Memoir / Creative Nonfiction
Memoir and/or Creative Nonfiction writers from Minnesota.
Joy Riggs
Joy Riggs grew up in Alexandria, Minnesota, and graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in news-editorial journalism. She specializes in writing about history, travel, and parenting. Her essays, articles, and award-winning columns have appeared in numerous publications, including the Star Tribune, Minnesota Parent, The Manifest-Station, BLUNTmoms, and…
Laura Packer
Laura Packer knows that the best way to the truth is through a good story. Whether folktale or true, epic or flash, her spoken and written stories captivate audiences. She is committed to helping others find their voice, tell their story, and change the world. Packer is the 2018 MN Grand Slam Champion, Best in…
Bukola Oriola
Bukola Oriola is an international public and motivational speaker, bestselling author, mentor, advocate, entrepreneur, consultant, and member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking. She is an award-winning journalist and a survivor of labor trafficking and domestic violence. Depicting her experiences in two memoirs, she has dedicated her life to helping others by sharing…
Natalie Fowler
Once a practicing attorney, Natalie Fowler is an author, a freelance editor (for FATE Magazine), paranormal investigator (for Ghost Stories Ink) and a psychic medium. Fascinated by good ghost stories from a very young age, now she writes her own stories inspired by her work as a ghost hunter and psychic medium. An avid researcher…
Marilène Phipps
Born and raised in Haiti, Marilène Phipps has held fellowships at the Guggenheim Foundation, Harvard’s Bunting Institute, the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, and the Center for the Study of World Religions. The Company of Heaven: Stories from Haiti, won the 2010 Iowa Short fiction Award. Her poetry won the 1993 Grolier prize,…
Vincent Wyckoff
Born and raised in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, Vincent Wyckoff attended the University of Minnesota before enlisting in the U.S. Army. While working for the U.S. Postal Service, he wrote Beware of Cat, a book that celebrates the lives of people on his route. For a short time he lived on the North Shore of Lake…
Brittany Chaffee
Brittany Chaffee is an avid storyteller, professional empath, and author. On the daily, she gets paid to strategize and create content for brands. Off work hours, it’s all about a well-lit place, warm bread, and good company. Her first book, Wild Morning was released in 2017. Her recent work, Borderline: A Series of Essays, is…
Christine Bauer
Christine Bauer’s book Those Three Words: A Birth Mother’s Story of Choice, Chance, and Motherhood chronicles her journey of experiencing an unplanned pregnancy at age 18, the agonizing decision she needed to make, and its impact on her life. Bauer majored in Mass Communications at Mankato State University in Mankato, Minnesota and has had a…
Susan Thurston
Susan Thurston’s grandfather loved a poem she wrote in second grade, and within the glow of his appreciation, she decided to become a writer. Later, a well-meaning adult mentioned that as a journalist, she could earn her living. She became a reporter and editor, but wouldn’t really say what she earned was a living. She…
Dale A. Swanson
Dale A. Swanson is a published author, poet, screenwriter, and playwright. His historical novel, The Thirty-ninth Man, made the Star Tribune “Best book read” in 2013. The sequel, Tears of Sorrow, was released in 2018. His fantasy chapter book, The Wild Ways: Mystery of the Hanging Tower, for 9- to 99-year-old readers, was published in…