Since 2019, the Maryville Public Library has held an annual book fair to highlight such work and allow patrons a chance to speak with the many writers who call Maryville home.
“Our author community [in Maryville] is bigger than anybody would expect – and they’re all lovely!” said novelist Bailey Elizabeth, at this year’s book fair event on Dec. 6.
Elizabeth published her first book in 2015 and has been producing horror and fantasy works ever since; she recently opened Plot Twist Café, a bookstore and coffee shop on 5th street in Maryville.
“I’ve also based some of my stories in the town of Maryville, because it’s very cozy. It’s very good for a horror setting,” said Elizabeth, laughing.
A dozen authors attended this year's event, which was billed as a ‘Pop-Up Bookstore’ to recognize the entry of Plot Twist Café into the local literary scene.
“Some of us who grew up in the 1900s remember there being bookstores in a lot of places!” said Library Director Stephanie Patterson, “so we decided to invite [Plot Twist] and call this year’s event a ‘Pop-Up Bookstore.’” A representative from Usborne Books, a children’s book publisher, was also on hand.
While many writers attend annually, releasing new work each year, this year’s event featured multiple first-time authors; Mordecai Muriisa, of Clarinda, Iowa, published his first book last December, The Odyssey of the Optimist, a memoir documenting his journey to the United States from Uganda and his triumph over adversity along the way.
While seeking to leave his home country, Muriisa met a woman on Facebook who helped him get to the United States. “When I couldn’t go back to Uganda, she housed me at her home in Gravity, Iowa for quite some time. I was still going through the immigration process at the time, and when I was finally able to work in the United States, the first place I went to was Clarinda, to find a job.”
Muriisa now broadcasts on YouTube and TikTok, addressing hundreds of thousands of followers both in Uganda and across the world to discuss the injustices committed by President Yoweri Museveni and his regime, which has ruled the country for nearly 40 years.
Another new author, Gail Pennebaker of Elmo, Missouri, published her first book in February. Titled A Work of Art Straight from My Heart, it collects years' worth of her poetry.
“I’ve had it written but I didn’t know how to put it together,” she said. “After I retired, everything fell into place.”
Other writers in attendance included Barbara Cochran, Amy Houts and Jason Offutt, all of Maryville. While some may be surprised that a small town has so many productive authors, Patterson said it’s fitting for the community.
“We have a lot of readers in Maryville,” she said, “so it makes sense that we have a lot of writers.”
