Person speaking in front of crowd at Red Rock Canyon

Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute News

The Beverly Rogers, Carol C. Harter Black Mountain Institute brings writers and the literary imagination into the heart of public life through events, fellowships, publications, and student engagement opportunities.

Current Black Mountain Institute News

Grace Talusan in red blouse
Arts and Culture |

The author of 'The Body Papers' visits UNLV as part of the Kwentuhan at Chikahan: Las Vegas Filipino Book Club series.

flag that reads "black mountain institute" and "supporting writers in Las Vegas"
Arts and Culture |

An interview with the poet and multimedia artist. She visits UNLV on Nov. 13 as part of the Breakout Writers Series.

A portrait of Teju Cole.
Arts and Culture |

The award-winning writer and photographer will headline the literary center’s fall event season on Nov. 19.

Kim Trevino poses in the Black Mountain Institute library with stack of books from past and present book club meetings
Arts and Culture |

To bring the Latinx community together, Kim Trevino opens a new chapter on a Latinx book club.

Ballet dancers in the rose garden
Arts and Culture |

This free event features art exhibitions, live music, dance and theatre performances, film demonstrations, food and wine tastings, a beer garden, and much more.

A banner on campus that features the Black Mountain Institute logo with the text, "Supporting Writers in Las Vegas"
Arts and Culture |

UNLV’s literary center welcomes the public to in-person and virtual conversations with acclaimed writers.

Black Mountain Institute In The News

Las Vegas Review Journal

Above the store sits several apartments that house writers from UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute literary program. Cohen said the name of the store references the “block” of writers living in the building, instead of the affliction that prevents people from writing.

KNPR News

Las Vegas likes to read. The city has a fantastic library system, great independent bookstores like Writer's Block and Las Vegas Books, and an acclaimed writers program at Black Mountain Institute at UNLV.

Las Vegas Weekly

If Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out spurred a resurgence of Black horror in cinema, Tananarive Due’s novels have made a similar impact on literature. The award-winning author, who wrote for Peele’s Paramount+ revival of The Twilight Zone and teaches a UCLA class inspired by his directorial debut, stands at the forefront of reputable Black horror and Afrofuturistic sci-fi writers who have reshaped the narrative with their worlds and words.

Las Vegas Weekly

There may be no destination as welcoming as Las Vegas, but as a place to live and work and grow—a true home—it’s a bit elusive. Las Vegas takes a while. New residents might hear this from longtime locals: It takes a couple years to get used to it, and we’re not talking about the summertime heat. There’s something about this place that requires patience for meaningful connection … but once you’ve found it, it tends to click into place. You discover your community or culture or cause, and now you’re invested. Being local means making a contribution.

Nevada Independent

Coming to work at an arts organization undergoing many transitions and coming out of the pandemic was daunting, but I was nevertheless enthusiastic. 

Vegas Magazine

University of Nevada Las Vegas Master and Doctorate students of the creative writing program, respond to visual artworks through poetry for "Vegas and Verse" at The Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum, located in North Las Vegas at 5850 Park St. N. Witness the work of refined talent through Oct. 29 with the collaboration of Black Mountain Institute's writers and storytellers in tandem with The Rita Deanin Abbey Art Museum.

Recent Black Mountain Institute Accomplishments

  The First-Gen Essay Competition is part of the annual campus-wide First-Generation Celebration held each year in November. The contest allows first-generation undergraduate and graduate students to share personal stories about their first-generation journeys at UNLV. Nearly 40 students participated in this year's…
Joshua Chévere Cohen (Black Mountain Institute) competed in the summer Flagstaff Epee Event fencing competition on Saturday, August 24, earning a bronze medal in the D and Under event and 7th place in Senior Mixed Open. These results renew Cohen's national D rating, previously earned in 2022.    
Joshua Chévere Cohen (Black Mountain Institute) qualified to compete in the 2024 USA Fencing National Championships and July Challenge taking place this summer in Columbus. OH. He will compete in Division III Men's Epee. With more than 4,500 fencers from nearly every state expected to participate, Summer Nationals is both the largest fencing…
Laurence Myers Reese (Black Mountain Institute) published an article titled, "Verdant Refuge / Desert Refugee," in Southwest Contemporary Magazine, Volume 7: "Finding Water in the West." His article profiles the artwork of Nanda Sharif-Pour (MFA, Art, 2019) and her use of artistic interventions that address immigration and climate change.
Jericho Brown (Black Mountain Institute) has been awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for his poetry collection The Tradition. The collection was described as "masterful lyrics that combine delicacy with historical urgency in their loving evocation of bodies vulnerable to hostility and violence." Brown is the poetry editor of The…
Amanda Fortini (Journalism) recently won the prestigious Rabkin Prize. The fourth annual Rabkin Prize for Arts Writers, given by the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation, recognizes outstanding contributions by critics who write on visual arts. The prize was awarded to nine writers nationally. Each honoree will receive $50,000.…