11-1 | Meet the Author – Ryan T. Pozzi

About this event

The Mess That Made Them is story-driven narrative nonfiction built from case studies of creators who made lasting work while their lives were actively falling apart. Instead of treating “genius” as a personality trait, it follows the real pattern: refusal, containment, survival, exile, darkness, reinvention, and the stubborn choice to keep making things anyway. The book blends cultural history with a personal-essay intimacy and a sharp, candid voice, turning famous names into usable stories for anyone who feels stuck in the messy middle. Ryan T. Pozzi is a writer and essayist whose work interrogates legacy, myth, and reputation, with particular attention to who shapes our understanding of history. His debut, The Mess That Made Them, will be released by Bloomsbury on September 3, 2026 and is currently available for preorder. His work has been accepted by Rattle, Fjords Review, Broad River Review, and Northern New England Review, among others, and he was a 2025 Best of the Net nominee. He’s just across the river from Omaha and loves a good bookstore conversation. This event will be moderated by Kali White VanBaale, a Des Moines-area creative writing professor and award-winning author of Release of Information, The Monsters We Make, The Good Divide, and The Space Between. She’s the recipient of an American Book Award, an Independent Publisher’s silver medal for general fiction, the Fred Bonnie Memorial First Novel Award, the Eric Hoffer Book Award for General Fiction, an Iowa Arts Council major artist grant, and the Great River Writer’s Retreat. Kali holds an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s a core faculty member in the Lindenwood University MFA in Writing Program and regularly teaches writing workshops at various conferences and festivals. In addition to writing and teaching, Kali is an advocate and state lobbyist for mental healthcare reform.