The Wonder of Words Festival (WOW!), hosted by the Downtown Community Alliance and Des Moines Public Library, will kick off on Oct. 17.

The festival will run through Oct. 29 at various downtown locations. The new festival will connect readers, writers and publishers through a variety of programs, including a Pub(lishers) Crawl on Oct. 22 that goes to El Bait Shop, Library Café, High Life Lounge and Royal Mile; an Evening With Dennis Lehane on Oct. 25 at Hoyt Sherman Place; and an Iowa Authors Fair on Oct. 28 at Capital Square.

For more information on events and pricing, click here.