The Las Vegas Book Festival returns Saturday, Oct. 17, with authors including Krista Diamond, Nicholas Russell, and Jon Ralston discussing everything from making a living as a writer to Harry Reid’s complicated legacy. Add Isaiah Sky Orlen’s exploration of spiritual growth to the stack (who won't be at the festival, but still makes Las Vegas proud), and these four local authors offer very different ways to turn the page.
Close Relationships With Strangers
In Krista Diamond's debut novel, “Close Relationships With Strangers,” a wildlife photographer trades his original ambitions for a Las Vegas celebrity chase. Now a Los Angeles paparazzo, Ben becomes consumed by a movie star caught in a scandal. The story moves through Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and the desert between them, examining the uneasy distance between watching someone and believing you know them.
- Insider Tip: Meet Diamond at the Las Vegas Book Festival when she joins Nicholas Russell, Erin Singer and Maile Chapman for “Writing Life: Working & Living as a Writer Today,” noon-1 p.m. in the Downtown Tent. Aspiring authors can hear about agents, editing, and building a writing career.
Observer
An abandoned Nevada observatory is an excellent place to begin a very bad night. In Las Vegas writer Nicholas Russell’s debut horror novel, “Observer,” a young woman investigates her mother’s disappearance at just such a place. If October puts you in the mood for unsettling fiction, here’s a local author working with a landscape we know can feel particularly lonely after dark.
- Insider Tip: Catch Russell twice at the Las Vegas Book Festival at the working writers panel, then at “How the West Is Told,” 1:30-2:30 p.m. Both take place in the Downtown Tent, with the latter exploring the region through horror, crime fiction, and other literary approaches.
The Game Changer
More than a tribute to the man our airport is named after, “The Game Changer,” by longtime Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston, offers a fuller introduction to former Senator Harry Reid. The biography follows Reid’s rise from Searchlight to Senate leadership, examining his legislative accomplishments, combative tactics, and complicated political legacy.
- Insider Tip: Hear Ralston at the Las Vegas Book Festival in conversation with journalist Steve Sebelius for “Harry Reid Then and Now,” 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the auditorium.
Higher Frequencies: Journey to Enlightenment
What happens when the habits that helped us survive begin to limit how we live? Las Vegas author Isaiah Sky Orlen’s “Higher Frequencies: Journey to Enlightenment” explores that tension through three archetypes: the Victim, the Survivor, and the Warrior. Connecting spiritual practice to relationships and everyday choices, Orlen asks readers to consider how they respond to hardship — and whether those responses still serve the people they want to become.
- Insider Tip: Prefer to listen? Orlen narrates the audiobook himself, available on Audible. At just under 6.5 hours, you can work it into a week of morning walks or commutes.
