• Now entering its 22nd year, the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts hosts reading events with a variety of prominent authors throughout the academic year.

  • All DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts events are free and open to the public.

  • Author Bret Anthony Johnston (above) will participate in two FREE events with DMACC on Thur., Aug. 29.

  • FREE hardcover copies of Johnston's latest novel, "We Burn Daylight," will be available for those who attend, while supplies last!

The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts is pleased to open its 2024-25 Author Series with best-selling novelist and former professional skateboarder Bret Anthony Johnston, who will read from his work during two free events on Thur., Aug. 29, in Greater Des Moines.

Now entering its 22nd year, the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts regularly spotlights a variety of prominent authors throughout the academic year. All events are free and open to the public.

“We are excited to launch the 2024-25 DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, which has now been welcoming locally, regionally and nationally known authors to DMACC and the Greater Des Moines region for 22 years,” said Marc Dickinson, DMACC English Professor and Coordinator of the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts. “We hope that many people will take advantage of this of this wonderful opportunity to hear from and be inspired by a diverse group of award-winning fiction writers and poets throughout the year.”

Bret Anthony Johnston will participate in the following DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts events:

  • Thur., Aug. 29, 11:15 a.m., DMACC Ankeny Campus, 2006 S. Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny, Iowa (Bldg. 2, Room 25B)

  • Thur., Aug. 29, 7 p.m., Beaverdale Books, 2629 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa

Each event will last approximately one hour and will also feature a Q&A with the author. Of note, FREE hardcover copies of Johnston's latest novel, “We Burn Daylight,” will be available for those who attend, while supplies last! 

About the author: Bret Anthony Johnston

After selling his television to buy his first skateboard almost 40 years ago, Bret Anthony Johnston went on to become a professional skateboarder, and the sport – along with writing – remains one of his great passions.

Today, Johnston is also an internationally best-selling author, with his novels “We Burn Daylight” and “Remember Me Like This,” as well as his multi-award-winning collection “Corpus Christi: Stories,” having earned fans far and wide. Johnson also edited “Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer” and wrote the skateboarding documentary film “Waiting for Lightning,” which was released in theaters around the world.

Among Johnston’s many honors are a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, the Glasgow Prize and the Sunday Times Short Story Award. His work has been widely translated and appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire, The Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review and The Best American Short Stories, among other esteemed publications.

And now, after directing the creative writing program at Harvard University for over a decade, Johnston currently serves as the Director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. You can still catch him on his skateboard every now and then, too.

Select writings by Bret Anthony Johnston:

For more information about the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, visit cla.dmacc.edu or contact Marc Dickinson, DMACC English Professor and Coordinator of the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, at (515) 964-6221 or madickinson@dmacc.edu.