
Spring Road Trip Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Event Details
Come along for the ride!
MIBA and our Central Iowa bookstores would like to invite you to Des Moines, Iowa and the surrounding area for our Spring Road Trip. We are proud of our bookstores’ dedication to working collaboratively, encouraging one another, offering unique experiences to customers, and supporting a robust indie bookselling community in this part of our region. Learning from other booksellers makes us all better, and we would love to learn together with you.
Industry members: See sponsorship and author opportunities
Date and location
- May 2-3 in Des Moines, Iowa
- We'll meet at the Des Moines Botanical Garden and also at our indie bookstores
Estimated attendance
- 100 booksellers plus industry partners
Deadline
-
Author pitch deadline: March 31 (sooner is always better!)
Drive times
- Bismarck - 9.5 hours
- Chicago - 4.5 hours
- Milwaukee - 5 hours
- St. Louis - 5 hours
- Minneapolis - 3.5 hours
- Kansas City - 3 hours
- Omaha - 2 hours

Agenda
May 2 | |
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM | Bookstore Tour Hop on our chartered bus to enjoy a tour of Des Moines area bookstores. |
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM | Welcome to the Garden Pick up your badge at the registration desk and enjoy a walk around the beautiful Des Moines Botanical Garden. |
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Programming at the Garden - Round 1 Content to be revealed |
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM | East Village stroll Visit Storyhouse Bookpub and wander around Des Moines' East Village, enjoying local shops and community partner surprises to be revealed |
8:00 PM - 12:00 AM | Drinks on the AC Rooftop |
May 3 | |
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM | Programming at the Garden - Round 2 Content to be revealed |
11:45 AM - 1:30 PM | Industry Luncheon Make lasting connections with our sponsors and our Midwest sales reps |
1:45 PM - 3:00 PM | Author Signing Party |
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Closing Reception at Dog Eared Books |
For More Information:
Airports
- Des Moines International Airport is located close to downtown and offers all the conveniences of a major airport.
Lodging
- AC Hotel Des Moines East Village for $169 USD per night. The hotel is a 12-minute walk from the botanical garden and a 2-minute walk to Storyhouse Bookpub
- Room block available: May 1 through May 5
- Last day to book: April 5
- Book your room