Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel is one of our most acclaimed and revered storytellers, with her novels spanning genres from post-apocalyptic fiction to literary fiction to mystery thriller. Her 2022 bestseller, Sea of Tranquility, is a masterpiece of metaphysical and speculative fiction that dives into time travel, the simulation hypothesis, love, and unfurls a story of humanity across centuries. Barack Obama included the novel on his list of favorite books of 2022, and a review in USA Today said the book was “transporting and brilliant and generous… I haven’t read anything quite like it.”

Mandel’s past novels are also praised bestsellers, with The Glass Hotel called “a perfect novel” by The Washington Post and being named a best book of 2020 by The AV Club, BBC, Entertainment Weekly, The New Yorker, NPR, Parade, TIME, Washington Post, and many, many more.

Her groundbreaking 2014 novel, Station Eleven, is a landmark work of post-apocalyptic fiction, winning the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award. It was also a finalist for the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and many other accolades. The book was adapted into an award-winning HBO 10-part TV series of the same name, which was nominated for seven Primetime Emmy Awards.

Event Info

• Admission is free.
• Doors open at 6:00 PM.
• Seating is first-come, first-served.
• Free parking is available:
  • In the Des Moines Public Library parking garage, located on Grand Ave.
  • On the surface lot on the corner of 10th St. and Grand Ave., across from the library.
• At the end of the program, there will be a question and answer period. A book signing will follow.
• Books will be available to purchase before and after the program courtesy of Beaverdale Books.

Emily’s Books

• Sea of Tranquility (2022)
• The Glass Hotel (2020)
• Station Eleven (2014)
• The Lola Quartet (2012)
• The Singer’s Gun (2010)
• Last Night in Montreal (2009)

Emily on the Web

• Reviews of Sea of Tranquility
  • New York Times
  • The Guardian
  • Vox
• Emily St. John Mandel on The Ezra Klein Show
  • Access for free through The New York Times DMPL database
• Emily St. John Mandel profile in The New Yorker

This event is hosted by the Des Moines Public Library as part of its annual AViD (Authors Visiting in Des Moines) Author Series.