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Connie Wanek

Connie Wanek lived for over a quarter century in Duluth, Minnesota. She is the author of 10 books, including Rival Gardens: New and Selected...
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Skye Smith

Skye Smith has retired from a career in mechanical engineering. In that profession he used CAD to design complex machines. The heightened visualization in...
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Peg Guilfoyle

Writer and speaker Peg Guilfoyle’s latest book is An Eye for Joy: Noticing the Good World Everywhere. She is the originator and writer of...
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Kristi Belcamino

Kristi Belcamino is a USA Today bestselling crime writer, chess fanatic, and newspaper crime reporter. Her gritty, glamorous thrillers—like the Gia Santella and Queen...
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Damone Bester

Damone Bester is a two-time award-winning author whose debut novel Mendel received both a BookFest Award and a Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Fiction....
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Dave Kenney

Dave Kenney is the author of nearly two dozen books, all historical non-fiction, covering topics ranging from World War II to the movie industry....
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Anne-Marie Erickson

Anne-Marie Erickson was born in the western Minnesota prairie town of Benson. Her journalism, poetry, essays, and book reviews have appeared in regional publications....
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Andrew Kantar

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Andy Kantar is the author of a trilogy of Great Lakes shipwreck books written primarily for young adults. His...
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Debra J. Stone

Debra J. Stone is a Jerome Hill Arts Fellow in Literature 2023-25, a Minnesota State Arts Board grant recipient, and The Loft Mirrors and...
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M.E. Bakos

M.E. Bakos has published several short stories in national women’s magazines. Her love of mysteries has led to writing cozies about a house flipper...

Jokeda Bell

Jokeda “JoJo” Bell is the executive director and the director of exhibitions and programming for the African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota (AAICM). Her roles in the organization have led to collaborative programming with the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. She has also appeared as an expert in the Minnesota…
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Nicole Belle-Isle

Nicole Belle-Isle was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She has a Master of Education degree and is a licensed teacher in special education as well as in reading. She has been working in the education field since 2001, has worked with children of all ages, and currently works at a high school in St.…
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Ryan Berg

Ryan Berg is a writer, activist, and teaching artist at the Shipman Agency’s Work Room. His debut book, No House to Call My Home: Love, Family and Other Transgressions, won the 2016 Minnesota Book Award for General Nonfiction, the 2016 NCCD Media for a Just Society Award, and was listed as a Top 10 LGBTQ…
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Mark Berriman

Mark Berriman is a published author, a poet and artist, musician, and active community leader. His most recent book is That Turned Ugly Fast, featuring a foreword by Viggo Mortensen. Berriman’s first book, Scar Lit, was written under the name Mark Edward Marston. He took a ten year break from writing poetry and then returned…
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Damone Bester

Damone Bester is a two-time award-winning author whose debut novel Mendel received both a BookFest Award and a Black Excellence Award for Outstanding Fiction. His highly anticipated sequel, Blue Smoke Rises, releases in 2026. Known for bold storytelling that blends emotional depth with social insight, Bester teaches writers how to develop authentic voice, build compelling…
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Kris Bigalk

Kris Bigalk (pronounced BEE-yahk) is a writer and professor based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her second collection of poetry, Enough, was released in 2019 and was a finalist in the Housatonic Book Award competition; her first collection, Repeat the Flesh in Numbers, was released in 2012. Bigalk has published poetry in many literary magazines and anthologies,…
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Sara Biren

Sara Biren is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is a content and social media manager for a Minneapolis marketing firm and offers freelance editing and copywriting services. She lives northwest of Minneapolis with her husband and their two children.…
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Aimée Bissonette

Aimée Bissonette was born in Pennsylvania, the sixth of seven children. Growing up, she moved many times (she attended eight different schools before graduating from high school!), which led to a love of travel and storytelling. Bissonette loves dogs, sports, history, and anything outdoors. Her picture books include North Woods Girl, Miss Colfax’s Light, and…
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Candace Black

Candace Black grew up in southern California, often on U.S. Marine Corps bases. As a graduate student at the University of Montana, she studied with Richard Hugo and Madeline DeFrees. Her books of poetry include The Volunteer, Whereabouts, and the chapbook Casa Marina. Her nonfiction has appeared in several journals, including Pinyon, Great River Review,…
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Daniel J. Blackburn

Daniel Blackburn is an author, speaker, executive coach, and yoga therapist. He was an award-winning leader and executive in the natural foods industry for 28 years. Blackburn brings a wealth of experience to all aspects of his work. He grew up in the resort/restaurant industry, worked in the trades, served four years in the Marine…
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