Colin Sokolowski author of The Accidental Adult should teach a course in how to deal with surly book bloggers. Seriously. The email he sent to me about his book should be forwarded from author to author and publicist to publicist as the textbook way to get your book noticed. It was short (nice), funny (super nice), and it showed that [...]

You are about to experience a great moment in MN Reads’ history. Yes, we’re making history here today. How exciting is that? I’m pretty pleased that Kurtis Scaletta now holds the unique honor of being the first person to appear twice in MN Reads’ 6 questions feature (read his first set of answers). That bodes well for both of us. [...]

First I will start with the facts, and then I’ll insert an embarrassing confession, just to keep things interesting. So here’s the facts: Erik Thompson is a local music writer. He writes for City Pages, The Line of Best Fit, This is Fake DIY, and he used to write for Culture Bully. Don’t worry, if that’s too much to take [...]

Every other week we are inundated with stories about the death of the novel and the book and the short story. On the opposite week we get stories about how someone is bringing it all back to life. Most of these stories are predicated on the idea that people don’t read anymore. Somewhere along the way reading got a bad [...]

If you’ve ever had the misfortune of talking to me about genre fiction or sex in literature you know that I like to start a lot of sentences with “Well, in my sex writing class. . . ” Then I spout off something I learned in my sex writing class or that I’m trying to pretend like I learned there. [...]

Before I get to the bio information that I blatantly stole from her website, I have to tell you two things. One, Gayla’s answers sent me a Googling like a madwoman. I’ve learned a lot, which is awesome. Second, I think our own Ben will add about half of the books Gayla talks about to his “To Read” list. Now [...]

When Daughters of Witching Hill landed on my doorstep my first reaction was, “eh, witches, old-timey England, this isn’t my thing. I should pass it on to LeAnn, I bet she’d dig witches.” But since Mary Sharratt is an ex-pat Minnesotan now living in England I picked it up to investigate. When I read the inside flap about how Bess, [...]

I had the pleasure of meeting Catherine Adams at a J.C. Hallman reading hosted by my friend Karlyn. Not only is Catherine intelligent and interesting she has stunning taste. I know this because while we were talking she said, “I love Minnesota Reads.” And while those words are music to my ears, shortly after she uttered the words that make [...]

Wendy Webb is the author of The Tale of Halcyon Crane, a chilling story about one woman’s discovery of dark family secrets and the ghosts and mysteries surrounding them. It has been selected as an IndieNext Pick for April by IndieBound, the independent bookseller’s arm of the National Bookseller’s Association, and also as a Midwest Connection Pick by the Midwest [...]

Erin Hart writes a series of archaeological crime novels set in the mysterious boglands of Ireland, the lastest of which is False Mermaid. After graduating with a theater degree from Saint Olaf, she earned an M.A. in English and creative writing from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis, and worked as an arts administrator, journalist, and theater critic. A lifelong interest in [...]