Minnesota

WRITERS

DIRECTORY

Featured Writers

Emily Strasser

Emily Strasser’s first book, Half-Life of a Secret, is a deeply researched memoir that traces her journey to reckon with the toxic legacies of her grandfather’s work building nuclear weapons in the atomic city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Strasser’s work has appeared in Catapult, Ploughshares, Guernica, Colorado Review, The Bitter…

Read More

Pete Kero

Pete Kero is an author, speaker, and environmental engineer. His work focuses on the intersection of people, industry, and the environment. Kero was the visionary behind the award-winning Redhead Mountain Bike Park in Chisholm, Minnesota which has been featured in Outside magazine and the nation-wide documentary film Biketown. His book,…

Read More

Ty Chapman

Ty Chapman is the author of Sarah Rising, Looking For Happy, and A Door Made for Me (written with Tyler Merritt). Chapman’s forthcoming publications include multiple children’s books and a poetry collection through Button Poetry. He was a 2022 Center for Arts + Social Justice Fellow – an award that…

Read More

Find Author by Genre

All
  • All
  • Children's Early Reader
  • Children's Picture Book
  • Cookbook/Food Writing
  • Fantasy
  • History
  • Literary Fiction
  • Memoir/Creative Nonfiction
  • Middle Grade
  • Minnesota Nonfiction
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Nonfiction
  • Poetry
  • Romance
  • Science Fiction
  • Young Adult
Lambrecht_headshot_2018

Traci Lambrecht

PJ Tracy was the pseudonym of mother-daughter writing duo P.J. and Traci Lambrecht, winners of the Anthony, Barry, Gumshoe, and Minnesota Book Awards. Their ten novels in the Monkeewrench series: Monkeewrench, Live Bait, Dead Run, Snow Blind, Shoot to Thrill, Off the Grid, The Sixth Idea, The Guilty Dead, and Ice Cold Heart, have become…

Leaf_headshot_2018

Sue Leaf

Sue Leaf, a Minnesota native, was trained as a zoologist and taught environmental science. She writes on natural history and environmental topics from her home on the shores of Pioneer Lake. An avid hiker, paddler, cross-country skier, and bird watcher, Leaf believes that being attuned to nature is good for the soul.

LaRochelle_headsho_2018

David LaRochelle

David LaRochelle is a former elementary school teacher who has been creating books for young people for 30 years. His many picture book titles include Moo!, How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, and It’s a Tiger! He is a three-time recipient of the Minnesota Book Award, as well as a winner of the…

Madison_headshot_2018

Catherine Madison

Catherine “Cathy” Madison is a veteran journalist who has served as editor-in-chief of Utne Reader, senior editor at Adweek and Creativity magazines, founding editor of American Advertising, and editor-in-chief of Format Magazine. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Minnesota, where she has taught continuing education classes in editing. Madison’s award-winning…

Leon_headshot_2018

Michelle Leon

Michelle Leon is a writer, musician, and teacher for Saint Paul Public Schools. She was the bass player for the influential punk band Babes in Toyland from 1987 to 1992 and again in 1997. Her writing has appeared in City Pages, the music essay compilation The First Time I Heard David Bowie, Saint Paul Almanac,…

Lee_Sherry Quan_headshot_2022

Sherry Quan Lee

Sherry Quan Lee, MFA, taught Creative Writing at Saint Catherine University and Metropolitan State University. She is author of Chinese Blackbird, a memoir in verse; How to Write a Suicide Note: Serial Essays that Saved a Woman’s Life; Love Imagined: a Mixed Race Memoir, a 2015 Minnesota Book Award Finalist; How Dare We! Write: a…

May_headshot_2018

Elaine Tyler May

Elaine Tyler May is Regents Professor of American Studies and History at the University of Minnesota. She is past president of the Organization of American Historians and past president of the American Studies Association. In addition to her books and articles, she has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Ms., Daily…

Losure_Mary

Mary Losure

From the titles, you might think Mary Losure’s books are fiction, but she assures you that every word of Isaac the Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d is not only true, but documented with primary sources. So is Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Aveyron and even The Fairy Ring, or Elsie…

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 to see if you are eligible for listing.) We will contact you after we’ve reviewed your application.

Criteria for 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 will be accepted at the discretion of the Minnesota Center for the Book.
  • 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. (Addresses will not be listed.)