Note: As of Oct. 6, registration for this event has closed. If you have questions, please call the Foundation office at (515) 412-0181. Thank you!

Since its inception in 2000, the Iowa Author Awards have recognized many of the state’s most influential literary voices. This year’s honorees include Kaveh Akbar, Kali White VanBaale, Vince Gotera, and John Domini (honored posthumously). Susan Amend Woody, recently retired director of the Des Moines Public Library (DMPL) system, will receive the Friend of Literacy Award. (For more details about this year’s honorees and event, please see the news release. For a a full list of past honorees, visit our Authors page.)

The Iowa Author Awards Dinner, presented by Venerable, is the premier fundraising event for the Des Moines Public Library Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides nearly $300,000 in annual support for free DMPL programs serving people of all ages and backgrounds. Tom and Christie Vilsack, the former Governor and First Lady of Iowa, are the honorary co-chairs for this 25th anniversary event. Tom Vilsack is former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and now serves as chief executive officer of the World Food Prize. Christie Vilsack has been a longtime advocate for reading and libraries; in 2006, she received the Friend of Literacy Award.

Note: For tax reporting purposes, the non-deductible portion per ticket is $45. Dress code for the evening is business professional. Entree choices are chicken or pasta primavera (vegetarian).