“The Women Who Saved History”

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I recently had the great honor and pleasure of being interviewed by the marvelous duo of Claytee White and Su Kim Chung for an episode of “The Women Who Saved History,” a podcast produced by Women of Diversity Productions Inc.

Here’s a overview of our conversation:

What sparks a community’s love for its own story? In this episode of The Women Who Saved History, Claytee White and Su Kim Chung sit down with Alicia Barber, a public historian, writer, and founder of Stories in Place, to find out how she has redefined what it means to preserve Nevada’s past.

Alicia shares how childhood road trips across America ignited her passion for place and how her fascination with Reno led her to turn the city into both a doctoral focus and a lifelong mission.

From launching digital platforms like Reno Historical and Reno Divorce History to collaborating with local agencies to fund and share overlooked narratives, Alicia has made public history both accessible and vital.

She also opens up about her transition from academia to independent historical work, the creative ways she’s navigated funding challenges, and what makes preserving Nevada’s stories so personally meaningful.

Tune in to discover how Alicia is helping Nevadans connect more deeply with their places (and each other) through history!

Available on Apple, Spotify, and other podcast platforms or directly at https://thewomenwhosavedhistory.buzzsprout.com/.

Washoe County Library Local Author Fest

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Please join me and more than 30 other writers with links to Northern Nevada for the Washoe County Library 2024 Local Author Fest on Saturday, November 9 from 10am to 4pm at the Downtown Reno Library. I’ll be selling copies of Reno’s Big Gamble: Image and Reputation in the Biggest Little City and reading in the auditorium at 1:40pm. Hope to see you there!

For more information, participating authors and the full schedule of readings, visit the Washoe County Library website: https://www.washoecountylibrary.us/events/authorfest.php

Thank you for voting me Best Local Author!

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I can now announce an exciting secret I’ve had to keep for a few weeks, the absolute honor of being voted Best Local Author in the 2024 Reno News & Review Best of Northern Nevada Reader’s Poll! 7500 people voted in the final round, and I want to extend my deep and heartfelt thanks to those who nominated me, who clicked on my name, and most of all, who have found anything I’ve written over the past 20+ years to be enjoyable, educational, or illuminating.

Whether you discovered my writing from my historical articles, my book Reno’s Big Gamble, my e-newsletter The Barber Brief, my pieces for Reno Historical, or something else, your support has helped me to achieve my lifelong dream of researching and writing for a living. Please join me in congratulating all the other nominees and awardees (you can read the full list here), and please make an effort to support all of the authors who make our local literary landscape so rich & inspiring.

Lastly, thanks so much to the wonderful Reno News & Review, one of our community’s most treasured platforms for local writing and reporting. Words matter, but they can only take flight when they are valued, supported, and shared. I am so grateful to all of you for making me feel so loved and appreciated–it means the absolute world to me. And now, back to work!

Love for Reno’s Divorce Industry

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I had a great time talking with writer Helena Guglielmino for her new Reno News & Review piece about Reno’s infamous migratory divorce trade, “Don’t Be My Valentine: Forget the hearts and flowers–it’s time to brush up on Reno’s divorce history.” During the six decades that Reno reigned as the “Divorce Capital of the World,” the industry was responsible for the construction and successful operation of countless lodging establishments from luxury hotels to rented rooms to resort-like “guest ranches”; the success of local businesses and services from restaurants, nightclubs, and boutiques to doctors, dentists, and laundries; the city’s first appearances in motion pictures and celebrity magazines; and so much more.

Don’t be my Valentine: Forget the hearts and flowers—it’s time to brush up on Reno’s divorce history 

I’ve personally been approached to discuss and help others to research this part of Reno’s rich history more often in the past few years than ever before, from authors of popular fiction like Better Luck Next Time to the producer of the podcast 99% Invisible episode, “The Six Week Cure,” to Hollywood screenwriters (TBA). The Reno Divorce is having a moment, and it’s time for Reno to embrace it as a formative aspect of the city’s history and identity and give it a central role in placemaking and tourism development. Also be sure to check out the comprehensive award-winning website that I helped put together a few years ago, “Illuminating Reno’s Divorce Industry,” featuring brief explanations of all aspects of the divorce trade, an extensive research bibliography, a massive digital archive of thousands of relevant materials from photographs and postcards to magazine articles, books, letters and diaries, oral histories, and more.