Calendar of Events

One way The Friends invests in the library is by connecting readers and writers statewide through a range of programs. For more than 30 years, we have offered programs that entertain, enrich, and nourish curious minds.

Our events are always open to the public and most are free. Browse our calendar below.

Captioning is provided for our livestream events; ASL interpretation is available upon request with at least seven days’ notice. To request ASL interpretation or other accommodations, contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

Full Calendar of Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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Latino Poetry: “Places We Call Home” – A Reading with Ray Gonzalez and Lupe Castillo 6:30 pm
Latino Poetry: “Places We Call Home” – A Reading with Ray Gonzalez and Lupe Castillo @ Riverview Library
Oct 7 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Latino Poetry: "Places We Call Home" - A Reading with Ray Gonzalez and Lupe Castillo @ Riverview Library
~ESPAÑOL ABAJO~ Latino Poetry: Places We Call Home A Reading with Ray Gonzalez and Lupe Castillo Monday, October 7, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Riverview Library 1 East George Street, Saint Paul What does Latino poetry reveal about…
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Opus & Olives: A Benefit with Friends 5:00 pm
Opus & Olives: A Benefit with Friends @ Saint Paul RiverCentre
Oct 13 @ 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Opus & Olives: A Benefit with Friends @ Saint Paul RiverCentre
Opus & Olives: A Benefit with Friends Sunday, October 13, 2024 5:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception | 6:15 p.m. Dinner and Author Presentations Saint Paul RiverCentre | 175 Kellogg Boulevard West, Saint Paul Opus & Olives…
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Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Luverne 10:30 am
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Luverne @ Rock County Community Library
Oct 14 @ 10:30 am
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Luverne @ Rock County Community Library
Moving Words: Author Discussion Monday, October 14 | 10:30 a.m. Rock County Community Library | 201 W Main St, Luverne MN 56156 Free | Registration not required Enjoy a lively discussion with three Minnesota authors:…
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Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett @ Sociable Cider Werks
Oct 16 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "James" by Percival Everett @ Sociable Cider Werks
James by Percival Everett Wednesday, October 16th 6:30 p.m. Discussion Sociable Cider Werks 1500 Fillmore St NE Minneapolis This event is FREE and open to the public. — A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures…
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Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko (October 2024) 6:00 pm
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko (October 2024) @ Merriam Park - Meeting Room A
Oct 17 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko (October 2024) @ Merriam Park - Meeting Room A
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko Thursday, October 17 | 6:00 p.m. Merriam Library – Meeting Room A 1831 Marshall Ave, St Paul, MN 55103 Explore F. Scott Fitzgerald’s St. Paul…
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Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett @ Urban Growler
Oct 22 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "James" by Percival Everett @ Urban Growler
James by Percival Everett Tuesday, October 22nd 6:30 p.m. Discussion Urban Growler 2325 Endicott Street St. Paul This event is FREE and open to the public. — A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of…
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Fergus Falls 7:00 pm
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Fergus Falls @ A Center for the Arts
Oct 22 @ 7:00 pm
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Fergus Falls @ A Center for the Arts
Moving Words: Author Discussion Tuesday, October 22 | 7:00 p.m. Hosted by Fergus Falls Public Library at A Center for the Arts | 124 W Lincoln Ave, Fergus Falls MN 56537 Free | Registration not…
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Ongoing Series

Books & Bars

With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to our computer screen every first Wednesday of the month.

Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Oct
16
Wed
Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett @ Sociable Cider Werks
Oct 16 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

James by Percival Everett

Wednesday, October 16th
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Sociable Cider Werks
1500 Fillmore St NE
Minneapolis

This event is FREE and open to the public.

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from Jim’s point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Oct
22
Tue
Books & Bars: “James” by Percival Everett @ Urban Growler
Oct 22 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

James by Percival Everett

Tuesday, October 22nd
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Urban Growler
2325 Endicott Street
St. Paul

This event is FREE and open to the public.

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and ferociously funny, told from Jim’s point of view. When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond. While many narrative set pieces of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place, Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Nov
20
Wed
Books & Bars: “Mercury Pictures Presents” by Anthony Marra @ Sociable Cider Werks
Nov 20 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra

Wednesday, November 20th
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Sociable Cider Werks
1500 Fillmore St NE
Minneapolis

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Born in Rome, where every Sunday her father took her to the cinema instead of church, Maria immigrates with her mother to Los Angeles after a childhood transgression leads to her father’s arrest. Fifteen years later, on the eve of America’s entry into World War II, Maria is an associate producer at Mercury Pictures. Over the coming months, as the bright lights go dark across Los Angeles, Mercury Pictures becomes a nexus of European émigrés. While the world descends into war, Maria rises through a maze of conflicting politics, divided loyalties, and jockeying ambitions. But when the arrival of a stranger from her father’s past threatens Maria’s carefully constructed facade, she must finally confront her father’s fate—and her own.


With The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, moderator Jeff Kamin brings his unique take on a public book club show to Saint Paul. Even if you don’t like the featured book, he “guarantees a good time at our entertaining discussions.” All are welcome to try this moderated reinvention of the book club.

Fitzgerald in Saint Paul

The Friends stewards F. Scott Fitzgerald’s legacy through programming that celebrates the life and literature of the revered author and inspires people to reflect on both his historical and contemporary significance.  Learn more here.

Oct
17
Thu
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko (October 2024) @ Merriam Park - Meeting Room A
Oct 17 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko

Thursday, October 17 | 6:00 p.m.
Merriam Library – Meeting Room A
1831 Marshall Ave, St Paul, MN 55103


Explore F. Scott Fitzgerald’s St. Paul stories in a casual environment with St. Paul and Fitzgerald enthusiast, Klecko. Your host will take advantage of his eclectic network to shine a light on the present-day resonance of the themes in Fitzgerald’s short fiction. Special guests in October are: Mary Ann Grossmann & JD Fratzke.

ASL interpretation is available upon request with at least seven days’ notice. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

Jan
18
Sat
“F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography:” Book launch and conversation with editors @ Arlington Hills Community Center
Jan 18 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography: Book launch and conversation with editors 

Saturday, January 18 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Arlington Hills Community Center | 1200 Payne Ave, Saint Paul 

Livestream registration: Coming soon 

Editors Niklas Salmose and David Rennie will join contributors David Page and Ross Tangedal in conversation to celebrate the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Composite Biography. This unique biography tells the story of Fitzgerald’s life through the writing of 23 different scholars.

Light food will be provided, and book sales will be available on site.
To request ASL interpretation or other accommodations, contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242 at least seven days in advance. The livestream will be captioned.  

This book is published by the University of Minnesota Press with support from The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library through the Richard P. McDermott Fund.
 

Gatsby at 100
2025 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. To mark this milestone, The Friends will convene a variety of programs that invite us to revisit the book and consider how its themes apply today. Learn more and browse programs here. 

Feb
12
Wed
The Great Gatsby: Performance & Talk by Literature to Life @ George Latimer Central Library - Magazine Room
Feb 12 @ 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

The Great Gatsby: Performance & Talk by Literature to Life
Wednesday, February 12 | 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
George Latimer Central Library – Magazine Room
90 W 4th Street, Saint Paul 

Literature to Life adapts F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic work as the newest title in their Signature Performance series. The novel touches on the treatment of different social classes, gender, race, environmentalism, and the price of the American Dream. Literature to Life Signature Performances are professionally staged adaptations of award-winning literary works performed by a single actor. Each performance is accompanied by pre- and post-show discussion. 

To request ASL interpretation or other accommodations, contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242 at least seven days in advance. 

Gatsby at 100
2025 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book The Great Gatsby. To mark this milestone, The Friends will convene a variety of programs that invite us to revisit the book and consider how its themes apply today. Learn more and browse programs here. 

Fireside Reading Series

Cozy up for four weeks of readings with great writers. Fireside Reading Series, in partnership with Saint Paul Public Library for 30 years, highlights some of Minnesota’s finest writers who have published new work. Events this season took place Wednesday evenings in January at 6:30 p.m. at Rondo Community Library and via Zoom.

Watch recordings of the 2024 events by clicking the links below.

January 10 | Nigar Alam, Under the Tamarind Tree

January 17 | Mona Power, A Council of Dolls

January 24 | Jody Lulich, In the Company of Grace

January 31 | Raymond Luczak, Far From Atlantis

Captioning will be provided for all four Zoom livestream events; ASL interpretation will be provided for the 1/31 event and is available upon request for the other events with at least seven days’ notice. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

These programs are made possible in part through an appropriation from the Minnesota State Legislature to The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as the Minnesota Center for the Book.

 

Previous Seasons:
Watch the 2023 recordings here.
Watch the 2022 recordings.
Watch the full playlist of events from 2020.
Listen to podcasts from previous years.

 

 

Read Brave Saint Paul

Read Brave is Saint Paul's annual citywide book club hosted by Mayor Carter and Saint Paul Public Library. Read Brave taps into the power of books to bring residents together to read and talk bravely across generations about an issue critical to Saint Paul and its future. The 2024 Read Brave book pick is the young adult novel Man o’ War by Cory McCarthy

Sign up for the Read Brave e-newsletters or visit the Library's Read Brave webpage to learn how to access books and events.

More Than a Single Story

More Than a Single Story is a series of panel discussions/public conversations where writers of color discuss issues of importance to them in their own voices and in their own words.

The 2024 Series is called "Songs for Our Fathers: A Series to Celebrate Fatherhood" This series of three panel discussions and three writing workshops aims to bridge cultural, racial, and generational divides as single fathers, young married fathers, and grandfathers reflect on their unique journeys, share perspectives, and connect over the joys and challenges of fatherhood.

Panel Discussions
Event 1: In Praise of Single Fathers
Event 2: The Unsung Realities of Fatherhood
Event 3: For the Love of Our Grandfathers

Workshops
Workshop 1: Unpacking “Single” Fatherhood
Workshop 2: The Unsung Realities of Modern Fatherhood
Workshop 3: Father and Son

The need for a strong library is greater than ever.