Welcome to the 15th Annual Pikes Peak Library District Mountain of Authors!
Keynote: Lt. Joe Kenda (Ret.)
Check out the 2021 Mountain of Authors keynote address by author and retired homicide detective Lt. Joe Kenda. Joe spoke for approximately 45 minutes, and then opened it up to a question and answer session.
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Lt. Joe Kenda, a twenty-three-year veteran of the Colorado Springs Police Department, spent twenty-one years chasing killers as a homicide detective and commander of the major crimes unit. Kenda and his team solved 356 of his 387 homicide cases, getting a 92 percent solve rate—one of the highest in the country. After retiring from law enforcement, he starred in Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda, an American true-crime documentary series that ran for nine seasons on the Investigation Discovery network and was aired in sixty-nine countries and territories worldwide. At its peak, Homicide Hunter averaged 1.9 million viewers in the US. See Lt. Kenda on his new crime series, American Detective, available to stream now on discovery+.
Live Panel
Please join us for this year's live, in-person panel, "Case File Conversations: Crime and the People that Chronicle It." This hour long presentation will complement the virtual keynote address by Joe Kenda on Sat., May 1, 2021, and recorded local author Book Buzz presentations. The panelists will discuss their respective careers, how they became involved in the field of crime writing/solving/reporting, and their experiences with it in the Colorado Springs community.
Recording coming soon
This year's panelists include:
- 2020 Colorado Book Award finalist (Thriller Category) for Black Pearl and author of police procedural and psychological suspense fiction Donnell Ann Bell
- Retired Colorado Springs Police Officer and compiler of the Homicides of the Colorado Springs Area, 1872 to Present index in Pikes Peak Library District Special Collections, Dwight Haverkorn.
- Hosts of the Colorado Springs Gazette podcast Colorado Cold Case, Olivia Prentzel and Lance Benzel.
Book Buzz
Pike Peak Library District's annual Mountain of Authors program, including the Local Author Showcase, has gone virtual! For our virtual event, local authors have created fun and exciting Book Buzzes (short videos) to share their new books with you. Join us to discover new authors and great books for the fall. View all the videos here and see what the buzz is all about!
Videos premiered Sat., May 1 on PPLDTV YouTube.
Self-Publishing Workshop
Want to publish your own book? Learn more about self-publishing opportunities with the Library, such as Biblioboard and the Indie Author Project. This class is an overview about the self-publishing process, including creating an eBook, distribution channels, and marketing.
Video premieres Sat., May 1 on PPLDTV YouTube.