Construction Notice

The Clark Family Branch (formerly Headquarters) is closed for construction. Patrons can visit the Oak Bend Branch during construction.

Author Events

Did you know we have the biggest, number one author event series in the country? Each month the St. Louis County Library Foundation brings bestselling and award-winning authors from a variety of genres to the library, offering readers exclusive opportunities to meet and engage with their favorite writers.

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Seating is limited; early arrival is highly recommended. Books for signing will be available for purchase at the events. For more information, please call 314-994-3300.

Ticketed Events     September Events     October Events     November Events

By Audience
By Date
Ryan La Sala, author of "Beholder"

Ryan La Sala

Author of “The Honeys.” Ryan La Sala presents a chilling new YA supernatural thriller. Something evil is waking up and it’s compelling victims toward violence and chaos. Athan has felt this evil hiding behind his reflection his entire life. Waiting. Now, it’s taking over. Teens and adults.

Thursday, October 5, 2023
7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Grant's View Branch
"Everything Comes Next" book cover and color author photo of Naomi Shihab Nye above "Every Waking Moment" book cover and color author photo

Poets Naomi Shihab Nye and James Crews

Acclaimed poets and St. Louis natives Naomi Shihab Nye and James Crews present a conversation on nature, wildness, and mindfulness through the lens of poetry. The event will be a discussion with award-winning poet Travis Mossotti. Presented in partnership with the Poetry in the Woods Workshop, St. Louis Poetry Center, the Wildlife Rescue Center and the St. Louis Zoo. * Supported by the Regional Arts Commission and the Missouri Arts Council.

Friday, October 6, 2023
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Ethical Society of St. Louis
Paul Holes - “Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases” book cover and color author photo

Ticketed Event – Paul Holes

In 2018, Paul Holes retired as a cold case investigator after spending more than twenty-seven years specializing in cold case and serial predator crimes, lending his expertise to notable cases, including the murder of Laci Peterson and the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard. Most prominently, Paul’s career culminated with his identification of the Golden State Killer, the most notorious and cunning serial predator in U.S. history. An instant bestseller and called "even more riveting than an episode of 'Dateline'" by the New York Times, Holes’ memoir “Unmasked” details his decades-long career while illuminating the emotional toll this work can take.

Saturday, October 7, 2023
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Ethical Society of St. Louis
Ethel Morgan Smith - "Path to Grace" book cover and color author photo

Ethel Morgan Smith

In Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning Novelist Jane Smiley. Presented in Partnership with Missouri Humanities. The civil rights movement is often defined narrowly, relegated to the 1950s and 1960s and populated by such colossal figures as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. Many forget that the movement was bigger than the figures on the frontline and that it grew from intellectual and historical efforts that continue today. In “Path to Grace: Reimagining the Civil Rights Movement,” Ethel Morgan Smith shines light on unsung heroes of the civil rights movement, the ordinary citizens working behind the scenes to make an impact in their communities.

Wednesday, October 11, 2023
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Grant's View Branch
Ben Fountain - "Devil Makes Three" book cover and color author photo

Ben Fountain

In Conversation with Politico reporter Kathy Gilsinan Award-winning, bestselling author of “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” Ben Fountain presents a brilliant new novel about greed, power, and American complicity. “Devil Makes Three” follows four Americans in Haiti in the aftermath of a violent coup–some are looking to gain an advantage in the chaos, while others are just looking to make it through another day. Fountain’s depiction of blood politics, the machinations of power, and a country in the midst of upheaval is urgently and insistently resonant.

Friday, October 13, 2023
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
The J
Fergus Brodewich Author of "Klan War"

Fergus Bordewich

The Ku Klux Klan, which celebrated historian Fergus Bordewich defines as “the first organized terrorist movement in American history,” rose from the ashes of the Civil War. To repel the virulent tidal wave of violence, President Ulysses S. Grant waged a two-term battle against both armed Southern enemies of Reconstruction and Northern politicians seduced by visions of postwar conciliation, testing the limits of the federal government in determining the extent of states’ rights. Klan War is a bold and bracing record of America’s past that reveals the bloody, Reconstruction-era roots of present-day battles to protect the ballot box and stamp out resurgent white supremacist ideologies.

Monday, October 16, 2023
7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Daniel Boone Branch