Each Fall, the University Libraries honors and celebrates Nevada’s literary talent at its Nevada Writers Hall of Fame event. This year, on Friday, Nov. 6, at the 39th annual event, Nevadan John L. Smith will be inducted. Smith has spent more than four decades writing about the characters and conundrums that make Nevada unique. He has covered Las Vegas, the West, organized crime, the gaming industry and politics. He works in multiple genres, including investigative nonfiction, biography, history, fiction and poetry.

After spending nearly 35 years as an award-winning newspaper columnist in Las Vegas, today Smith freelances in a variety of genres for many publications and wire services. Smith has had his work appear in publications and outlets such as: "Rolling Stone," "New Lines" magazine, "CDC Gaming Reports," "The Daily Beast," "Desert Companion," "The Nevada Independent," "The New York Daily News," "Pasatiempo" magazine, "Reader’s Digest," "Reuters," "Ruralite," "The Santa Fe New Mexican," "Searchlight New Mexico," and "Time."

Among his writing honors are the Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award, Northwestern’s Foley-Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism, ethics awards from the University of Oregon and National Society of Professional Journalists and honors from the Best of the West and Nevada Press Association. He is a member of the press association’s Hall of Fame and received the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 2010.

Tickets to the event are $25 and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame website. The event will take place on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Auditorium inside the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.

"John L. Smith's career reflects the power of writing to document a place and preserve its stories," Dean of University Libraries Catherine Cardwell said. "For more than forty years, he has helped tell Nevada's story in all its complexity. His induction honors both his significant contributions to our state's literary record and the enduring role of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in celebrating writers who shape Nevada's cultural legacy."

Young boy from Henderson has a dream to become a writer

Smith recently had an opportunity to reflect on his induction into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. While reflecting he shared it was his grandmother who instilled a love of reading in him, which led to a love of storytelling.

“As a young boy in the 1960s, I lived in Henderson, Nevada, with my grandmother,” Smith said. “My passion for reading and storytelling turned into me developing a dream to become a writer. It just so happened that my dream stuck.”

Smith described how he grew his passion for writing into a career.

“I was reading and writing a lot,” Smith said. “After working for my high school newspaper, I graduated and got a job working for the college newspaper at Western Washington University. Then, at 19, I sold my first story as a college freshman to a paper in Washington state. I got paid $10 for it. I thought that was the greatest thing!”

After graduating, Smith left Washington and returned to Southern Nevada where he worked for the Las Vegas Sun as well as the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“My time working as a journalist and columnist at the Sun and Review-Journal really helped me find my voice,” he said. “Las Vegas has a massive public relations machine in place and folks who are in power are not accustomed to being scrutinized or criticized. I did the digging to challenge, investigate and report on a variety of people, high-profile personalities and complicated issues. It made me a lot of enemies, but I am proud of what I accomplished and would do it all again if I could.”

Smith said, “Journalists need the freedom to write, especially in a community like Las Vegas.

“During my career, I got to know the real character of so many prominent folks and I had many wonderful experiences during that period. I got to know several terrific people from all walks of life. I learned criminals make for fascinating studies. Oscar Goodman was a courtroom wizard, a mob mouthpiece and the ‘happiest mayor in America.’ I think about Bob Stupak. He was a headscratcher to me. He had a 9th grade education and wound up finding a way to build the Stratosphere hotel and casino. …in this Las Vegas, anything could happen.”

When asked how he was able to uncover so many stories worth telling, he said a lot of it had to do with him growing up in small-town Las Vegas.

“As a local, I knew a lot of people in the community,” Smith said. “The Las Vegas I grew up in was a fairly small town, and over the years I got to know a lot of folks as they rose through the ranks. Some became friends and some became sources.”

Fishing and working the water

Smith said if he was working, trying to uncover the truth and see what the facts were, he knew where to hang out and felt trust needed to be established in order for him to be a successful storyteller. He said he was willing to ask the tough questions during the awkward times, but remained a listener at all times.

“For example, if I was working on a story on illegal bookmakers, I would go to where they hung out,” he said. “Eventually they saw me as a regular. Rather than coming in and asking questions, I came in, hung out where they were and just became familiar to them. I knew I had a much better chance to meet people that way. I never wrote about these sources specifically - I could not quote them - but I did write about what they knew. I had to work the water and go fishing.”

Because Smith was from lawful society, it might not be in the sources’ best interest to speak to him.

“Some of these folks didn’t want to talk to me and had no interest in speaking to a reporter,” he said. “But people have egos and they want to talk, and sometimes you just have to let them.”

Another example he shared was when a discovery was made that the 9/11 hijackers had visited Las Vegas.

“I learned about the hijackers coming to Vegas from people who worked in and around the motel business,” he said. “They just started talking about what they saw. I learned the FBI was beginning to ask questions of them through a private business source who knew what was going on. Because of this, I was able to write about it for the paper.”

From investigative journalist to novelist

Smith said that at the end of the day he likes telling stories and he likes learning new things. He said each book he has written has been an educational experience.

With 15 books published, Smith spoke about some of the challenges that come when covering the West.

“The scale of the West is large and this makes for challenges in coverage; a hard story to tell,” he said. “It is a challenge because of the massive geography and some industries not wanting to be scrutinized closely.”

One challenge Smith discussed was Nevada being a news desert. He said it is hard to keep a close eye on the stories taking shape across the state.

“As newspapers have diminished reach, people in rural or less populated areas have less access to credible journalism,” he said. “These people are also misunderstood by people living in the larger cities of the state. Good journalists and good publications can help to bridge this gap. The work of the journalist can help build understanding for our neighbors and our neighborhoods. It is good to follow the news of your neighbors.”

For example, in his book, “Saints, Sinners, and Sovereign Citizens: The Endless War over the West's Public Lands,” Smith began learning about the public land issues of the West and found a way to humanize the topic. He investigated the balance between government power and relative competence in management of lands and the job itself, which is impossible to manage.

“I felt ‘Sinners’ needed to be written because the books coming out were falling to the side of the environmentalists for whom all public land should not be touched, or from the other side, where they saw it as a way to make the big bucks while paying very little. Both made points, but the story wasn’t told correctly. … the bumbling by BLM, ranchers taking advantage by leasing land and assuming they now own it, and the issue is also tied to water. It is a complex and fascinating story.”

Smith to be inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame

Smith believes his life has always been centered on his work. He was previously awarded the Silver Pen in 2010 from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.

“It is great to be recognized,” Smith said. “I get very choked up thinking about this honor. Being inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame isn’t something I was actively working toward. I worked hard for many, many years and somehow the award found me.”

Smith said he works every day.

“I am married to the writer Sally Denton and we write every day,” he said. “It is what we do.”

Smith said he feels extremely fortunate to be able to do this because he is at an age where it is all he wants to do.

“The fun part about all of this is that I am shifting gears and turning a chapter,” Smith said. “It’s been 10 years since I left the paper and I am working on a new novel, and I’ve recently covered the Tupac murder and Duane Davis trial for 'Rolling Stone.'”

Smith has followed Tupac Shakur’s case for nearly three decades.

Smith also expressed deep gratitude to just be alive and present to receive his award.

“Having nearly died from throat cancer, this is a true honor and blessing,” Smith said. “I am so happy to be here and to have survived. Things can be difficult, but life is good. I am so fortunate to be able to do something I love and work in a way that feels totally authentic to my nature; the writing is very much a part of me.”

When Smith was asked who he wanted to thank, he said first and foremost he wants to thank his wife and best friend Sally Denton. He said, “Having Sally in my life, someone I can share so much with, is truly a blessing.”

He also wanted to thank his daughter Amelia.

“Amelia is an inspiration to me, and I guess all kids are, but to know Amelia and know all she has been through in her battle to overcome brain cancer, she is also a true source of inspiration to me.” 

Smith shared that he looks up to the great Frank McCulloch.

“Frank was a great writer while working in Reno as a reporter,” he said. “He was the legendary TIME bureau chief and former journalist who played a pivotal role in exposing Clifford Irving's infamous 1971–1972 hoax involving a fake autobiography of billionaire recluse Howard Hughes.”

About the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame

The Nevada Writers Hall of Fame was conceived by former Friends of the University Libraries President Marilyn Melton in 1988. She envisioned two purposes: an annual event honoring Nevada's finest writers, and a stimulus to encourage excellence among emerging writers in the Silver State.

The first selection committee met at Marilyn’s home and chose Robert Laxalt and Walter Van Tilburg Clark as the recipients. Since that time, the Hall of Fame has become an annual event.

The names of all the authors who have been inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame are now prominently displayed on a wall of honor in the Leslie Harvey and Robert George Whittemore Tower Entry and Reception Gallery of the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center.

Honorees are selected based on their body of work, critical recognition, and a strong connection to Nevada through the themes of their writing or residence in the state.

The Silver Pen Award was established in 1996 as part of the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame to recognize writers who work in or write about Nevada, are in their mid-career, and have already shown substantial achievement.

The award is designed to honor their talent and encourage other emerging and mid-career writers. It is hoped that through their outstanding work they may one day be inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame.