The Des Moines Public Library (DMPL) has announced the 25th anniversary season of Authors Visiting in Des Moines (AViD), featuring six events that bring world-class literary talent to the heart of Iowa this spring and summer. AViD events are free and open to the public.
The milestone season kicks off April 7 with #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn, whose Bridgerton novels inspired the hit Netflix series and have sold more than 20 million copies in the United States alone. The season also features Tayari Jones, whose novel An American Marriage was an Oprah’s Book Club selection and earned the Women’s Prize for Fiction; Shannon Chakraborty, author of the rip-roaring pirate novel The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi; and Maria Semple, bestselling author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette.
This year’s season marks the first time AViD will be part of the Des Moines Arts Festival, in a program happening in partnership with the Des Moines Arts Festival and Des Moines Art Center. On Saturday, June 27, Patrick Bringley will take part in AViD. Bringley is the bestselling author of All the Beauty in the World, a memoir about his decade as a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Des Moines Public Library will also once again be taking part in the DSM Book Festival on Saturday, May 2. The headlining author at that program will be an AViD author, and the identity of that author will be revealed when the Book Festival’s full lineup is announced.
AViD is funded entirely by donations. Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino is the premier sponsor for the 2026 AViD series, while Nationwide Foundation is the presenting sponsor. Other sponsors include: Steve Jayne and Karen Shaff; Brad and Kelly Edmister; Mary K. and Daniel M. Kelly Family Foundation; Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey; Bankers Trust; Above + Beyond Cancer; Martin and Shelley Brody; Douglas and Debbie West; Jann Freed and John Fisher; Rachel Stauffer and Jim Lawson; LaRue Maddox; Judy Blank; Dory Briles and Jim Christenson; and Jon and Barbara Yankey.
2026 AViD Season at a Glance
- Tuesday, April 7: Julia Quinn | Hoyt Sherman Place, 7 PM
- Thursday, April 16: Maria Semple | Central Library, 7 PM
- Saturday, May 2: TBA at the Des Moines Book Festival | Franklin Event Center
- Thursday, May 14: Shannon Chakraborty | Central Library, 7 PM
- Monday, June 15: Tayari Jones | Central Library, 7 PM
- Saturday, June 27: Patrick Bringley | Central Library, 11 AM (in partnership with the Des Moines Arts Festival and Des Moines Art Center)
For more information, visit the AViD section of the DMPL website.