Best of KC 2025: Rainy Day Books machine punches above its weight
Photo by Joe Ellett
Earlier this month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can take a peek at the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some local people, places, and things that we thought clearly won 2025. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November.
Fairway’s Rainy Day Books is a modest powerhouse when it comes to bringing giants of the literary world—in what seems like every week—to Kansas City for our enrichment. This year, they’re celebrating 50 years as a bookish beacon.
From Pulitzer Prize-winning authors like Percival Everett (James) to notable White House journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes (Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House), Rainy Day Books has a knack for spotlighting local voices while also bringing incredible national talent to the Midwest.
These efforts are community-centered and hardly cost-prohibitive. When you attend Rainy Day Books events, you not only receive a copy of the featured work, but also a rare opportunity to interact with some of your favorite authors.
However, outstanding events hosted by this team might go unnoticed if you don’t keep a close eye out. We recommend you follow this local indie gem on their social media, including their Eventbrite page, to stay in the know of all the good they’re doing around town. Who knows? Maybe the author of your most prized piece of literature is right around the corner.
Click below to read the November Best Of 2025 Issue of The Pitch Magazine:
