The Twin Cities Book Festival was held last Saturday and it was spectacular. I stayed all day! The first thing I did was walk around and talk to publishers, colleges, authors, poets and tons of literary folk. I ran into some old friends and made some new ones. There was a used book sale, good food and a children's corner. If you love books, this was the place to be this weekend.
,Anna Waggener Grim
, Bree Despain,The Savage Grace: A Dark Divine Novel
and Anne Greenwood Brown,Lies Beneath. Each of the authors read from their books and Bree told a great story of how she became a writer. After the panel, the women met fans and signed books. I am looking forward to reading all of their books.Common good books had a local lit lounge where readers could sit down and visit with writers about their books and even get their book signed. I met a bunch of authors this way. This is who I met and the book they wrote. I am going to read all of these books sometime next year!
Lara Avery Anything But Ordinary
John Brandon A Million Heavens (McSweeney's Rectangulars)
Julie Schumacher The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls
Mary Losure The Fairy Ring: Or Elsie and Frances Fool the World
Matt Batt Sugarhouse: Turning the Neighborhood Crack House into Our Home Sweet Home
Doug Mack Europe on 5 Wrong Turns a Day: One Man, Eight Countries, One Vintage Travel Guide
Jeffrey Pilcher Planet Taco: A Global History of Mexican Food
Richard and Kate Russo Interventions
Cheryl Strayed Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Oprah's Book Club 2.0)
This is a picture of Richard Russo and I. His daughter Kate Russo took it.
I also met Michael A. Wade, My Power, My Pleasure, My Pain, My Life in Poetry
an African American poet whose book looks really good.At 3:30 I went to the World Fiction showcase. This showcase highlighted the new work of these four talented and interesting authors.
Tamara Faith Borger, Lie With Me. If you like the Shades of Grey trilogy, you will like her work.
Eduardo Halfon- Polish BoxerEduardo Halfon writes in Spanish but thinks in English. This is his first book out of 8 to be translated into English.
James Kilgore Prudence Couldn't Swim (Switchblade)was a political activist and fugitive hiding from the law for 27 years. When he was in prison he wrote 3 books and this is one of them.
Jennifer Miller The Year of the GadflyJennifer has the most enthusiastic and bubbly personality. It took her 7 years to write this book. Sometimes she sets up her novelade stand and sells her books at a table on the street. Here she talks to readers and gives them a cookie if they purchase a book. She sells out everyday.
These are the four books I brought home from the book festival to review in the near future. Thanks to the authors and publishers!
As you can tell, I had a great day at the Twin Cities Book Festival and am looking forward to a great year of year ahead and next year's festival.
