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One Author, One Kirkwood

One Author, One Kirkwood is a yearly community read for the people throughout our St. Louis community. All events are free and open to the public.

February 21, 2024 at 7PM

Kirkwood Performing Arts Center
210 E Monroe Ave
Kirkwood, MO

Registration is free, but is required to attend. Limited quantities of Brendan Slocumb’s latest book, Symphony of Secrets, will be available for free for attendees on a first come, first serve basis.

Image is the logo for One Author, One Kirkwood. The image is a red circle with a white center. Inside the center is an outline of the Kirkwood Public Library building over an open book. Under the book the text reads, "Discover More." In the red outer circle there is white text that follows along the top of the circle that reads, "One Author, One Kirkwood." and along the bottom of the circle it reads, "Kirkwood Public Library."

Funding for the One Author series of programs is provided by the Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation.

A picture of the author, a man in a teal shirt with a watch on and a gray tshirt underneath his teal shirt. He is holding a copy of the Violin Conspirary (with a red cover) and a violin. There is a room in the background blurred out with plants next to a window.

Brendan Slocumb

Originally from Fayetteville, North Carolina, he started playing the violin at the age of nine and majored in music at the University of North Carolina. In addition to performing in orchestras, he also works as a teacher in kindergarten, elementary and junior high  and high school music education. The Violin Conspiracy is his debut work as a novelist, followed by Symphony of Secrets. (Bio courtesy of the author)

The Violin Conspiracy (2022)

Ray McMillian loves playing the violin more than anything, and nothing will stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician. Not his mother, who thinks he should get a real job, not the fact that he can’t afford a high-caliber violin, not the racism inherent in the classical music world. And when he makes the startling discovery that his great-great-grandfather’s fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, his star begins to rise. Then with the International Tchaikovsky Competition–the Olympics of classical music–fast approaching, his prized family heirloom is stolen. Ray is determined to get it back. But now his family and the descendants of the man who once enslaved Ray’s great-great-grandfather are each claiming that the violin belongs to them.

Symphony of Secrets (2023)

When he is asked to authenticate a newly discovered piece from famed 20th-century composer Frederick Delaney, Bern Hendricks uncovers clues that indicate Delaney may have had help composing his most successful work, which makes him a target of a powerful organization that will stop at nothing to keep its secret hidden.

We also have book club kits available for checkout to your book club!

Upcoming One Author Events


Past Years’ Selections

2023 – Morgan Talty Night of the Living Rez

2022 – Diana Abu-Jaber Fencing with the King and Life without a Recipe

2021 – Brit Bennett The Vanishing Half and The Mothers

2019 – Chris Bohjalian The Flight AttendantThe Sandcastle Girls, and Buffalo Soldier

2018- Stephanie Powell Watts No One Is Coming to Save Us

Past Years’ Selections

2017- Ariel Lawhon Flight of Dreams

2016- Laura McHugh Arrowood and Curtis Sittenfeld Eligible

2015- Robin Sloan Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore *Skype visit

2014- Alex George A Good American

2013- Joseph Schuster The Might Have Been

2012- Timothy Schaffert The Coffins of Little Hope


Event Partners

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Food for Fines - March 24-30
Each canned/boxed item donated takes $1 off your fees up to $25. No glass, expired, or heavily dented items. Applies to Kirkwood fees and/or items only.

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PARDON OUR DUST : Some areas of the library are under construction and will be inaccessible. Inquire within for more information.

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