Author Fest 2025 to feature Tim Johnston

The Washington Public Library is presenting our 4th annual Author Fest on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to noon. Local author, Tim Johnston, will be featured and reading from his latest book Distant Sons at 10 a.m. Afterward, participants are welcome to ask questions and Tim will be available to sign his books.

Tim Johnston is the author of the novels Descent, The Current, and Distant Sons, all part of a bestselling trilogy. He has also written a story collection Irish Girl and the Young Adult novel Never So Green. A New York Times, USA Today, and Indie national bestseller, Descent has been published internationally and optioned for film. Also optioned for film, The Current won the Midland Authors 2020 Adult Fiction Award, and Distant Sons was the 2025 All Iowa Reads selection in Adult Fiction. The stories of Irish Girl won an O. Henry Prize and other awards, while the collection itself won the 2009 Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction. Tim’s stories have appeared in New England Review, New Letters, The Iowa Review, The Missouri Review, Double Take, Best Life Magazine, and Narrative Magazine, among others. After earning degrees from the University of Iowa and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Tim made a living for twenty-five years as a carpenter. He is the recipient of the 2015 Iowa Author Award and currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

As well as our author reading at 10 a.m., the library will have an Author Gallery with local authors including Dan Henderson, Annessa Meader, and Kristene Evans available to sign their books. If other authors would like a table, please email leann.kunz@washington.lib.ia.us or tammy.valentine@washington.lib.ia.us. Please come out and celebrate local authors and their accomplishments with us. Light refreshments will be served.