Six writers from central Iowa will be featured in this weekend’s Author Fair in Des Moines.
Organizer Jan Kaiser says they have a children’s author whose story deals with bullies, another writer provides a close-up view of veterinarians, while a third author has traveled the world studying “jungle medicine” and the healing power of the mind.
There’s also author Raymond Cornell. “His book is called ‘The Ripper’s Children’ and it looks at how murderers are created and what has caused their ability to murder,” Kaiser says. “It sheds light on some of the blackest parts of the human mind.” Another author tells the tale of a five-year-old orphan living on the American frontier in 1872.
The author fair is being held at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines, a store which Kaiser says prides itself on promoting hometown writers. “People are often surprised at the fact that we have over 500 local authors represented in our stacks,” Kaiser says. “Des Moines, and Iowa in general, has an amazing abundance of wonderful writers and we really encourage our customers to read local authors.”
Some book events feature a single author reading a few passages and then taking questions, but Kaiser says they’ve chosen a more intimate setting for these six writers. “They’re just going to be stationed throughout the store,” Kaiser says, “and we invite people to come in, have some coffee and cookies and mingle with these authors, get to know them and talk to them one-on-one and, of course, they’ll have their books available for sale and signing.”
The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday.