Dunn Library at Simpson College will host close to 20 local authors for the local authors fair on Saturday, April 5, from 1-4 p.m.

Presented by Simpson, The Indianola Public Library and PageTurners Bookstore, the fair will feature authors from a variety of genres and backgrounds.

Previously, the fair was a public library-sponsored event, but now, it has expanded to include various businesses throughout Warren County.

“This is the first one we’ve had here,” Cyd Dyer, event organizer and college librarian for Simpson, said. “And President Byers was also very encouraging of doing something like this. So here we are!”

The authors will be spread out around the newly renovated Dunn Library with panels and speakers throughout the day.

“We’re going to try to make it the best of a participant experience as we can,” Dyer said.

The authors are from various genres, from history to children’s fiction, but all are local to Warren County.

“We decided the first time, we’re going to settle with 20,” Dyer said. “We’ve had more people interested, but we’ve just had to say, ‘I’m so sorry, but we’re keeping names for another time.’ So I’m very excited about it.”

The event will also include a raffle of three prizes from the organizers. PageTurners will have a booth with the author’s books for sale, as well as other local books.

One of the authors is Simpson Assistant Professor of English Jeremy Griffin. Griffin writes a wide variety of pieces, focusing on fiction short stories.

“I always liked stories when I was a kid. Narrative is kind of my way of making sense of the world,” Griffin said. “I’m a very anxious person, and so narrative allows me to sort of systematize things and give them a meaning and a reason.”

Griffin and four other authors will speak in the Special Collections room on the second floor of Dunn.

“It’s a huge honor. I was really excited that they’re putting it together. I think this is a really good event for Simpson and the community to promote literacy,” Griffin said. “I’m really excited to be taking part. I’m excited to meet the other authors and to talk to people about my craft and to talk to people about just writing in general.”

Griffin also believes this event is a great opportunity to connect Warren County with its local artists and inspire aspiring writers.

“I think it’s a big, big, big step forward in terms of this community advocating for artists and advocating for people who want to share ideas just to make the world a more enriching place,” Griffin said. “I think it’s great for readers to see that authors are, you know, regular people, you know, face all the difficulties they face, and that they might be inspired themselves to write, or it might just stoke a fondness for reading or stoke of fondness for literature in general.”

Local historian and author Elodie Opstad will also be speaking at the fair.
“I wanted to write. I just didn’t know what that meant or what I wanted to do,” Opstad said.

Opstad wrote “This Is The Place: Glimpses of Warren County, Iowa” which tells the story of Warren County through a series of columns originally written for the Indianola Independent-Advocate. Despite her title as an author, she believes she is a reader first.

“I’m more excited about meeting the other authors. You know, I think the part that I’m doing for the public is, like, okay, I’ll do that, but I really would like to meet the other authors and hear their stories,” Opstad said.

Both authors encourage members of the community, specifically aspiring artists, to attend the event and support local art.

Griffin urges students, especially those outside of the English department, to visit with the authors.

“I don’t think you have to be connected to the English department in any way in order to go talk to people who write, if you’re interested at all, in not even books or literacy, just in the spread of ideas,” Griffin said. “Go show up support. Ask the writers questions about their stuff, ask them about their craft. Ask them about how it’s about their lives. Just come have a conversation and also talk to each other.”

Griffin gives the advice, “You’re going to write a lot of really bad stuff for you through good stuff. You’re not supposed to like the stuff you write at first. You’re gonna hate most of it. Most people are never gonna see it. That’s how it’s supposed to work. You write a lot of bad stuff and then get better and get better.”

Opstad suggests, “Find anything that’ll keep you writing, but it’s really fun to network with others, and you get a lot of inspiration from other writers. So I really encourage writing groups, and that takes a little time to find people that don’t write like you, but yet you click as a group to be able to share with each other.”

Other attending authors include Sara Broers, Rachel Terlop, Lin Thompson, Al Kratz and more.

“I think you can find excitement in any genre,” Opstad said. “So I just look forward to hearing a few stories from other writers and their journeys.”

For a full list of events, authors and locations, visit https://dunnipl-laf2025.my.canva.site/ for more information.