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!