Featured Writers
Mélina Mangal
Mélina Mangal’s work has been published by Milkweed Editions, Coffee House Press, W.W. Norton, and Carolina Wren Press. She is the author of five biographies for youth, including The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award. Her latest book, Jayden’s Impossible…
Erin Soderberg Downing
Erin Soderberg Downing has published more than 75 books for kids, tweens, and young adults, including Controlled Burn (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) and Just Keep Walking, a story inspired by a 100-mile hike she took with her son on Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail. She has also written…
Thomas Maltman
Thomas Maltman’s essays, poetry, and fiction have been published in many literary journals. He has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato. His first novel, The Night Birds, won an Alex Award, a Spur Award, and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. In 2009 the American Library Association chose…
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Renee Gilmore
Renee Gilmore is the author of Wayfinding: A Memoir. She is a neurodivergent multi-genre writer, essayist, and poet, and she fearlessly explores the illusion of happiness. Through her writing and lived experience, Gilmore proves that resilience can be practiced both by accident and intention. She holds degrees from the University of New Mexico and Hamline…
Linda Knebel Pruden
Linda Knebel Pruden is an author and national speaker residing in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She received her master’s degree in speech/language pathology from Purdue University and went on to write five books for teachers. In 1987, she was the first speech/language pathologist to be named among Texas’s teachers of the year. Pruden’s writing has also…
Obasesam Okoi
Dr. Obasesam Okoi is Associate Professor of Justice and Peace Studies, co-editor of the African Security Journal, and founding director of the Artificial Intelligence and Society Innovation Lab (ASIL). His research explores how global adversity, including war, terrorism, climate change, and technological disruption, reshapes everyday life, particularly for displaced populations living under chronic insecurity. He…
Jeff Olson
Jeff Olson has served as a youth hockey coach, high school hockey assistant coach, small college hockey assistant coach, and a hockey referee. He is the author and coauthor of Masters of Hockey Scoring Magic. Linemates, Natalie Darwitz and Krissy Wendell-Pohl To The Hockey Hall of Fame; Wisconsin’s Top 10 NHL Greats; The Torch is…
Ralph Brauer
The son and grandson of political refugees, Ralph Brauer brings a combination of experiences to writing about the history of social change. He is a retired professor and college administrator whose career is complemented by community organizing, consulting, and service experience that earned him a coveted Bush Leadership Fellowship. An award-winning writer, his work has…
Lynn Garthwaite
Lynn Garthwaite is the author of 11 books, including mysteries, non-fiction, and children’s early chapter books. She has short stories in four anthologies and is working with a producer on the pre-production of a limited series for her mystery/thriller novel Starless Midnight. Garthwaite also writes screenplays and is working to adapt her children’s series into…
Emilio DeGrazia
Emilio DeGrazia, from Winona, is a writer, teacher, and editor. In 1977 he founded Great River Review, now with the University of Minnesota. His first short story collection, Enemy Country, was followed by a novel, Billy Brazil. Then came more stories, Seventeen Grams of Soul, the novel A Canticle for Bread and Stones, essay collections…
Angie Bailey
Angie Bailey is an author, humorist, and Gen X pop culture nerd best known for Texts from Mittens—the delightfully ridiculous text message conversations between self-absorbed housecat and his long-suffering human. Her clever humor and feline-fueled creativity have produced books, calendars, and a daily funny that make cat lovers worldwide giggle with a knowing nod. She’s…
The Minnesota Writers Directory is a project of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as the Minnesota Center for the Book. The Library of Congress designated The Friends as Minnesota’s Center in 2012, and in that role The Friends promotes reading, literacy, and libraries throughout Minnesota. Learn more >>
How To Get Listed on the Directory
Thanks for your interest! If you live in Minnesota and you meet the Directory Eligibility Criteria, you can apply to be listed. (Before applying, read the Eligibility Criteria.) We will contact you after we’ve reviewed your application.
All applicants:
- You must live and work in Minnesota. If you live in Minnesota for part of the year, outline your availability in your application.
- You must provide an email address for your profile. (This will not be listed on the website, but it will be used to create a unique contact form linked to your email address.)
- Your county will be listed in the directory. (Street addresses will not be listed.)
- You must meet the Eligibility Criteria. Before applying, read the Eligibility Criteria to see if you are eligible for listing. You will be accepted at the discretion of the Minnesota Center for the Book.