Check out these great book events — happening this month. Hope to see you soon!

Virtual Visit & Author Event: Rob Osler

Thursday, March 3 — 6:30 p.m.@Beaverdale Books

Author Kali VanBaale will be at Beaverdale Books to host Rob Osler via Zoom 

Devil’s Chew Toy

Perfect for fans of Carl Hiaasen and Armistead Maupin, this light, LGBT mystery follows an unlucky in love—and life—teacher who unwittingly ends up the prime suspect in a disappearance.

Rob Osler writes the Hayden & Friends contemporary mystery series featuring a rainbow of kick-ass characters. With Devil’s Chew Toy, Rob coined the term, “Quozy Mystery,” firmly establishing a new sub-sub-genre of mystery. Rob is proud to have created the literary love child of LGBTQ+ fiction and cozy mystery.

Meet the Author: Lin Thompson

Wednesday, March 9 — 6:30 p.m. @Beaverdale Books

The Best Liars in Riverview 

Aubrey and Joel are like two tomato vines that grew along the same crooked fence—weird, yet the same kind of weird. But lately, even their shared weirdness seems weird. Then Joel disappears. Vanishes. Poof. The whole town is looking for him, and Aubrey was the last person to see Joel. Aubrey can’t say much, but since lies of omission are still lies, here’s what they know for sure: For the last two weeks of the school year, when sixth grade became too much, Aubrey and Joel have been building a raft in the woods. The raft was supposed to be just another part of their running away game. The raft is gone now, too. Aubrey doesn’t know where Joel is, but they might know how to find him. As Aubrey, their friend Mari, and sister Teagan search along the river, Aubrey has to fess up to who they really are, all the things they never said, and the word that bully Rudy Thomas used that set all this into motion.

About the author…

Lin Thompson is a stunning new literary voice who tackles sexual orientation, identity, emotional abuse, and bullying with care and refreshing honesty, and The Best Liars in Riverview answers the call for much needed diversity in middle grade – the book features racially-diverse, nonbinary, and queer protagonists, and the author identifies as queer and nonbinary.

Lin Thompson (they/them) is a Lambda Literary Fellow of 2018. Lin grew up in Kentucky but now lives in Iowa with their wife and cat. Visit them online at www.linthompson.com.

Meet the Author: Brett Bloemendaal

Monday, March 21, 6:30 p.m. @Beaverdale Books

Fishing for More

A must read for fishing and outdoors enthusiasts, however the powerful reflections on life and purpose alongside vivid descriptions of the author’s fishing adventures have made this memoir a favorite for a wide variety of readers.

About the author…

Brett Bloemendaal is an author of memoir, essay, and other nonfiction, including his Bert Betterman blog. He left his fourteen-year career as an investment professional to become a full-time fishing guide on Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota, where he spends half the year. He spends his winters in Iowa focusing on writing and other content creation, including his YouTube channel for his fishing business.

An Evening with Dan Hunter

Monday, March 28 — 6:30 p.m. @ Artisan Gallery 218

Join us at Artisan Gallery as we co-host Iowa native, Dan Hunter, who will share his new book, Pandemic Panacea.  It’s a collection of cartoons juxtaposing old magazine photos with crisp new captions and the downhome humor Hunter is known for, but also reminiscent of cartoonist Gary Larson. 

About the author…

Dan Hunter is a playwright, songwriter, teacher, and founding partner of Hunter Higgs, LLC, an advocacy and communications firm. He performed for many years as a singer, songwriter, and humorist.

Artisan Gallery 218 is located in historic Valley Junction at 218 Fifth Street in West Des Moines.                                                     

Celebrate Olmsted 200 Week & Meet the Author: Justin Martin

Tuesday, March 29 — 7:00 p.m. @ Waveland Golf Course Lodge

Celebrating Parks for All People, presented by Des Moines Founders Garden Club.

Honoring the legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted on the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Genius of Place, The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted. 

Frederick Law Olmsted is arguably the most important historical figure that the average American knows the least about. Best remembered for his landscape architecture, from New York’s Central Park to Boston’s Emerald Necklace to Stanford University’s campus, Olmsted was also an influential journalist, early voice for the environment, and abolitionist credited with helping dissuade England from joining the South in the Civil War.  This momentous career was shadowed by a tragic personal life, also fully portrayed here. Most of all, he was a social reformer. He didn’t simply create places that were beautiful in the abstract. An awesome and timeless intent stands behind Olmsted’s designs, allowing his work to survive to the present day. With our urgent need to revitalize cities and a widespread yearning for green space, his work is more relevant now than it was during his lifetime. Justin Martin restores Olmsted to his rightful place in the pantheon of great Americans.

Justin Martin is an American biographer, journalist, and writer. He is the author of such books as Greenspan: The Man Behind Money, Nader: Crusader, Spoiler, Icon, A Fierce Glory: Antietam -The Desperate Battle That Saved Lincoln and Doomed Slavery, and Rebel Souls: Walt Whitman and America’s First Bohemians.

Please RSVP in advance to save your spot for this event