Working Titlez

Spring = Las Vegas Writers Conference

carolynhayesuber — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:25:19 +0000

Well, Spring might not quite be in the air yet, but it is truly a lovely day here in the Mojave Desert. It most certainly will be Spring in April during the annual Las Vegas Writers Conference. There’s hardly a lovelier time of year unless it is is the other eight months when it is also not 117 degrees! So whether you’re a writer in Las Vegas who wants to attend a local conference to hone your skills and learn more about the publishing biz, or a writer in a colder clime who would like all of the above PLUS experience the desert in the spring, check out the website. I’ve attended almost all of these conference and serendipitous things always happen! Hope to see you there!

How timely is your TIMELINE?

carolynhayesuber — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 23:17:50 +0000

Like it or not, your Facebook page is about to be converted to the new timeline model. GalleyCat has a post that provides suggestions to authors for the most effective timeline. Check it out. We suggest that authors have both a book (or books) FB page plus a personal one. You can cross-post as appropriate. For example, you may not want to include your family vacation photos on your book FB page, but you’ll want to add to your personal page announcements about book signings, awards, and such. Yeah, I know! We haven’t figured out when we’ll have time to set up our timelines either.

Intern, Intern, Where’s the Intern?

carolynhayesuber — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:21:46 +0000

When Brooke’s mom Ginger Meurer, deputy editor of the View newspapers, asked me if I could use some help for a few weeks, I was delighted. Yes, I sure could! When Brooke showed up the next day, and jumped in feet first, I was overjoyed. She was unflappable, greeting every assignment with enthusiasm. She got a really good mix of work, from writing and editing, to lots of research. Internships are a great way to gain some “real world” experience and a meaningful addition to one’s resume. If you, or a young person living in your home, could benefit from a publishing internship, please get in contact: cuber@stephenspressbooks.com. ~CHU

Winter Break Internship: Fun!

By Brooke Mikkelsen

When I came in my first day of being an intern at Stephens Press, I thought it would just be a good way for me to get out of the house over Winter break.

Upon arrival, I was given a notebook and told to start taking notes. Then Carolyn launched into all the things I would need to know and do, never repeating herself without my asking, but explaining things that needed explaining.

The scariest part to me was answering the phone. I’ve always been good at communicating with people, but somehow, when that phone starts ringing, I start to doubt myself. This internship really forced me to turn that fear into a skill that I shall probably use for the rest of my life.

The best part was how trusted I was. I got to be the face of Stephens Press for a few weeks, writing letters, returning calls, and even talking to the press!

At the end of every day, when I was about to leave, Carolyn asked me if I had had fun that day. Every day, I answered in the affirmative. Even though my tasks had been to help me grow as an intern, they were also exciting.

I’d like to thank Carolyn Uber for not only giving me this internship, but letting me become a part of Stephens Press. I hope that my positive impact lasts longer than the few short weeks that I have interned!

Internships Available

carolynhayesuber — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:30:11 +0000

Looking for an Internship in Book Publishing?

If you’re still working on your degree, an internship may be the perfect way to experience the inner-workings of a publishing house and build your resume.

Stephens Press, LLC is a book publishing company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada specializing in regional non-fiction titles and part of the Stephens Media company. Stephens Media is the owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other US newspapers.

The intern position is on a part-time, volunteer basis. Past interns have received course credit for their time. To apply: please send a resume, and/or any other materials that help present your qualifications, to cuber@stephenspress.com.

‘Forgotten Bookmarks’ a fascinating collection

carolynhayesuber — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:05:10 +0000

From our friends at the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Book Nook column, comes this intriguing review. There’s a great archive of book reviews here if you’re picky about what you read. The Book Nook. ~CHU

Sharon Galligar Chance, Las Vegas Review-Journal guest reviewer

Michael Popek’s Forgotten Bookmarks is one of the most interesting book-related blogs out there.

Popek, who is a second-generation used and antique book dealer, was always fascinated by the items people would leave behind as place-markers in books. So in 2007, he began a simple blog posting photos of some of the more interesting things he ran across, and it blossomed into a very popular stop for book lovers as well as fans of the strange and interesting.

Popek has taken some of the most popular items he has posted in the past four years and published them in a book, Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller’s Collection of Odd Things Lost Between the Pages.

The book is divided into five sections — “Photographs,” “Letters, Cards and Correspondence,” “Notes, Poems, Lists and Other Written Ephemera,” “Receipts, Invoices, Advertising and Other Official Documents,” and my favorite section, “The Old Curiosity Shop: From Four-Leaf Clovers to Razor Blades.”

Popek has included photographs of the items along with the books they were found in, and in many cases, a pain-staking description of what has been transcribed on the back of the items. The photograph section has everything from tintype pictures of stoic ancestors to class photos. There is even a collection of photos of Mount Pelee, a volcano which exploded in 1902.

Dozens of letters and correspondence ranging from children’s Valentines to “Dear John” letters to postcards from the four corners of the world have been transcribed by Popek. Love poems, grocery lists, telegrams, recipes are also apparently great bookmarks.

Some of the strangest items Popek has found include pressed flowers and four-leaf clovers, dog tags, a sheet of unused cap gun caps, a full formed marijuana leaf, and even several razor blades.

It’s fascinating to take a peek at what other folks have left in books and what books they were left in. You name it — if it could mark a place in a book — Popek has probably found it and has included it in his collection.

CityLife names R-J Deadly Force team Local Heroes

carolynhayesuber — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:07:42 +0000

Our colleagues at CityLife have named the trio of journalists Local Heroes in the December 22, 2011 issue. The comprehensive investigative report Deadly Force is available as an e-book here. All Stephens Press e-books can be viewed here. ~ CHU

BRIAN HAYNES, LAWRENCE MOWER, REVIEW-JOURNAL REPORTERS; ALAN MAIMON, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The conduct of those we empower to protect us should be a matter of constant concern and vigilance on the part of citizens. But there have been enough officer-involved fatal shootings in Las Vegas, and the seemingly routine clearing of those officers by a controversial coroner’s inquest system, that you couldn’t be blamed for becoming inured to the whole grim spectacle. Which is what made “Deadly Force,” the Review-Journal’s comprehensive examination of police shootings, so important and resonant: It pried our eyes open again. (Disclosure: CityLife is owned by the company that publishes the R-J.) It’s the sort of long-term (the reporters spent a year on it), resource-intensive (the paper spent thousands acquiring records), wide-ranging, public-service journalism that big metro dailies were born to undertake.

“I suppose what surprised me the most,” Lawrence Mower tells CityLife, “was that for years — forever, really — we’ve been hearing that shootings were justifed because the person had a knife, or a gun, or a car. That is likely true in the legal sense. But what we discovered was that just because the shooting was justified didn’t mean that it had to happen in the first place. That some other departments held officers accountable for tactics leading up to a shooting was a huge surprise and allowed us to look at all 378 incidents in a new light.”

While the series certainly has local cops feeling the heat of renewed scrutiny, it’s also prompting an internal dialogue in the department about its policies and behavior, and that can only be good. Kudos, guys. ~SCOTT DICKENSHEETS

This is a dream job for someone: Rare Books Bookseller Needed

carolynhayesuber — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:27:03 +0000

Bauman Rare Books seeks an articulate, well-read, energetic individual for a long-term, full-time bookseller position at our Las Vegas gallery.

Experience with antiquarian books is not crucial, but a strong liberal arts background is required. A minimum of a bachelor’s degree is necessary. Excellent verbal and social skills are essential in this position to communicate effectively by phone, in writing, and in person. Applicants must be comfortable selling in a results-driven, luxury retail environment.

Booksellers are also responsible for mastering a great deal of historical, bibliographic, and market information in a short span. Applicants must be available to work weekends and nights.

As a dynamic, highly motivated team of booksellers, we provide our clientele of largely private collectors with exceptional customer service and expertise in our field. Learn more about our company and the type of material we offer on our website: www.baumanrarebooks.com.

To apply, please forward your resume/CV and a brief cover letter detailing your interest in antiquarian books and relevant experience to this posting. Any phone or in-person inquiries will be asked to do the same. Qualified candidates will receive our application.

Bauman Rare Books sells rare books, fine bindings and autographs in all fields, dating from the 15th through the 21st centuries. The company has three locations: offices in Philadelphia, a gallery on Madison Avenue in New York, and a gallery at the Palazzo in Las Vegas.

Literary Las Vegas

jamicarpenter — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:32:37 +0000

For great cities aren’t just described by great novels. They are defined and shaped by them.

It comes as no surprise to writers (and readers, for that matter) that the setting is an important part of a story – whether novel or non-fiction – and often, can become a character in itself. The surprise is in finding a literary work that creates an identifiable backdrop – or captures the essence of a city’s character.

Las Vegas is certainly a character – and as a setting – quite popular. Unfortunately, Sin City is also an enigma, as book reviewer Patrick Coolican of the Las Vegas Sun remarks, and few writers have been able to harness its pulse and put into words. Cynical by profession, Coolican readily admits that tackling the city that never sleeps is a challenge best left alone.

But then came Crit, Andrew Kiraly’s fast-paced vividly descriptive debut novel that isn’t about Las Vegas and until the end, doesn’t even take place in Las Vegas, but still, manages to impress Coolican with its “on-the-money” portrayal of the 24-hour desert town. Kiraly’s talent gives hope to Coolican that the great Las Vegas novel is within reach. For the full article, read here:

Vegas Rag Doll Goes “Coast to Coast”!

jamicarpenter — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:18:45 +0000

Book signings, blog posts, Facebook entries … all are great ways for a publisher to introduce a new book and its author (or authors) to the public. An easily dismissed medium, but equally as powerful, is the good old-fashioned radio talk show. In fact, listeners get an added bonus: they can actually hear excerpts in the authors’ own voices!

This Sunday night from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Coast to Coast AM radio (100.5 AM and 840 AM, Las Vegas), Emmy award-winning journalist and radio host George Knapp will be sharing the microphone with Vegas Rag Doll co-authors Wendy Mazaros and Joe Schoenmann. They’ll reminisce about days gone by, the Las Vegas mob, and Wendy’s former life as the wife of a hitman.

It promises to be a (late) night to remember: a prize-winning interviewer, an accomplished writer, and a woman with a story that’s difficult to imagine come together to burn up the airwaves with humor as well as drama. If you’re not a nightowl, or won’t be in Las Vegas for this holiday weekend, you don’t have to miss the entertainment; check out the radio’s website here for archived shows and station call numbers across the country.

“Best Las Vegas Books” — The Guardian

carolynhayesuber — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:53:07 +0000

Oh! Oh! Oh! The UK’s Guardian has named FADE SAG CRUMBLE (www.fadesagcrumble.com) one of the ten BEST BOOKS SET IN LAS VEGAS! Right alongside Hunter S. Thompson, Larry McMurtry, James Ellroy, Tom Wolfe, Dave Hickey, Charles Bock, and John O’Brien. Whoa, that’s exalted company! So proud of our editor Scott Dickensheets and our amazing gang of ten authors! Danielle Kelly’s essay on decay and the Neon Museum is quoted in the article. Thrilled!!