A Celebration of Books,
Writers & LIterary Excellence

Save the Date


Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 17, 2025

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park


A. K. Small

Latest Title: If I Promise You Wings
If I Promise You Wings
If I Promise You Wings by A. K. Small

Hold Still meets You’ve Reached Sam in this lyrical novel about one young woman’s journey through the Paris fashion scene as she chases promises, overcomes grief, and falls in love.

Alix Leclaire has a plan: graduate high school and land her dream job as a feather artist at Mille et une Plume, where her creations will help define high fashion. Her best friend Jeanne will get a record contract and they’ll take over the Paris art scene together. 

But then Jeanne dies.

Alix is lost, until the day she feels Jeanne pushing her to the feather boutique. Soon, Alix is living a life she hardly recognizes—pursuing a passionate affair with an alluring artist, stealing feathers for her own creations, risking everything as Jeanne once did. But then Alix meets Blaise, the dreamy musician who comforts her, centers her, challenges her. 

Torn between two beautiful boys and coping with grief, Alix’s art takes on a frightening and wild beauty. Living like Jeanne has given her everything she thought she wanted—but she must decide whether to hide in Jeanne’s shadow or soar on her own wings.

About A. K. Small

A. K. Small is the author of “Bright Burning Stars,” now a major motion picture called “Birds of Paradise.” She was born in Paris. At five years old, she studied classical dance with the legendary Max Bozzoni, then later with Daniel Franck and Monique Arabian at the famous Académie Chaptal. At 13, she moved to the United States, where she danced with the Pacific Northwest Ballet for one summer and with the Richmond Ballet Student Company for several years. She’s a graduate of the College of William and Mary and has an M.F.A. in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her puppy and her three daughters, and practices yoga. She will be presenting “If I Promise You Wings.”

Instagram: @aksmallwords

Author Schedule:

Venue(s):

Ogden Nash Pavilion

Presentation Start Time:

4:15 pm

Presentation End Time:

5:05 pm

Signing Time:

5:15 pm

Presentation Authors: