Featured Writers
Matthew Eicheldinger
Matt Eicheldinger wasn’t always a writer. He spent most of his childhood playing soccer, reading comics, and trying his best to stay out of trouble. Little did he know those moments would ultimately help craft his first middle grade novel. Eicheldinger lives in Minnesota with his wife and two children…
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Sally Franson
Sally Franson is the author of A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out, named a “New and Notable” by Entertainment Weekly and shortlisted for a Minnesota Book Award. Her short stories, essays, reportage, and humor pieces have appeared in The Guardian, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Best American Travel Writing, PopSugar, The Progressive, Signature…
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Kirstin Cronn-Mills
Kirstin Cronn-Mills is a writer and teacher who lives in North Mankato with her family. She’s published both fiction and nonfiction for young adult readers. Three of her books have been finalists for the Minnesota Book Awards. Her novel, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, won the American Library Association’s Stonewall…
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Cathy Wurzer
Cathy Wurzer is one of Minnesota’s most recognizable broadcast journalists who has spent her career behind a microphone and in front of television cameras with time carved out to write books and produce documentaries. A multiple Emmy Award winning journalist, Wurzer is the co-host of “Almanac” on Twin Cities Public Television. On weekdays, she is…
신 선 영 Sun Yung Shin
신 선 영 辛善英 Sun Yung Shin’s third book of poetry Unbearable Splendor won the 2017 Minnesota Book Award for poetry. She is the Korean-born author of four books of poetry including most recently The Wet Hex in 2022 and is the editor of three acclaimed anthologies of essays including A Good Time for the…
Mike Wohnoutka
Mike Wohnoutka is the author and illustrator of Little Puppy and the Big Green Monster and Dad’s First Day, both Minnesota Book Award finalists. He has illustrated more than 20 other children’s books, including Moo! winner of the 2014 Minnesota Book Award and the Star of the North Picture Book Award. Ever since he can…
Elizabeth Verdick
Elizabeth Verdick writes a mix of nonfiction and fiction for children. Her main reading audience is toddlers and preschoolers. She has also written nonfiction for elementary-age kids. Verdick is a graduate of Hamline University’s MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she has taught picture-book writing classes and done manuscript critiques to…
Patricia Kirkpatrick
Patricia Kirkpatrick received the Lindquist & Vennum Poetry Prize for Odessa and was awarded a 2013 Minnesota Book Award. Her awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bush Foundation, Jerome Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Loft, and Minnesota State Arts Board. She has taught writing at many colleges, including the University of…
Julie Gard
Julie Gard’s prose poetry collections include Scrap: On Louise Nevelson and Home Studies, which was a finalist for a 2016 Minnesota Book Award. Her chapbooks are Obscura: The Daguerreotype Series and Russia in 17 Objects. Gard’s poems, stories, and essays have appeared in Gertrude, Fourth River, Clackamas Literary Review, Crab Orchard Review, Ekphrasis, and Blackbox…
Anne Ursu
Anne Ursu is the author of several middle grade fantasies, including Breadcrumbs, an NPR Backseat Book Club pick, and The Real Boy, which was longlisted for the 2013 National Book Award. She is a recipient of the McKnight Fellowship and teaches at Hamline University’s Masters in Fine Arts in Writing for Children. Ursu lives in…
Beth Dooley
Beth Dooley has been writing about the Northern Heartland for over 20 years. She is the author of six books, including Minnesota Book Award finalist In Winter’s Kitchen. Her column, “Seasonal Kitchen,” appears weekly in the Star Tribune, and she contributes regularly to Minnesota Public Radio’s “Appetites.” Dooley is the co-author with Sean Sherman 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.
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 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.