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. Contact [email protected] or 651-222-3242.

Full Calendar of Events

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko 6:00 pm
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko @ Highland Park Library - Community Room
Apr 11 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko @ Highland Park Library - Community Room
Fitzgerald In Saint Paul: The St. Paul Stories with Klecko Story: Winter Dreams Thursday, April 11 | 6:00 p.m. Highland Park Library – Community Room | 1974 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55116 Explore F.…
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Books & Bars: “I Have Some Questions for You” by Rebecca Makkai 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “I Have Some Questions for You” by Rebecca Makkai @ Sociable Cider Werks
Apr 17 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai @ Sociable Cider Werks
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai Wednesday, April 17 6:30 p.m. Discussion Sociable Cider Werks 1500 Fillmore St. NE Minneapolis This event is FREE and open to the public. — A successful…
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Leaving a Legacy: Estate Planning 101 4:00 pm
Leaving a Legacy: Estate Planning 101 @ Zoom
Apr 23 @ 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Leaving a Legacy: Estate Planning 101 @ Zoom
Leaving a Legacy: Estate Planning 101 with Attorney Rachel Schromen Tuesday, April 23 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. Free Webinar | Register Now As you wrap up your taxes, now is the perfect time to review…
Books & Bars: “I Have Some Questions for You” by Rebecca Makkai 6:30 pm
Books & Bars: “I Have Some Questions for You” by Rebecca Makkai @ Urban Growler
Apr 23 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Books & Bars: "I Have Some Questions for You" by Rebecca Makkai @ Urban Growler
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai Tuesday, April 23 6:30 p.m. Discussion Urban Growler 2325 Endicott St St. Paul This event is FREE and open to the public. — A successful film…
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Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Aitkin 6:00 pm
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Aitkin @ Aitkin Public Library
Apr 25 @ 6:00 pm
Moving Words: Writers Across Minnesota | Aitkin @ Aitkin Public Library
Moving Words: Author Discussion Thursday, April 25 | 6:00 p.m. Aitkin Public Library | 110 1st Ave NE, Aitkin MN 56431 Free | Registration not required Enjoy a lively discussion with two Minnesota authors: Kao…
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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.

Apr
23
Tue
Books & Bars: “I Have Some Questions for You” by Rebecca Makkai @ Urban Growler
Apr 23 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

Tuesday, April 23
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Urban Growler
2325 Endicott St
St. Paul

This event is FREE and open to the public.

A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family tragedy that marred her adolescence, her four largely miserable years at a New Hampshire boarding school, and the murder of her former roommate, Thalia Keith, in the spring of their senior year.

When the Granby School invites her back to teach a course, Bodie is inexorably drawn to the case and its increasingly apparent flaws. As she falls down the very rabbit hole she was so determined to avoid, Bodie begins to wonder if she wasn’t as much of an outsider at Granby as she’d thought—if, perhaps, back in 1995, she knew something that might have held the key to solving the case.


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.

May
15
Wed
Books & Bars: “When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill @ Sociable Cider Werks
May 15 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Wednesday, May 15
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Sociable Cider Werks
1500 Fillmore St
Minneapolis

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.


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.

May
21
Tue
Books & Bars: “When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill @ Urban Growler
May 21 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Tuesday, May 21
6:30 p.m. Discussion

Urban Growler
2325 Endicott Street
Saint Paul

This event is FREE and open to the public.

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours, except for its most seminal event: the Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales, and talons; left a trail of fiery destruction in their path; and took to the skies.

Forced into silence, Alex nevertheless must face the consequences of this astonishing event: a mother more protective than ever; an absentee father; the upsetting insistence that her aunt never even existed; and watching her beloved cousin Bea become dangerously obsessed with the forbidden.


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.

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.

The need for a strong library is greater than ever.