Genre:
Literary Fiction
Richard Thieme
Richard Thieme – author and speaker for 30 years – addresses challenges posed by technologies, how to redesign ourselves to meet them, and creativity in response to change. His speaking addresses “the human in the machine” and technology-related security and intelligence issues as they come home to our humanity. He has published hundreds of articles,…
Rob Jung
Rob Jung was born in the wine country of California, grew up in a Mississippi River town in Wisconsin, and was educated in the Minnesota state university system and Harvard Law School. He was a newspaper writer while getting his undergraduate degree at Winona State University. A life-long student of history, geography, and religion, Jung’s…
Mary DesJarlais
Mary DesJarlais is the author of two fiction novels, The Cutter’s Widow and Dorie LaValle. She lives and works in Saint Paul.
Maureen Millea Smith
Maureen Millea Smith is a librarian at the Hennepin County Edina Library. She received her Master of Arts in Library and Information Science from the University of Iowa and an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Wyoming in English Literature. Her novel, When Charlotte Comes Home,…
Gary Eldon Peter
Gary Eldon Peter is the author of two works of fiction: Oranges, a linked short story collection, and the novel The Complicated Calculus (and Cows) of Carl Paulsen, winner of the 2023 Minnesota Book Award for Young Adult Literature and the Acheven Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction. Oranges was a Minnesota Book Award finalist…
Marisha Chamberlain
Marisha Chamberlain is a multi-genre writer. Her debut novel, The Rose Variations, was favorably reviewed by the New York Times and her play, Scheherazade, won the Dramatists Guild/CBS National Award. The World Beloved, Chamberlain’s collaboration with composer Carol Barnett, is widely performed. Their collaboration, Mortals & Angels, premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2016. Chamberlain has…
Paul Legler
Paul Legler grew up in rural North Dakota. He was educated at the University of North Dakota, University of Minnesota, and Harvard University. He started his career as a poverty and civil rights attorney, representing migrant farm workers and indigent people throughout Minnesota and North Dakota. He was later appointed by President Clinton to serve…
Loretta Ellsworth
Loretta Ellsworth grew up in Mason City, Iowa. A former teacher and a graduate of Hamline University with a Master’s Degree in Writing for Children, she is the award-winning author of four young adult novels, The Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird, In a Heartbeat, and Unforgettable. Stars Over Clear Lake, historical fiction set in…
Candace Simar
Candace Simar is a Minnesota writer with a passion for history and her Scandinavian heritage. Her Abercrombie Trail Series received awards from the Western Writers of America. Shelterbelts is set in Otter Tail County, Minnesota and received finalist awards from the Willa Literary Awards in Historical Fiction. Her Escape to Fort Abercrombie is geared toward…
Ashley Shelby
Ashley Shelby is a novelist, short story writer, and former environmental journalist. Her debut novel, South Pole Station, was a New York Times Editor’s Pick, a Shelf Awareness Book of the Year, and winner of the Lascaux Prize in Fiction. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Red River Rising: The Anatomy of…