Author Events

Thursday, August 17, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes St. Louis regional history author Candance O'Connor, who will sign and discuss her new book, Renaissance: A History of the Central West End!

Just as stately trees in Forest Park were coming down to make way for the 1904 World’s Fair, elegant homes—designed by the city’s best architects and occupied by its elite—were springing up on surrounding streets, as a vast building boom began. And that was the start of the St. Louis neighborhood called the Central West End, which quickly grew from a sleepy rural outpost to an address for fashionable people and shops, fine cultural institutions and congregations, high-class hotels and hospitals. Renaissancetraces the Central West End’s cycle over the past century and more: from its stylish start through its dangerous days to its present strength—an urban renewal significant enough that it has earned the name “renaissance.”

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Renaissance from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line. 

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Tuesday, August 15, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes St. Louis native and debut author Molly Patterson, who will sign and discuss her new novel, Rebellion!

A luminous cross-generational story that recalls the works of Jane Smiley and Isabel Allende, this sweeping debut novel tells the stories of four women who dare to challenge the boundaries of their circumscribed lives. From rural Illinois to the far reaches of China, these four women are interconnected by actions, consequence, and spirit, each brilliantly displaying the fleeting intensity of youth, the obligation of family, and the dramatic consequence of charting their own destiny. A vibrant story of compassion and discovery set against a century of complicated relations, Rebellion celebrates those who fight against expectation in pursuit of their own thrilling fate, and introduces a rising literary star.

“A talent to watch, Patterson manages to travel broad swaths of history and geography while creating intimate moments with a refreshing lack of sentimentality; and the novel’s sense of adventure makes it addictive reading.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Rebellion from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Thursday, July 13, 7pm
St. Louis Public Library - Schlafly Branch

Schlafly Branch Library is proud to welcome local author and St. Louis University Professor Harold Bush! He will present and sign his new book, The Hemingway Files.

An English professor receives a mysterious package with several smaller packages within it, including a manuscript, from a recently deceased former student. The manuscript tells the former student's story―as a newly-minted Ph.D. from Yale, Jack Springs ended up in Kobe, Japan circa 1992, where he encountered a mysterious Japanese professor of American literature named Goto. Through a series of meetings, Goto provided Jack with a systematic set of revelations about Hemingway, Ezra Pound, and other literary giants, all of which were supported by unknown documents in Goto's possession. With the allure of these revelations, as well as Goto's beautiful niece, Jack was drawn back to Goto's house again and again until the tragic events on the day of the Great Kobe Earthquake of 1995 threatened to destroy all that had been revealed―including Jack's sense of who he was and what he was capable of.

This event is presented by the St. Louis Public Library. For more information, please call 314-367-4120.

Thursday, October 19, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes bestselling Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden, who will sign and discuss his new book, Hue 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam!

The first battle book from Mark Bowden since Black Hawk Down, Hue 1968 is the story of the centerpiece of the Tet Offensive and a turning point in the American War in Vietnam. In the early hours of January 31, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched over one hundred attacks across South Vietnam in what would become known as the Tet Offensive. With unprecedented access to war archives in the U.S. and Vietnam and interviews with participants from both sides, Bowden narrates each stage of this crucial battle through multiple viewpoints. Played out over 24 days and costing 10,000 lives, the Battle of Hue was by far the bloodiest of the entire war. Hue 1968 is a gripping and moving account of this pivotal moment.

“An extraordinary feat of journalism . . . full of emotion and color . . . Here the best and worst of human behavior is exposed in glaring light. You will find the reading gripping.”
—Karl Marlantes, Wall Street Journal

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Hue 1968 from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Thursday, September 28, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes acclaimed poet and author Eileen Myles, who will sign and discuss her new book, Afterglow (a dog memoir)!

Prolific and widely renowned, Eileen Myles is a trailblazer whose decades of literary and artistic work “set a bar for openness, frankness, and variability few lives could ever match” (New York Review of Books). This newest book paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of a beloved confidant: the pit bull called Rosie. In 1990, Myles chose Rosie from a litter on the street, and their connection instantly became central to the writer’s life and work. During the course of their sixteen years together, Myles was madly devoted to the dog’s wellbeing, especially in her final days. Starting from the emptiness following Rosie’s death, Afterglow (a dog memoir) launches a heartfelt and fabulist investigation into the true nature of the bond between pet and pet-owner.

“A ravishingly strange and gorgeous book about a dog that’s really about life and everything there is, Eileen Myles’s Afterglow is a truly astonishing creation.” —Helen Macdonald, H Is for Hawk

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of Afterglow from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line. 

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Wednesday, October 11, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes Midwest author Bryn Greenwood, who will sign and discuss her new novel, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things!

As the daughter of a drug dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible adult around. Obsessed with the constellations, she finds peace in the starry night sky above the fields behind her house, until one night her star gazing causes an accident. After witnessing his motorcycle wreck, she forms an unusual friendship with one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold. But when tragedy rips Wavy's family apart, what is beautiful to Wavy looks ugly under the scrutiny of the outside world. A powerful novel you won’t soon forget, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things challenges all we know and believe about love.

“If you’re looking for a dangerous, shocking, and unexpectedly touching story, this is it . . . This is a book that will shake you to the core.” —Bustle

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Wednesday, July 19, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes St. Louis journalist and author Bruce Olson, who will sign and discuss his new books, That St. Louis Thing: An American Story of Roots, Rhythm and Race, Volumes 1 & 2!

That St. Louis Thing is an American story of music, race relations and baseball. Here is over 100 years of the city's famed musical development—blues, jazz and rock—placed in the context of its civil rights movement and its political and ecomomic power. Here, too, are the city's people brought alive from its foundation to the racial conflicts in Ferguson in 2014. The panorama of the city presents an often overlooked gem, music that goes far beyond famed artists such as Scott Joplin, Miles Davis and Tina Turner. The city is also the scene of a historic civil rights movement that remained important from its early beginnings into the twenty-first century. And here, too, are the sounds of the crack of the bat during a century-long love affair with baseball.

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of That St. Louis Thing from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Saturday, July 15, 10:30am
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books presents a Celebrity Storytime event with St. Louis illustrator Daniel Wiseman, who will draw and read from his new picture books, When Your Lion Needs a Bath and When Your Elephant Has the Sniffles!

When your lion needs a bath, you have to be pretty sneaky! This charming and hilarious board book highlights the many ways to get your lion into that tub! Does your lion need a bath? When your lion needs a bath, you must be a little sneaky. After all, have you ever met a cat who likes water? So gather up your towels and rubber ducks and get that lion into the tub! But be careful...or you just might end up in the bath, too!

When your elephant has the sniffles, you better make sure he doesn't sneeze! This charming and hilarious board book highlights the many ways to make an under-the-weather elephant feel better! Does your elephant have the sniffles? Make sure to take good care of him because you don't want him to start sneezing. Gather up your tissues and your pillows and make that elephant feel better! But don't get too close...or you just might end up with the sniffles, too!

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.

Thursday, September 7, 5pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books welcomes actor and bestselling author Bruce Campbell, who will sign copies of his new book, Hail to the Chin: Further Confessions of a B Movie Actor!

It's been 15 years since his first memoir, but Bruce Campbell is still living the dream as a "B" movie king in an "A" movie world. Bruce makes his triumphant return from where he left off in If Chins Could Kill with further hilarious, gut-wrenchingly honest confessions. Bruce brings us through his life in the decade since his first memoir and his roles as varied as they are numerous—from his roles in the Spider-Man movies to his self-referential My Name is Bruce to his role on #1 show Burn Notice and his new STARZ hit series Ash vs Evil Dead. Hail to the Chin will be bursting with pictures and the signature humor that Bruce brought to If Chins Could Kill and will be devoured by his legions of fans across the country.

"Campbell forgoes Hollywood anecdotes for more entertaining tales of struggling to break into the biz...he’s like the dinner guest you wish would never leave." —Entertainment Weekly (on If Chins Could Kill)

Ticket Information:

– A $35 ticket admits ONE person to the signing line and includes ONE hardcover copy of Hail to the Chin. Tickets available below.

Event Guidelines:

– This event is a BOOKSIGNING ONLY. Bruce will not be speaking at this event.
– You must purchase a ticket to enter the signing line. Your place in the signing line is first-come, first-served, and will be determined by when you arrive.
– Bruce will sign and personalize all copies of Hail to the Chin purchased from Left Bank Books. One additional previous title or additional piece of merchandise can be signed. Additional books and merchandise will be available for purchase at the event. 
– Those who purchase a ticket and do not attend the event must pick up their copy of Hail To The Chin or contact Left Bank Books to arrange for shipping within 60 days of the event.

Tuesday, July 18, 7pm
Left Bank Books

Left Bank Books presents a local history showcase with Arcadia Press authors Don Corrigan and Holly Shanks (Forest Park), Maureen O’Connor Kavanaugh (Hidden History of Downtown St. Louis), Annie Amantea Blum (The Steamer Admiral), and Bob Hansman (Pruitt-Igoe)!

Don Corrigan and Holly Shanks will discuss Forest Park. At 1,293 acres, Forest Park exceeds the size of New York’s Central Park by nearly 500 acres, and within are lakes, hills, wetlands, woodlands, and bountiful recreational opportunities. Within a few decades of its 1876 opening, Forest Park became the host for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, as well as the 1904 Summer Olympics. Known as the “Heart of St. Louis,” the park features amazing attractions, such as the Saint Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, The Muny, and the Saint Louis Science Center. Millions of Americans have come to Forest Park for world-class festivities and for celebrations of heroes, from Lewis and Clark to explorers of outer space. Today, the park continues to host remarkable events, including Fair St. Louis, Earth Day, Shakespeare in the Park, and LouFest.

Maureen O’Connor Kavanaugh will discuss Hidden History of St. Louis. A reputation as the town of shoes, booze and blues persists in St. Louis. But a fascinating history waits just beneath the surface in the heart of the city, like the labyrinth of natural limestone caves where Anheuser-Busch got its start. One of the city’s Garment District shoe factories was the workplace of a young Tennessee Williams, referenced in his first Broadway play, The Glass Menagerie. Downtown’s vibrant African American community was the source and subject of such folk-blues classics as “Frankie and Johnny” and “Stagger Lee,” not to mention W.C. Handy’s classic “St. Louis Blues.” 

Annie Amantea Blum will discuss The Steamer Admiral. John Streckfus began his small Acme Company in 1889 with one wooden packet boat, the steamer Verne Swain, out of Rock Island, Illinois, carrying people and goods on the Mississippi River. His business grew, but each year brought competition from the growing railroads. He decided that excursion boats were the only way to compete. He built the steamer J.S. in 1901 and “tramped” her from town to town offering excursions and dance cruises. By 1910, the company comprised four boats and an office in St. Louis and offered excursion cruises on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The flagship, the steamer Admiral, was far above the others. She provided excursions, fun, and memories for almost 40 years.

Bob Hansman will discuss Pruitt-Igoe. In the early 1950s, Pruitt-Igoe, a vast public housing project, arose on 57 acres on the near north side of St. Louis. Barely 20 years after construction, the 33 eleven-story buildings that made up the complex were razed, and the vacant land that was once home to thousands of people was gradually reclaimed by a dense, neglected urban forest. What happened in-between is a story that tempts but also defies simple narratives. It is a story of interweaving and competing accounts, both then and now. This volume approaches Pruitt-Igoe with all of its contradiction in mind. Alongside iconic images, other seldom-seen photographs flesh out the history in sometimes surprising ways and, in doing so, preserve some of the stories that are in danger of being permanently erased and lost, just as Pruitt-Igoe was.

This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of one of the featured titles from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line. 

Parking: Lots one block north and one block east; street parking (meters free after 7pm). For directions and public transportation information, click here.