Nonfiction
Nonfiction writers from Minnesota.
Daniel E. Van Tassel
Author of Back to Barron, a chronicle of growing up in small-town-and-rural mid-century America, Daniel E. Van Tassel graduated from St. Olaf College and earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Iowa. He taught at Pacific Lutheran University, California State University San Marcos, and Muskingum College. His scholarly publications include articles on…
Jennifer Fernjack
Jennifer Fernjack is an author and keynote speaker. Raised in Cloquet, MN, she currently resides in Spring Park, MN. She received her B.A. degree from the University of Minnesota Duluth and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Through a medical scare in 2016, she learned that courage doesn’t need to be the absence…
Michael Tisserand
Michael Tisserand’s books include the Eisner Award-winning biography Krazy: George Herriman, A Life in Black and White, an exploration of the “Krazy Kat” cartoonist and his life on the American color line. Other books include the ASCAP-Deems Taylor-winning The Kingdom of Zydeco, the Hurricane Katrina memoir Sugarcane Academy, and My Father When Young, a self-published…
Danny Spewak
Danny Spewak is a journalist, writer, and author with a decade of experience in local broadcast television, including stations in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Buffalo, NY, and mid-Missouri. His first book, From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota’s March to a College Football Title and into World War II, was a finalist for the 2022 Minnesota Book…
James Densley
Dr. James Densley is Professor of Criminal Justice at Metro State University and co-founder of The Violence Project Research Center, best known for its work on gun violence prevention. Densley has received global media attention for his work on gangs, criminal networks, violence, and policing. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including…
Said Shaiye
Said Shaiye is an Autistic Somali Writer & Photographer who lives in Minneapolis. He is a 2023 Loft Windows & Mirrors Fellow. His debut book, Are You Borg Now?, was named a 2022 Minnesota Book Award Finalist in Creative Nonfiction & Memoir. He has contributed essays to the anthologies Muslim American Writers at Home and…
Lara Mimosa Montes
Lara Mimosa Montes is the author of THRESHOLES and The Somnambulist. She holds a Ph.D. in English from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Her writing has appeared in Academy of American Poets’ “Poem-A-Day” series, BOMB, The Brooklyn Rail, The Poetry Project, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of artist residencies from Marble…
Kathryn Nuernberger
Kathryn Nuernberger is an essayist and poet who writes about the history of science and ideas, renegade women, plant medicines, and witches. Her latest book is The Witch of Eye, which is about witches and witch trials. She is also the author of the poetry collections, RUE, The End of Pink, and Rag & Bone,…
Kim Heikkila
Kim Heikkila, Ph.D., is a historian who believes in the power of deep listening and artful storytelling to build bridges between the head and the heart. Her award-winning writing has been published in historical journals and literary magazines. Her most recent book, Booth Girls: Pregnancy, Adoption, and the Secrets We Kept, uses history, biography, memoir,…
Kandice Kay Magnan
Kandice Magnan grew up on a small dairy farm in central Minnesota. Surviving domestic violence, raising her four young children as a single mother, and recognizing the destruction her own choices were causing, she discovered Jesus. Allowing Jesus to guide her decisions, she was able to experience a transformed life of victor instead of victim.…