Nevada Magazine included My Week at the Blue Angel in its annual roundup of books. Also included in the roundup: Dead Neon, which is co-edited by my friend Jarret Keene; The Making of Modern Nevada by the late Hal Rothman; and Raw Edges by Phyllis Barber (who wrote one of my favorite Las Vegas-related books, How I Got Cultured).
The redesign
Yes, my website has been updated and redesigned! Thanks for noticing.
Design Canopy’s Anthony Carcelli and I collaborated—OK, he did most of the work—and this is what we came up with. We’re both pretty happy with it. I especially like the colors, background photo (by Bill Hughes), “Intro” feature (click on the arrow) and My Week at the Blue Angel page. Please surf the site and let me know what you like (or dislike).
Also, someone said the “Matthew O’Brien Author-Journalist” header at the top left of the homepage is not showing up on their computer. Please let me know if it’s not showing up on yours.
Thanks!
MTV mention
The latest episode of MTV’s “The Buried Life” mentions Beneath the Neon. About six minutes into the show, the hosts say they read the book and two of them decide to explore the underground flood channels. They meet Rick (aka “Iron”) and help him reunite with his daughter, whom he’d not seen for several years, and meet his granddaughter.
The tunnels and Rick are only featured briefly (about six minutes in and at the very end), but it’s a touching story, nonetheless.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/the-buried-life-season-2-ep-3-get-married-in-vegas/1649700/playlist.jhtml
Panel discussion and book launch
Judging by early indications, it looks like we’ll have a decent turnout for the Vegas Valley Book Festival panel discussion and book signing. Several friends and family members are coming to town for the event (and other festivities) and a lot of locals seem interested in attending, as well. I’m starting to get excited.
Again, the festival will be held Nov. 3-7, mostly at the Historic Fifth Street School in downtown Las Vegas. My panel discussion is titled “Storytelling in the Modern Southwest” and will take place at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6, in the school’s auditorium. (Novelist Tod Goldberg is moderating the panel and Southern California short story writer Victoria Patterson is also on it.) I’ll release and sign copies of my latest book, My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas (Huntington Press, November 2010), after the hour-long discussion.
Some of the out-of-towners are staying at Luxor (www.luxor.com) on the south Strip and the Stratosphere (www.stratospherehotel.com) just north of the Strip and convenient to downtown. Other options include (very affordable) the Golden Gate (www.goldengatecasino.com) and El Cortez (www.ecvegas.com), (affordable) the Sahara (www.saharavegas.com) and Riviera (www.rivierahotel.com) and (relatively expensive) Harrah’s (www.harrahs.com) and the Mirage (http://mirage.com).
For more information about the book festival, visit http://vegasvalleybookfestival.org. (Heads up: They’re still updating the site.)
Please let me know if you need any more info. Hope to see you there!
Some love from Seven
Vegas Seven included My Week at the Blue Angel in its roundup of Las Vegas-related books being released in the fall, along with books written and/or edited by Pj Perez, Jarret Keene and the late Hal Rothman. It also included the release of My Week at the Blue Angel in the 7 Don’t-Miss Events sidebar.
Heads up
I’m participating in the Vegas Valley Book Festival this year. The festival, the largest literary event in Southern Nevada, will be held Nov. 3-7, mostly at the Historic Fifth Street School downtown and is sponsored by the city of Las Vegas, the Review-Journal and others. My panel discussion is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6. It’s free and open to the public. I plan to sign copies of my latest book, My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas, after the hour-long discussion.
This event is funded, in part, by an Artist Fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency.
I’ll post more info about the festival and panel discussion as the date approaches. Also, I’ll send out formal invites. I’m hoping a lot of locals will attend and that friends and family from out of town will use this event as an excuse to visit Vegas, enjoy the fall weather and football season, and just hang out.
Evening News with Katie Couric
CBS Evening News with Katie Couric aired a piece about the tunnels and outreach tonight. I thought reporter Seth Doane and producer Jack Renaud, who were extremely professional during the filming, did an outstanding job with a limited amount of airtime. Judge for yourself:
News release about my book
Here’s the Huntington Press news release about my story collection. More info on the book to follow over the next few months.
For Immediate Release
Huntington Press Announces Release Date for
My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas
by Matthew O’Brien
Las Vegas – Acclaimed author Matthew O’Brien (Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas) will release his newest title, My Week at the Blue Angel: And Other Stories from the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs, and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas, on October 25, 2010.
This creative nonfiction story collection boldly explores the disenfranchised and broken side of Las Vegas while highlighting the unexpected beauty in a neon wasteland, forging a path into a hidden world beneath the city, and lending a voice to the voiceless masses rarely seen.
O’Brien, founder of Shine a Light—an organization that aids the many men and women living in the flood channels of Las Vegas—has already gained recognition for one of the stories in the collection, “Another Day on Paradise,” in the form of a fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council.
Beneath the Neon, also published by Huntington Press, is an internationally acclaimed nonfiction book that received rave reviews from numerous publications and media outlets, including E!, Publishers Weekly, and Wired magazine.
FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Heidi Olson
Heidi@HuntingtonPress.com or 702-252-0655
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NAC fellowship
One of the stories in my upcoming collection won a fellowship from the Nevada Arts Council. The story, “Another Day on Paradise,” is a personal piece about living in a historic (i.e., old) apartment complex in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip. I’m hoping the fellowship is a good omen for the collection.
My friend Becky was also recognized in the Literary Arts category.
For more information on the fellowship, visit http://nac.nevadaculture.org.
Quick update
I got a book deal for the nonfiction story collection I’ve been working on for the past few years. Don’t want to go into too much detail now (a few things are still being finalized), but it looks like the book will be published in the fall. More details to follow – hopefully soon.
Also, the Shine a Light outreach continues to have success. In a year or so of work in the tunnels, HELP of Southern Nevada has housed about 40 people and helped turn around their lives. (I don’t recognize some of my old friends … out here in the light, back to their normal weight, all cleaned up and decked out in ironed clothes.) Special thanks to Rich Penksa, Macheo Willis and Louis Lacey of HELP, who’ve been fixtures in the tunnels since the outreach launched.
Finally, Beneath the Neon continues to have some life. The first quarter of 2010 was its best-selling quarter to date. (The book’s been out three years). Thanks to everyone who bought the book and helped spread the word.