Check back on Tuesday, January 21 for the full 2020 Authors Visiting in Des Moines lineup!
The Des Moines Public Library’s annual Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD) speaker series brings prominent national and international authors to central Iowa for free speaking engagements.
The 2019 lineup featured best-selling authors, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a Man Booker Prize finalist, and authors of some of 2018’s most revered and acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction.
Susan Orlean at the DSM Book Festival
Saturday, March 30, 4:00 PM, Capital Square
Susan Orlean is the author of the 2018 best-seller, The Library Book as well as the 1998 nonfiction classic, The Orchid Thief. She joined fellow headlining Book Festival authors Nnedi Okorafor and Garth Stein at the inaugural event.
Laurie Frankel is the author of the best-selling 2017 novel, This Is How It Always Is, about a family whose youngest son declares that he wants to be identified as a girl. The book was chosen as a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book Club pick.
Chigozie Obioma
Monday, April 22, 7:00 PM, Central Library
After publishing his debut novel, The Fishermen, in 2015, Obioma won a NAACP Image Award and was a finalist for the prestigious Man Booker Prize. His new novel, the critically acclaimed An Orchestra of Minorities, was hailed as one of the most anticipated books of 2019.
Sarah Smarsh
Thursday, May 2, 7:00 PM, Central Library
Smarsh's debut memoir, Heartland, was an instant best-seller upon release last year, and was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award.
Madeline Miller
Thursday, May 16, 7:00 PM, Central Library
Miller’s 2018 novel, Circe, was a New York Times #1 best-seller and appeared on dozens of “best books of 2018” lists. The novel, a retelling of the story of the villainous goddess Circe, recasts the infamous figure from The Odyssey into a feminist hero. Circe was named Book of the Month's 2018 Book of the Year, as chosen by tens of thousands of book club members.
C.J. Chivers
Thursday, May 23, 7:00 PM, Central Library
Journalist C.J. Chivers is one of this generation’s most revered war correspondents and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. His 2018 book, The Fighters, offers a vivid account of modern warfare told through the stories of a half-dozen American combatants.
[INSERT podcast stream here]
AViD Blog Entries
Beyond The Shelves - Libraries As Third Spaces
This month on Beyond the Shelves, Sarah and Jes unpack the idea of “third spaces” why we crave them, why they’re disappearing, and how libraries have stepped in to fill the gap. Stick around for the Book Bulletin, where they unpack everything from LGBTQ+ publishing setbacks to Shakespearean fan fict...
Read MoreBeyond The Shelves: 2026 Reading Challenge Recommendations
In this episode of Beyond the Shelves, Sarah and Jes discuss the 2026 reading challenge, recommend books to complete your bingo board, and in the book bulletin, talk about the hit series Heated Rivalry on HBO. Apple Podcasts/iTunes | Spotify | Podbean | ...
Read More