Friday, October 20, 6 PM
Embassy Suites, Downtown Des Moines (101 East Locust Street)
Andrew Sean Greer, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of celebrated bestsellers Less (2017) and Less is Lost (2022), will serve as keynote speaker at the Des Moines Public Library Foundation’s Iowa Author Awards Dinner on Friday, October 20. Greer is the author of seven books and several anthologies and is perhaps best known for introducing the memorable character of Arthur Less to readers with his two celebrated titular bestsellers. Less was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018.
The event is the Foundation’s signature annual fundraiser, celebrating the magic of libraries to inform and inspire the curious. In addition to Greer’s keynote, several Iowa authors and local literacy champions will be honored:
- Tracey Garvis Graves, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and International bestselling author of ten contemporary fiction novels, including Heard It in a Love Song and The Trail of Lost Hearts, releasing on March 26, 2024..
- Abena Sankofa Imhotep, author of the children’s book Omari’s Big Tree and the Mighty Djembe.
- Amy Lee Lillard, author of three books, including the upcoming Exile in Guyville, winner of the BOA Editions Short Fiction Prize.
- Denise Williams, author of nine books, including Love and Other Flight Delays and Technically Yours, both out in 2023.
- The event will also celebrate Steven Jayne and Karen Shaff as the 2023 "Friend of Literacy" recipients.
- Principal® Foundation is the Publisher’s Prize sponsor for the 2023 Iowa Author Awards Dinner.
Tickets are $200. For more info, call 515-412-0180 or email executivedirector@dmplfoundation.org