Left Bank Books and the Left Bank Books Foundation is delighted to welcome scholar and Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence winner Tom Lin, author of Babylon, South Dakota (2026), to St. Louis. 

Join us at Left Bank Books to welcome Tom Lin for a presentation and book signing, free and open to the public, or watch the livestream on Left Bank Books' YouTube page. 

RSVPs are appreciated. 

This event is possible thanks to the support of individual donations to the Left Bank Books Foundation. Donate today!

Babylon, South Dakota is a tantalizing, American West saga about a Chinese American family trying to survive on their Dakota farm as a powerful, mysterious, and morally dubious military secret shapes their lives. Yet again, Lin dazzles with his signature blend of dry wit, gorgeous prose, masterly use of setting, and touches of magical realism. Upending the trope of "strangers in a strange land," Lin writes beautifully about what it means to be one with a land even when the government makes it known that they might not be welcome. Saul and Mei's tribulations in China prior to immigrating to the U.S. will feel resonant here, too, as they are drawn from the lived experiences of Lin's grandfather during the 1960s.