Featured Writers
Janna Knittel
Janna Knittel is from the Pacific Northwest and has lived in Minnesota since 2004. Her book, Real Work, is a 2023 Minnesota Book Award finalist. Knittel’s work includes the chapbook Fish & Wild Life and poems in Blueline, Breakwater Review, Constellations, Cottonwood, North Dakota Quarterly, Pleiades, Whale Road Review, and…
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Maya Washington
Maya Washington is an award-winning multi-hyphenate artist: writer, poet, director, narrative and documentary filmmaker (writer/director/producer), actress, creative director, visualist (photography), and arts educator. Her award-winning film, Through the Banks of the Red Cedar, about her father, Vikings football legend Gene Washington, premiered on PBS in 2022. Her memoir, Through the…
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Will McGrath
Will McGrath is an award-winning writer and journalist based in Minneapolis. His debut, Everything Lost Is Found Again, is a joyous investigation into the southern African kingdom of Lesotho, where he lived for several years. That book won the Disquiet Open Borders Book Prize, as well as the Society of…
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Monica Liu
Monica Liu received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California – San Diego. She is currently Assistant Professor of Justice and Society Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Her work examines global internet dating and cross-border marriages between women from China and men from Western countries. Her research has been…
Marjorie Lin Kyriopoulos
Marjorie Lin Kyriopoulos is a mother, grandmother, teacher, writer, photographer, and manager. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English with a minor in Philosophy from the University of Utah and has taught high school English, reading, writing, and communications. She has lived in Minnesota since 1989. Kyriopoulos is also a freelance photographer whose…
Annette Gagliardi
Annette Gagliardi is a poet whose work has appeared in literary journals in Canada, England, and the US. Her first full-length poetry collection, titled A Short Supply of Viability, was published through The Poetry Box. Gagliardi notices the intricate details of lives lived around her. She notices the dimensions of nature, time, and the human…
Laura James
Born and raised in Minnesota, Laura James worked at the Twin Cities Public Television Station, creating, writing, and editing projects, until she followed her desire to write children’s fiction. The Addison books marry entertainment with education, capturing children’s attention, while promoting language skills development. The Addison stories also fall into the educational genre, with both…
Simon Hargreaves
Simon Hargreaves has been telling stories his whole life: as a photographer, as a filmmaker, and as a novelist. He’s moved across the country as often as he has switched careers. Now he lives in northern Minnesota where, when he isn’t writing, he is running a family vacation resort, scuba diving, touring the country on…
Teresa Wilhelm Waldof
Teresa Waldof is the world’s leading expert on the Ames Project section of the Manhattan Project. Her book, Wilhelm’s Way: The Inspiring Story of the Iowa Chemist Who Saved the Manhattan Project, was winner of the 2023 Minnesota Book Award for General Nonfiction. An expert in building collaborative, high-performance teams, Waldof is a dynamic speaker…
Newell Searle
Newell Searle grew up on a Minnesota farm and graduated from a vocational high school. After earning degrees in history from Macalester College and the University of Minnesota, he ditched an academic career to conduct public affairs for corporate, non-profit, and government agencies. His early writing focused on forest conservation. Later, he turned to fiction…
Mary Seifert
Mary Seifert loves a good mystery and can never leave a brain teaser or puzzle go unchallenged – she can get lost for days. As a former math teacher, she brings numbers and logic to the Katie and Maverick Cozy Mystery mayhem game. When Seifert is not writing or reading, she’s making memories with family…
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 currently live in Minnesota and have your work published in book form, you can apply to be listed. (Before applying, please read the Eligibility Criteria to see if you are eligible for listing.) We will contact you after we’ve reviewed your application.
Criteria for all applicants
- You must live and work in Minnesota. If you live in Minnesota for part of the year, please outline your availability in your application. You will be accepted at the discretion of the Minnesota Center for the Book.
- You must be willing to 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.)
- You must be willing to have your location in Minnesota (county only) listed in the directory.