s been interested in Las Vegas’s history, this spring I took us on a tour of the Harrison Guest House in the Historic Westside.

10/06/2026

💬 Join Nevada Humanities on Monday, October 19, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm at the Wells Fargo Auditorium on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno for an exciting evening with culinary historian Sarah Lohman in conversation with author and journalist Alan Deutschman (Reynolds School of Journalism). Lohman and Deutschman will discuss Lohman’s exploration of the history of food in Nevada and beyond, as well as her book Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods. Their conversation will touch on how Lohman uses food to explore different communities and how these communities are shaped by their culinary landscapes, and the often surprising ways that our own food practices and ingredients are rooted in social and political histories.

This event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and registration is required. Learn more and register: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/events/sarah-lohman-alan-deutschman

10/01/2026

"I feel like I’ve been hearing since the start of my career that “people aren’t reading anymore” and “bookstores are dead.” It’s hard to wrap my head around those takes after witnessing the crowded, joyful community of the National Book Festival."

✍️ Latest on the Double Down blog: Author and culinary historian Sarah Lohman shares her experience attending this year's Library of Congress National Book Festival, representing Nevada with her book "Endangered Eating: America's Vanishing Foods."

Read the full post: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/blog/2026/10/1/foodhistory-at-the-national-book-festival

📸 Photograph by bankbryan