Clark County high school students are invited to enter the “Spark!” poetry contest sponsored by the Vegas Valley Book Festival (VVBF). Winners will receive a cash prize of $100, $200 or $300. Eligible students in grades 9-12 will be judged both on their poems and on their recitation. Finalists will recite their poems at the book festival Saturday, Nov. 3, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., in the Poetry Fountain Courtyard at the Historic Fifth Street School, followed by the award presentations.

Guidelines can be downloaded from the book festival website at www.vegasvalleybookfestival.org/, or picked up at the Nevada Arts Council office at 2755 E. Desert Inn Road, Suite 155, beginning Aug. 26. Submittal deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 5, 2012. For more information, call Maryjane Dorofachuk at (702) 486-3738.

The largest literary event in Southern Nevada, the VVBF is scheduled for Nov. 1-3, 2012. Most events will take place at the Historic Fifth Street School, located downtown at 401 S. Fourth St., and the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo Road. Many pre-festival events are planned through the year at a variety of locations. The VVBF is produced by the city of Las Vegas; Las Vegas-Clark County Library District; UNLV’s Black Mountain Institute; AIGA, Las Vegas chapter; Las Vegas Review-Journal; and Nevada Humanities, a festival founder. For more information, go online to www.vegasvalleybookfestival.org/ or call (702) 229-5431.