Featured Writers
Mélina Mangal
Mélina Mangal’s work has been published by Milkweed Editions, Coffee House Press, W.W. Norton, and Carolina Wren Press. She is the author of five biographies for youth, including The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award. Her latest book, Jayden’s Impossible…
Erin Soderberg Downing
Erin Soderberg Downing has published more than 75 books for kids, tweens, and young adults, including Controlled Burn (a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) and Just Keep Walking, a story inspired by a 100-mile hike she took with her son on Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail. She has also written…
Thomas Maltman
Thomas Maltman’s essays, poetry, and fiction have been published in many literary journals. He has an MFA from Minnesota State University, Mankato. His first novel, The Night Birds, won an Alex Award, a Spur Award, and the Friends of American Writers Literary Award. In 2009 the American Library Association chose…
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Charissa Bates
Charissa Bates is an award-winning children’s author, children’s mental health therapist, and speaker who is passionate about helping families find joy through storytelling. She is the author of Cancer Messed with the Wrong Family and the beloved Traveling Book series, which celebrates community, kindness, and connection through Little Free Libraries. With years of experience working…
Todd Smith
Todd Smith studied very little at the University of Montana before becoming a grizzled and runty Twin Cities publishing veteran. His work has appeared in The Rake and Minnesota Monthly, and he penned the wildly popular Spazz Dad print column and blog for Twin Cities METRO magazine. He is the author of Relegated: One American’s…
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 Poems. Wanek’s poems have appeared in Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and many other journals. She was named a Witter Bynner Fellow of the Library of Congress in…
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 that virtual world he tries to extend to writing mystery thrillers. For 10 years he moderated a Meetup writers group. His history degree from St. John’s University in Minnesota helps to…
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 the wide-ranging Motley Peg small essay series. Her book The Guthrie Theater: Images, History, and Inside Stories won the Midwest Book Award and the Independent Publisher’s Award. She is also the…
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 of Spades series—feature kick-butt women, deadly secrets, and high-stakes revenge. Think Jackie Collins meets Patricia Cornwell. As a reporter, she has flown in an FA/18 jet with the Blue Angels, interviewed…
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…
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. Two of them won the Minnesota Book Award. His previous career in journalism included stints as a local television reporter and as a writer with CNN. He lives in Roseville, Minnesota,…
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 live in Minnesota and you meet the Directory Eligibility Criteria, you can apply to be listed. (Before applying, read the Eligibility Criteria.) We will contact you after we’ve reviewed your application.
All applicants:
- You must live and work in Minnesota. If you live in Minnesota for part of the year, outline your availability in your application.
- You must 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.)
- Your county will be listed in the directory. (Street addresses will not be listed.)
- You must meet the Eligibility Criteria. Before applying, read the Eligibility Criteria to see if you are eligible for listing. You will be accepted at the discretion of the Minnesota Center for the Book.