Read Saint Louis Brings Pulitzer Prize Winner to Town

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Ford will come to St. Louis in March as one of the authors featured in Read Saint Louis, a community initiative created by the St. Louis City and St. Louis County Library systems to encourage reading and discussion.

Leaders of the area library systems met at Kathryn Linnemann Library branch to kick off Read Saint Louis 2013 on Tuesday. Five authors will speak at libraries in the area this year. 

"The Read Saint Louis program helps to promote literacy by providing fun reading and exciting experiences," said Jim Brown, director of the St. Charles City-County Library District. 

St. Charles City-County Library system is participating in Read Saint Louis for a second time and will host author Laura Moriarity, whose book "The Chaperone" is on the New York Times bestseller list. 

"It's a big, popular title with book discussion groups and we have a lot of book discussion groups at the library," said Sara Nielsen, manager of community branches and adult programming for the St. Charles City-County Library District. 

The library system may host a reception so that book discussion participants can meet her. Moriarty will do a larger discussion with the community at 7 p.m. on June 13. 

Maggie Preiss, spokeswoman for the St. Charles Library District, said the program helps encourage people in St. Charles and St. Louis counties to cross the river and check out events on the other side. 

"I think it's just having people kind of cross that bridge, so to speak, through books," she said. 

2013 Read Saint Louis Author Events

Richard Ford, author of "Canada," will speak at 7 p.m. Friday, March 8 at St. Louis County Library Headquarters.

Cheryl Strayed, author of "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail," will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 17 at St. Louis County Library Headquarters. 

Andrew Carroll, author of historic nonfiction "Here is Where: Discovering America's Great Forgotten History," will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 12 at the Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, 1301 Olive Street, St. Louis.

Laura Moriarty, author of "The Chaperone," will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at the Spencer Road Branch of the St. Charles City-County Library. 

Mem Fox, children's book author whose newest book is "Yoo-Hoo, Ladybug!" will speak at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 at the Central Branch of the St. Louis Public Library, 1301 Olive Street in St. Louis.