Writing Reno with Ben Rogers and Dr. Alicia Barber

 To celebrate the long-awaited reissue of The Flamer, the beloved debut novel by Ben Rogers, we are proud to present Writing Reno, a community book talk with Rogers and Reno historian Dr. Alicia Barber.

Dr. Barber and Rogers will discuss what makes Reno such an interesting setting for a novel, and what makes it so worthy of our interest and inquiry, from both an artistic and historical perspective. Community members will gain deeper insight into how setting impacts the novel, and why Dr. Barber and Rogers are drawn to exploring Reno through their writing. 

About The Flamer: All boys tinker with fire. Oby Brooks holes up in a backyard shed in Reno to experiment with napalm recipes. He has a hand in burning down his own house, twice. He can't help it: his very DNA seems made of TNT. Meanwhile, amidst the detonations, Oby's sexuality is up for grabs. Parents, mountain men, chemistry teachers, neighbors, and arson inspectors all try in their own quirky ways to usher Oby into adulthood with his fingers and eyelashes intact. In the end, the question is whether Oby's nature will be nurtured, or neutered. Oh, and, will he land a Nobel Prize?

Ben Rogers was born in 1977 and lives in Reno, Nevada with his wife and two daughters. His debut novel, The Flamer, was originally published by Aqueous Books in 2012. His writing has appeared in a variety of literary publications and earned a Nevada Arts Council Fellowship and a Sierra Arts Foundation grant. He is the lead author of Nanotechnology: Understanding Small Systems (CRC Press), the first-ever comprehensive college textbook on nanotechnology, now in its 3rd edition, and also Nanotechnology: The Whole Story (CRC Press), a general audience book.

Alicia Barber, Ph.D., is a public historian and writer specializing in American culture and the U.S. West. She is the author of Reno's Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City (U Press of Kansas) and the editor of Reno Historical (renohistorical.org) a smart phone app and website dedicated to Reno's history.  Recipient of the 2014 Nevada Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, she produces and hosts the regular history feature "Time & Place with Alicia Barber" for KUNR-Reno Public Radio (88.7 FM) and serves on the Nevada State Board of Museums and History.