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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Dralandra Larkins
Dralandra Larkins is a multi-genre writer, three-time award-winning spoken word poet, and the author of Before I Lie. She is a teaching artist at COMPAS and has performed for the NAACP, Button Poetry, Mill City Museum, Minnesota State Capitol, Minnesota Black Business Ball, and the Minnesota Black Authors Expo. Larkins co-edits Cracked Walnut’s Rewilding Hope…
Joshua Moehling
Joshua Moehling is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ben Packard series. His first book, And There He Kept Her, was a Barnes & Noble monthly Mystery/Thriller pick and selected as best mystery by both Apple and Amazon editors. His second novel, Where the Dead Sleep, was described as “a well-paced whodunit” and “devastating”…
David Hakensen
David Hakensen is the author of the biography Her Place in the Woods: The Life of Helen Hoover. He is a strategic communications consultant and served as president of the Minnesota Historical Society from 2017-2023. He currently serves on the board of the Norwegian American Historical Association and served previously on boards at Norway House…
Ann Schreiber
Ann Schreiber is a freelance copywriter, blogger, and lifelong book lover who turned her passion for words into a thriving business and a growing collection of published work. She’s the founder of Copywriting For You and the author of three books: Perseverance. Reinvention., a raw and honest memoir; The Top 10 Mistakes I Made My…
Kevin Strauss
Kevin Strauss is an award-winning author and professional storyteller based in Rochester Minnesota. Strauss focuses on telling and writing folktales that connect people with the natural world. His presentations are a mix of folklore and animal science.
A.J. Briscoe
A.J. Briscoe is an author, entrepreneur, and founder of the non-profit community literacy initiative “To Succeed You Must Read.” His mission is to assist in raising the literacy levels in underserved communities. Briscoe has established strategic partnerships with various schools, businesses, and community pillars in an effort to impact the lives of our young people…
Jokeda Bell
Jokeda “JoJo” Bell is the executive director and the director of exhibitions and programming for the African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota (AAICM). Her roles in the organization have led to collaborative programming with the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota Museum of American Art. She has also appeared as an expert in the Minnesota…
Leslie Adrienne Miller
Leslie Adrienne Miller’s collections of poetry include Y, The Resurrection Trade, Eat Quite Everything You See, Yesterday Had a Man In It, Ungodliness, and Staying Up For Love. Miller’s poems have appeared in Best American Poetry, American Poetry Review, Antioch Review, Harvard Review, Georgia Review, Ploughshares, and Crazyhorse. Professor of English at the University of…
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.