Omaha LitFest

This weekend, head down to Omaha for some literary fun. From September 17 through 19, the (downtown) Omaha Litfest is happening. This year's theme is “the sordid arts of the cheap paperback.” Here's the schedule of events from the website:

Thursday, Sept 17
Ted Kooser signing and book launch. The University of Nebraska Press and poet Ted Kooser will celebrate the publication of his new memoir, Lights on a Ground of Darkness, with a book signing. (7 pm., W. Dale Clark Library, 215 South 15th St.; Free and open to the public.)

Friday, Sept. 18
pulp & poetry: tales of romance & adventure at the joslyn. An hour-long tour of the Joslyn Museum's permanent collection, led by poets reading their original work inspired by the museum’s paintings and sculptures. (1 pm, Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St.; Cost: Joslyn admission.)

(downtown) omaha lit fest opening night party
Featuring: twisted lives, tormented loves and the rocking chairity fundraiser.
(6:30 pm-10 pm, W. Dale Clark Library, 215 South 15th St.; Suggested donation of your choice.)

Saturday, Sept. 19
afternoon conversations with writers at KANEKO. Writers and critics discuss the influence of classic pulp fiction (romance, westerns, noir, horror, etc.), and contemporary genre fiction, on their work specifically and the literary culture in general, at KANEKO (1111 Jones St.—11th and Jones), noon to 5 pm. (buy books at Aromas Coffee House; sales provided by the Bookworm.) All panels below are free and open to the public.

12 Noon. Noir at Noon: the comforts of crime in scary times. The unseemly appeal of the criminal element. With: Sean Doolittle (Safer); Harley Jane Kozak (A Date You Can’t Refuse); Evie Rhodes (Expired); and Jonathan Segura (Occupational Hazards). Moderated by Joi Brozek (I’ll See You Soon at Coney Island).

1 pm. Trashy Behavior: the writer’s life in the new economy. The roles and challenges of the publishing industry, newspapers, and memoir in chronicling hard times. With: Belinda Acosta (Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz), Joy Castro (The Truth Book), publicist Lauren Cerand, Jeff Koterba (Inklings), and Amelia María de la Luz Montes (contributor to An Angle of Vision: Women Writers on Their Poor and Working Class Roots).

2 pm. Love &/or Seduction: women writing romance. Women writers discuss writing for and about women. With: Victoria Alexander (The Virgin’s Secret); Kim Louise (Sweet Like Honey); Amelia María de la Luz Montes (editor of the Penguin Classics reissue of Who Would Have Thought It? by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton); Rachel Shukert (Have You No Shame? And Other Regrettable Stories). Moderated by emily danforth (Lucky Human).

3 pm. Vampires ♥ Zombies: the art and language of horror. The enduring appeal of the bloodsucker and other archetypes of misanthropy. With: Artist Jeremy Caniglia; D. Lee Hatchett (the Black Angel Trilogy); Chloe Neill (Some Girls Bite); Marcus Pelegrimas (Blood Blade); Evie Rhodes (Expired). Moderated by Timothy Schaffert.

4 pm. Wild: mythmaking and the American West. Writing about the legends and realities of the classic and contemporary West. With: Marcus Galloway (The Man from Boot Hill); Stew Magnuson (The Death of Raymond Yellow Thunder: And Other True Stories from the Nebraska Pine-Ridge Border Towns), David Philip Mullins (True Love Versus the Cigar Store Indian).

literary happy hour. An evening at Nomad Lounge, featuring performance by aetherplough. (5 pm, 1013 Jones St.) Also, Fashion Week Finale! Free Fashion Week finale tickets for Lit Fest event-goers.

I'm going on Saturday. I'm most excited about the Wild West talk!