by Megan Klein-Hewett

Ames is fortunate be home to a robust community of writers, and author support is one of the many goals of Ames Public Library. One new way the Library is supporting our writing community is through our inaugural Author Fair.

Join fellow writers and book lovers on March 25^th for a free afternoon celebrating the craft of writing. Learn from writing professionals and meet local authors in an afternoon celebrating the craft of writing. All Author Fair events are drop in, so feel free to explore any or all of the afternoon’s events.

Starting at 1 PM in the Rotary Room, join Michaeljulius Idani, University of Iowa Visiting Writer in Fiction and Visiting Assistant Professor for, “Make Sense of Writing.” Idani is an Atlanta-based writer of fiction and a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. His work has been supported by Kimbilio, Tin House, the Fulbright Program, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, the de Groot Foundation, and more.

From 2:15-4:15 PM in the Library’s Auditorium, join local authors for book sales and signings. Readers are welcome to stroll the aisles, drop in and chat with authors, and learn about their works and writing process. More than 20 local authors writing for audiences from children to adults will be on-site to sell and sign their books.

Interested in the publishing process? From 4:30-5:30 PM in the Rotary Room, Denise Williams, author of “How to Fail at Flirting” and many other titles, and Rachel Mans McKenny, author of “The Butterfly Effect,” will share “After the Writing: The Journey of Publishing.” Williams and McKenny, who are both professionally published authors, will share their experience working with their publishing houses to see their books come to fruition.

Whether you love exploring the works of local writers or you’re an aspiring writer yourself, we hope to see you at the Author Fair! For more information about upcoming Ames Public Library events, visit www.AmesPL.org/events.