When readers see the names Mark Twain and Dan De Quille, “fake news” may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But these legendary journalists were among the original purveyors of fake news during Nevada’s early years—a fact spotlighted in author Richard Moreno’s new book, Frontier Fake News: Nevada’s Sagebrush Hoaxsters and Humorists.
You can meet the author Richard Moreno and get your copy of Frontier Fake News autographed at the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum in Virginia City, NV on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at 2 p.m. The Museum is a stone’s throw away from where Twain, DeQuille, and other legendary literary hoaxsters lived and worked in Virginia City.
Richard Moreno will give guests a brief talk inside our Mark Twain Room at the Museum, offering insight into what went into the creation of this book. He will give a brief reading from Frontier Fake News, and then sign copies of the book.
The event is free with your Regular Paid Admission to the Fourth Ward School Museum. As always, Regular Admission is always free for current Members of the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum.
Advanced copies of Frontier Fake News (University of Nevada Press, 2023) are available for purchase at the Fourth Ward School Museum’s Gift Shop, or by calling the Museum Gift Shop at (775) 847-0975.
About Frontier Fake News: Nevada’s Sagebrush Hoaxsters and Humorists
Frontier Fake News puts a spotlight on the hoaxes, feuds, pranks, outright lies, witty writing, and other literary devices utilized by a number of the Silver State’s frontier newsmen from the mid-nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries. Often known collectively as the Sagebrush School, these journalists were opinionated, talented, and individualistic.
While Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), who got his start at Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise, and Dan De Quille (William Wright), who some felt was a better writer than Twain, are the most well-known members of the Sagebrush School, author Richard Moreno includes others such as Fred Hart, who concocted a fake social club and reported on its gatherings for Austin’s Reese River Reveille, and William Forbes, who enjoyed sprinkling clever puns with political undertones in his newspaper articles.
About the Author
Richard Moreno is the author of fourteen books, including Frontier Fake News: Nevada’s Sagebrush Hoaxsters and Humorists,
A Short History of Reno, A Short History of Carson City, and Roadside History of Nevada.
He is the former publisher of Nevada Magazine and was awarded the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame Silver Pen Award in 2007.