About the Executive Director

Lara Avery is a native of Topeka and the author of five novels. Her articles and essays appear in Good Housekeeping, the San Francisco Chronicle, and ARTNews, among others. She received the 2017 Minnesota Book Award for The Memory Book, and her latest novel for general audiences, The Year of Second Chances, was published by William Morrow in 2023. Lara graduated with a BA in Media and Cultural Studies from Macalester College, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Mississippi. Before moving back to Kansas in 2020, she spent thirteen years in Minnesota, where she was Director of Community Events for Revolver.MN, a literary organization. She now resides in the capital city with her husband and son, where she enjoys hiking the Governor’s mansion trails, being a regular at Blackbird Cafe, and making weekly stops at the library.