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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibit: “Gatsby at 100” Exhibit: “Gatsby at 100” @ Minneapolis Institute of Arts Sep 13 2025 – Mar 22 2026 all-day 
“Gatsby at 100” Exhibit September 13, 2025 – March 22, 2026 Minneapolis Institute of Arts 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis “Gatsby at 100,” opening in fall 2025 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, will explore… | ||||||
| Books & Bars: “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett 6:30 pm Books & Bars: “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett @ Utepils Dec 10 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm 
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Wednesday, December 10 6:30 p.m. Discussion Utepils 225 Thomas Ave N, Minneapolis This event is FREE and open to the public. — Somewhere in South America, at the home of… | ||||||
| Books & Bars: “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett 6:30 pm Books & Bars: “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett @ Urban Growler Dec 16 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Tuesday, December 16 6:30 p.m. Discussion Urban Growler 2325 Endicott St St. Paul This event is FREE and open to the public. — Somewhere in South America, at the home… | ||||||
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.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Wednesday, December 10
6:30 p.m. Discussion
Utepils
225 Thomas Ave N,
Minneapolis
This event is FREE and open to the public.
—
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country’s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera’s most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.
—
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.
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
Tuesday, December 16
6:30 p.m. Discussion
Urban Growler
2325 Endicott St
St. Paul
This event is FREE and open to the public.
—
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country’s vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera’s most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening—until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers.
—
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.
Eight Billion Genies by Charles Soule
Wednesday, January 21
6:30 p.m. Discussion
Utepils
225 Thomas Ave N,
Minneapolis
This event is FREE and open to the public.
—
If you had one wish…what would you wish for? Now, what if everyone else had one wish too? At exactly the same moment, everyone on earth gets a genie and one wish. All hell breaks loose, in a very entertaining way…and that’s just the beginning.
—
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.
“Gatsby at 100” Exhibit
September 13, 2025 – March 22, 2026
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis
“Gatsby at 100,” opening in fall 2025 at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, will explore how F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel shaped and was shaped by the visual art of his time. The exhibition will bring together works from Mia’s collection that embody the decadence, social upheaval, and underlying racism of Fitzgerald’s most famous novel, highlighting paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs that are rarely on view. Like Fitzgerald, artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Oskar Kokoschka, and Henri Matisse, as well as regional artists like Wanda Gág, Clement Haupers, and Frances Cranmer Greenman, endeavored to capture the contradictions of the Jazz Age, a term coined by Fitzgerald himself. Entry is free.
Learn more here.
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 is convening 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. In partnership with Saint Paul Public Library, Fireside Reading Series highlights some of Minnesota’s finest writers who have published new work. Events take place Wednesday evenings in January at 6:30 p.m. at Rondo Community Library and via Zoom.
January 15 | Jokeda “JoJo” Bell, Red Stained: The Life of Hilda Simms
January 22 | Naomi Cohn, The Braille Encyclopedia
January 29 | Pallavi Sharma Dixit, Edison
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 2024 recordings here.
Watch the 2023 recordings here.
Watch the 2022 recordings here.
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 2025 Series is "Songs for Our Fathers: A Series to Celebrate Fatherhood" This series includes two panel discussions that aims to bridge cultural, racial, and generational divides as single fathers, married fathers, stepfathers, and grandfathers gather to explore the songs and silences passed down by our fathers, and the stories we’re crafting now as we raise, support, and stand beside the next generation.
Moderators: Suleiman Adan and Ben Weaver
Click on an event to the right to learn more.