Heartland Book Festival (October 11): Authors, Panels, Workshops & More

Name: Heartland Book Festival (October 11): Authors, Panels, Workshops & More
Start: 2025-10-11T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-10-11T16:00:00-05:00
Location: The Kansas City Public Library: Central Library

Schedule

Sat Oct 11 2025 at 09:00 am to 04:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

The Kansas City Public Library: Central Library | Kansas City, MO

Join us for a full day of events featuring bestselling authors Taylor Jenkins Reid, Derrick Barnes, Nnedi Okorafor, and Adib Khorram.
About this Event

On October 11, the 3rd Heartland Book Festival offers a full day of programming for readers and writers of all ages. Enjoy author talks, panel discussions, workshops, storytimes, book signings, regional vendors, food trucks, and more.

Admission is free, but entry tickets are required. Seating for individual events and activities is available first come, first served until spaces reach capacity.

Full lineup details:

Admission with this ticket is valid for Day 2 only. to get your tickets for October 10.

Featured Main Stage Authors Include:

Derrick Barnes: The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze [10 - 11 a.m.] - A National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honoree, Children’s book author Derrick Barnes discusses his new middle grade novel. It features Henson Blayze, a 13-year-old Black football player with extraordinary talent who faces prejudice in a predominantly white town in the Mississippi Delta. The novel, spanning from the 1800s to today, details how much — and how little — things have changed.

A book signing will follow the event.

CLICK HERE for bio

Nnedi Okorafor: Death of the Author [12 - 1 p.m.] - Award-winning novelist Nnedi Okorafor is best known for fiction she calls Africanfuturism — science fiction and fantasy comingling with her Nigerian heritage. She talks about her latest book, a novel within a novel, which imagines the reshaping of a world that has come undone.

A book signing will follow the event.

CLICK HERE for bio

Taylor Jenkins Reid: Atmosphere [2:30 - 3:30 p.m.] - New York Times-bestselling author, Taylor Jenkins Reid, explores iconic times and locations through complex characters with fascinating careers in film, music, and the arts. She and Kansas City-based author Adib Khorram discuss her latest novel, which transports readers to space in the 1980s.

A book signing will follow the event.

CLICK HERE for bio

Festival Organizers

The Heartland Book Festival is co-presented by the Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Humanities, Mid-Continent Public Library, and the Missouri Center for the Book.

Additional sponsorship is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, Kansas City, Missouri’s Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund, Pete Browne and Julie Walker Browne, Kissick Construction, and Kansas City Public Library Greenwood Society.