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DSM Book Festival 2025

Saturday, March 22, 2025

@Franklin Event Center

The DSM Book Festival connects people who love books with people who create them. This FREE, fun-filled festival features nationally acclaimed authors, book club-style discussions led by featured commentators, lively panel discussions, hands-on activities, children’s programming, and more.

Four Amazing Headline Authors!

 

10:00 AM – Prairie Meadows presents Claire Lombardo, moderated by Kali Van Baale

12:00 Noon – State Historical Society of Iowa presents Alexis Coe, moderated by Rachel Hansen

2:00 PM – DSM Book Festival presents Hanif Abdurraqib, moderated by Caleb Rainey

4:30 PM – AViD Author Series presents C.J. Box, moderated by Heather Gudenkauf

Don’t miss this annual event dedicated to books and booklovers.  We are still hard at work planning, to ensure that we produce the exciting, high-quality event you have come to expect.

We are partnering with publishers to bring in an impressive slate of featured authors and we are proud to announce that we will be partnering with the Des Moines Public Library to host children’s activities throughout the day.  We are also partnering with the Des Moines Public Library to kick off their 2025 AViD Author Series. Big thanks to our cosponsors, Beaverdale Neighborhood Association, for acting as our fiscal agent.  Stay tuned for more information, including panel discussions, workshops, and additional participating authors.   It promises to be a spectacular event–filled with great books and authors, and so much more.

You can help to support this important annual event.  To donate make checks payable to BNA and mail to Beaverdale Books (2629 Beaver Ave. Des Moines IA 50310). If you’d like to donate to the DSM Book Festival online, use the form below!

Donation to the Des Moines Book Festival

$USD

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If you have any other questions about the DSM Book Festival, please feel free to email dsmbookfestival@gmail.com.

Announcing the DSM Book Festival Headlining Authors
A stellar lineup of outstanding writers!

Readers and book lovers in central Iowa will be thrilled to find an outstanding array of authors that will be appearing at the DSM Book Festival on Saturday, March 22. Festival hours will be from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The free, fun-filled event, presented by Beaverdale Books and Beaverdale Neighborhood Association, will be held at the Franklin Event Center, located at 4801 Franklin Avenue in Des Moines. In addition to author programs, panels, workshops, and children’s activities, the event will offer attendees the opportunity to have their books signed, visit with publishers, and enjoy mingling with fellow booklovers. Planning is still underway, and the complete schedule will soon be posted.

Four headlining presentations will be offered in the venue’s large theater, including fiction writer Claire Lombardo, historian Alexis Coe, award-winning Hanif Abdurraqib, and AViD author C.J. Box.

10:00 AM: Claire Lombardo’s debut novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had, was an instant New York Times bestseller and has been translated or is forthcoming in over a dozen languages. Her second novel, Same as It Ever Was, was published in June 2024. Lombardo is a graduate of the University of Illinois-Chicago and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her short fiction has appeared in, among others, Playboy, Barrelhouse Magazine, Little Fiction, and Longform. Prior to publishing The Most Fun We Ever Had, Claire spent several years working with homeless children and families in Chicago. She has taught fiction writing at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Grinnell College. A native of Oak Park, Illinois, she now lives in Minnesota, with her dog, Renee. Moderated by Kali White VanBaale

12:00 Noon: Alexis Coe is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling presidential historian and senior fellow at New America, a bi-partisan think tank. Coe is the leading presidential biographer of her generation, known for her unique insights, engaging style, and ability to reach larger, more diverse audiences in different mediums. Her books have achieved critical and commercial success. She is the author of, most recently, You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington. Her next book, Young Jack: A Biography of John F. Kennedy, 1917-1957, will be published in 2025, and her first book, Alice+Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis, debuted in 2014. In 2024, Coe went on a 13-stop cross-country discussion tour for New America. Her project, “How Should a President Be,” is in anticipation of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Coe frequently appears on CNN, MSNBC, CBS, History, PBS, and is a frequent guest on NPR. She has been featured in and written for most major publications, including the New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Best American Essays. Moderated by Rachel Hansen, State Historical Society of Iowa.

 

2:00 PM: Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His poetry has been published in Muzzle, Vinyl, PEN American, and various other journals. His essays and music criticism have been published in the FADER, Pitchfork, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. His first full length poetry collection, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much, was released in June 2016 from Button Poetry. It was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Prize and was nominated for a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. With Big Lucks, he released a limited-edition chapbook, Vintage Sadness, in summer 2017 (you cannot get it anymore and he is very sorry.) His first collection of essays, They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was named a book of the year by Buzzfeed, Esquire, NPR, Oprah Magazine, Paste, CBC, The Los Angeles Review, Pitchfork, and The Chicago Tribune, among others. His book Go Ahead in The Rain: Notes To a Tribe Called Quest became a New York Times Bestseller, was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize, and was longlisted for the National Book Award. His second collection of poems, A Fortune for Your Disaster, won the 2020 Lenore Marshall Prize. In 2021, he released the book A Little Devil in America with Random House, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. The book won the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction and the Gordon Burn Prize. Hanif is a graduate of Beechcroft High School. Moderated by Caleb Rainey.

4:30 PM: AViD Author C. J. Box is the New York Times bestselling author of thirty novels including the Joe Pickett series. He won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel, for Blue Heaven, as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, two Barry Awards, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction.  He was recently awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum as well as the Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel by the Western Writers of America in 2017. Over ten million copies of his books have been sold in the U.S. and abroad and they have been translated into twenty-seven languages. Two television series based on his novels are in production (BIG SKY on ABC and JOE PICKETT on Spectrum Originals and Paramount+). He is an Executive Producer for both series. Moderated by Heather Gudenkauf.  Cosponsored by Des Moines Public Library AViD Author Series.

Full Schedule coming soon.

Please Note: This is a tentative schedule — times and rooms numbers may change

Featured Conversations– Room 148 

9:15 AM: All Iowa Reads 2025 – Tim Johnston, moderated by Ted Wheeler 

11:15 AM: Is It Hot in Here, Or Is It My Book?  Denise Williams, Chloe Angyal, moderated by Tracey Garvis Graves                

1:15 PM: A Celebration of Literary Arts – DMACC presents Ada Zhang, Claire Lombardo, Carmen Maria Machado, Samantha Lan Chang, moderated by Marc Dickinson                     

3:15 PM: Iowa Fiction Authors –   Carol Roh Spaulding, Ted Wheeler, Sean Adams, moderated by Courtney Crowder                                                    

Featured Panels – Cafeteria

9:15 AM: Historical Happenings in Iowa, Jeff Bremer, Jerry Harrington, Bill Friedricks, moderated Andrew Klumpp

11:15AM: Plain Talk about The MidwestChris Jones, Neil Hamilton, moderated by Pat Boddy

1:15 PM: So, You Want to Be a Writer… What’s Next?Story Society Members Tracey Garvis Graves, Heather Gudenkauf, Julie Stone, Kim Stuart, moderated by Kali VanBaale

3:15 PM:  Readers Theater  –  Des Moines Community Playhouse

4:45 PM: Everybody Wins Trivia – Morgan Shulz

 

Featured Conversations – Room 108

9:15 Books and Coffee Pairings – Story House Book Pub & Daisy Chain Coffee

11:15 AM: Inspiring Words – Shannon Evans, Joyce Rupp, Melissa Rose Harris, Jann Freed, moderated by Deb Engel       

1:15 Content that Connects Iowans Julie Gammack and Iowa Writers Collective

3:15 Exploring Local HistoryMary Christopher, Elodie Opstad, Darcy Maulsby, William Morris, moderated by Rachelle Chase  

                                                                                         

Author Panels – Room 149

9:15:  Getting Published in the HeartlandSteve Semken, Allison Means, Kyle McCord, 

11:15:  Sisters in Crime Panel: A Meeting of the Minds Winter Austin, Barbara Barrett, Sharee Stover, moderated by Mary Lee Ashford

1:15: Iowa Nonfiction Authors – Laura Julier, Kevin Koch, Connie Mutel 

3:15: Banned Books Update: Annie’s Foundation – Sara Parris        

 

Author Panels – Room 147

9:15: Eating Well in the HeartlandBeth Dooley, Angela Tedesco, Beth Howard, moderated by Beth Hoffman

11:15: OPEN SPACE

1:15: Drawing Readers: Words from Book Illustrators – Sarah Becan, Claire Sedovic, Paula Kerman, moderated by Nic Roth                

3:15:  Poetry Palooza Preview Diane Glass, Kelsey Bigelow, Dawn Sly-Terpstra

              

Writer Workshops – Brooke Van Sickle

1:15:  Life, Written: Turning Personal Stories into Memoirs —Mary Helen Stefaniak, Beth Howard, Amy Lillard, moderated by Susan Stapleton

3:15: Writing Together: The Impact of  CollectivesAna McCracken

Book Picks and Storytimes –    

9:30 Children’s Storytime

10:30 Reading in Public Presents: BIPOC Suggestions

11:30 Little Book Presents: Graphic Novels for All Ages 

12:30 Children’s Storytime

1:30: NOS Books Presents: Translated Book Suggestions

2:30 Children’s Storytime

3:30 Dungeons Gate Presents: Sci Fi Fantasy Suggestions

4:30 Wandering Raccoon Presents Book Club Suggestions

Check back later for a list of vendors.

Coming soon.

Do I need a ticket to attend?  The DSM Book Festival is free and open to the public.

Where is The Festival held?  Franklin Event Center, located at 4801 Franklin Avenue.

What time is The Festival open?  9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A full schedule will be available soon.

Where do I park?  Free parking is located to the south, west, and north of the venue.

Is the venue accessible?  Ramps to enter Franklin Event Center are available at the north and northeast entrance.  A map showing entrances will be available soon.

Will food be available?  We are planning to have food trucks parked near south main entrance.

Are there any age restrictions?  The Festival will offer something for everyone, including children’s activities, hosted by the Des Moines Public Library

If you would like to be a part of the Festival, review the forms below and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Merchant (For Profit) Application- Sorry, we are no longer accepting applications.

The DSM Book Festival is made possible thanks to generous donations and in-kind support from the following organizations:

 

 

Paul & Claudia Schickler Family Fund
Mary K & Daniel M Kelly Family Trust
Kate Garst
Dr Richard Deming – Above + Beyond Cancer

Bookey Charitable Foundation
Susan & Carl Voss
Robert & Nancy Landess
Shirley Poertner
Lee Ann Bakros
Robert W Pratt
John Morrissey
KR Lozier & RW Lozier Jr
Kay G Smith

 

 

 

 

 

Paul & Claudia Schickler Family Fund
Mary K & Daniel M Kelly Family Trust
Kate Garst
Dr Richard Deming – Above + Beyond Cancer
Bookey Charitable Foundation
Susan & Carl Voss
Robert & Nancy Landess
Shirley Poertner
Lee Ann Bakros
Robert W Pratt
John Morrissey
KR Lozier & RW Lozier Jr
Kay G Smit

 

If you’d like to donate to the DSM Book Festival online, use the form below!

Donation to the Des Moines Book Festival

$USD

card icons

To donate make checks payable to BNA and mail to Beaverdale Books (2629 Beaver Ave. Des Moines IA 50310).

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