Author and Vendor Book Fair
10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
EVENT SPONSOR
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Calumet Editions
is a publishing company that focuses on developing authors and their work. We work with new authors and seek to partner with authors who are willing to share risk and success.
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What we do:
- Acquire books we think have a chance in the marketplace
- Work with authors to develop a strong presence in publishing
- Seek authors who are willing to partner with Calumet.
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VENDORS AND AUTHORS
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David Backman is an Apple Valley resident and native Minnesnowtan. He retired in 2023 from a forty-four year Information Technology career to focus on writing and volunteering. Dave has published two award-winning science-fiction novels and will complete the Lightning trilogy with Waves Toward the Pebbled Shore this June. thecolliednight.com
Cheryl Bailey, a retired gynecologic oncologist, writes about medicine with humor, candor, and love. Her debut novel, Poised, has touched the hearts of hundreds of readers who relate to the casual chauvinism faced by a competent young woman. (They also like the ill-chosen boyfriends.) Bailey's non-fiction essay "Love, Frank" appears in the upcoming anthology of narrative fiction Where It Hurts edited by Donna Bulseco. Dr. Bailey’s medical training and busy metro practice provided ample material for her second, nearly-completed novel.
Dr. Bailey plays the flute in several community bands and orchestras, is a board member in the League of Women Voters Saint Paul, and speaks on medicine and literature throughout the Twin Cities at book clubs. She's married, has two grown sons, and a disgracefully behaved dog, Fern.
Bell Cow Productions' goal is simple: help authors market their books. Bell Cow's methods are a bit unorthodox. Its first foray into the world of marketing is the Bell Cow Cattle-Log, a digital catalog of the complete works of sixty Minnesota authors, which has been distributed to libraries and independent bookstores in Minnesota and bordering cities. Bell Cow also hosts a weekly podcast, the Bell Cow Author Roundup, that features the authors in the catalog. More innovative marketing programs will roll out in the future. If you're interested, and can suffer through a thousand cow puns, join the herd at bellcowproductions.com
Margaret A. Blenkush writes from her childhood home in South St. Paul. Readers enjoy her characters and gentle cozy stories about life in 1959 England. Her books have garnered 5-star reviews from Reader Her debut novel, The Doctor of Bellechester won a gold medal for Religious Fiction in the 2024 Next Generation Independent Book Awards, received Honorable Mention from the 2023 Catholic Media Awards and was a finalist in the UK's 2022 Wishing Shelf Awards. Welcome to Bellechester was a 2024 Finalist in Chanticleer's Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards. margaretablenkush.com
Kristy Boike lost her mom to cancer and turned grief into hope through “Rudolph’s Bluebird Houses” with her family. Now, she’s written a children’s book about processing loss entitled Rise Up, Little Bluebirds which has gained national attention as a message of hope through grief. riseuplittlebluebirds.com
Wendy Brown-Báez is the author of the inspirational guidebook for writers and writing instructors entitled Heart on the Page: A Portable Writing Workshop. Her poetry collections include Threading the Gold and Ceremonies of the Spirit. Wendy is the executive editor for Saint Paul Almanac's Vol 14 "Illumination". Her poetry and prose appear in numerous literary journals and anthologies such as Mizna, Water~Stone Review, Peregrine, Wising Up Press, The Heart of All That Is, Talking Writing, Poets & Writers, Saint Paul Almanac and Tiferet. wendybrownbaez.com
Lee Burtman lives in Lino Lakes enjoying time with her husband, four children, and nine grands. After earning degrees in Child Psychology/Education, Lee served as an educator with St. Paul and Roseville schools for thirty-four years. She works with children and adults with disabilities here and overseas.
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In 2008, Lee began writing biographies and memoirs for military veterans—the untold stories of unknown heroes. Her book, Waiting in the Wings, describes her father’s heart-rending childhood in Minneapolis, his top-secret missions in the Korean War, and how the two of them came to an understanding after a lifetime of bitter estrangement.
Jessie Chandler is the author of nine novels, including the slapstick Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series. Her crime fiction has garnered an Independent Publisher Book Award, three Golden Crown Literary Awards, three USA Book Awards, and an American Book Award. The fifth book in her Shay O’Hanlon Series was a Lambda Literary finalist.
Jessie is a past board member of the Midwest Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, a past vice president of the Twin Cities chapter of Sisters in Crime and volunteered four years on Mystery Writers of America’s national board. She’s given workshops, critiqued manuscripts for the MWA’s Manuscript Critique Program and MWA Midwest’s Mentor Program and has mentored emerging writers through the Golden Crown Literary Society.
Fall and winter finds Jessie feverishly writing, and she spends springtime knee deep in edits and revisions. Summers are spent traveling to crazy, weird, awesome places. jessiechandler.com
Richard H. “Chip” Childs was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, spent his early years in Lexington and Weston, Massachusetts on the Boston Post Road. When nine years of age, his family relocated to Lincoln, Nebraska which he called home until graduating from the University of Nebraska.
Growing up in these historic places, he literally “walked the land” of the early patriots of the American Revolution and the pioneer homesteaders and cattle ranchers who opened the American West. His stories are set in the post-Civil War period of America’s growth with characters both real and fictional as are the places they populate. He holds a BA in History with a minor in English and Journalism from the University of Nebraska.
Richard currently resides in Rosemount, Minnesota where he spends his time with his wife and two grown children. He is the co-author of The Best Care in the Air, a detailed chronicle of the Minnesota Air National Guard unit in which he served. The Devil’s Strongbox is his first full length Western. outskirtspress.com/Richard Childs
Susan Dean grew up in the southeastern United States and, like her main character Abby MacMillan, moved to Minnesota for college. Falling in love with the state and its warm people, she found a forever home. With a Master’s degree in Human Development, Susan is dedicated to promoting mental health awareness, and does so in her books. The Abby MacMillan cozy mystery series currently includes four books, with several more in the works. She recently spread her wings to edit an anthology of short stories by Northfield writers.
Dead Birds Publishing is a publisher of horror, thriller, and fantasy books and is the brainchild of writers A.M. Symes and Jayne Carlson. After running the Dead Birds Writing Group for a few years, the two ladies realized they had a gaggle of writers who could write a fantastic collection of stories. When a slew of stories came in based on a writing prompt they tried for fun, they decided to publish the collection. Instead of outsourcing the stories for publication, they decided to put their combined years of marketing, communication, and editing skills to use in a horrific and creative way. Dead Birds Publishing was born.
Douglas Dorow is a crime thriller writer based out of Minneapolis. He's a kindle best seller, a short story award winner and a graduate of the Minneapolis FBI Citizen's Academy. As he shares with his readers, Read for the THRILL of it!
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Learn more at douglasdorow.com
Mike Faricy's novels are filled with oddballs we're all curious about but wisely prefer to keep at a distance. His characters serve not so much as an example as they do a warning. None of them will be saving the world from terrorism, international banking conspiracies, or coups to take over the government. His characters inhabit a world just below the surface of polite society. The circumstances they find themselves in are usually due to their own bad decisions, but then bad decisions make for interesting stories. mikefaricybooks.com
Lynn Garthwaite is the author of mysteries and history. Her mystery/thriller, Starless Midnight, is being pitched by a producer to studios for a feature film. She also has mysteries for children and a book of childhood rhymes that is all-inclusive. And do you ever wonder why our country’s states have such odd shapes? She has a book that explains it all! bluespectrumbooks.com
John Gaspard is an author, filmmaker, and podcaster. His latest book, Held Over: Harold and Maude at The Westgate Theater, documents how Minneapolis’ Westgate Theater extended the run of a box-office flop until it became a cult favorite, drawing celebrity visits, superfans, and neighborhood protests.
John is the author of the ten-book Eli Marks Mystery Series and the three-book Como Lake Players Mystery Series, as well as Fast, Cheap, and Under Control and Fast, Cheap, and Written That Way, best-selling nonfiction guides to low-budget filmmaking. He has directed and produced six feature films and hosts On Behind the Page: The Eli Marks Podcast, where he interviews entertainers, magicians and others, along with readings from The Eli Marks series.
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Amy Lynn Green has always enjoyed World War Two history, and she loves speaking with book clubs, writing groups, and libraries all around the country. Two of her historical fiction novels, Things We Didn't Say and The Codebreaker's Daughter, were finalists for the Minnesota Book Award. Amy and her family make their home in Burnsville, Minnesota. amygreenbooks.com
Savita Harjani is an Indian American who grew up in India and has called the United States her home for the past forty years. She is a lawyer by training having obtained her juris doctor from Hamline University in Minnesota. She has worked in corporate America, played in the world of high-tech start-ups and been a legal consultant. She paused all this in 2016 to become a full-time caregiver for her mother and moved to India. Her caregiving experience led her to write her memoir, Postcards from Within: Random Ramblings of an Ordinary Human. Savita now writes and is a hospice care volunteer. savitajarjani.com
JJ Harrigan writes historical thrillers. He developed his taste for foreign intrigue as a soldier during the Cold War, later as a U.S. Foreign Service in Latin America, and subsequently as professor of Political Science at Hamline University in St. Paul where he chaired the department and served a term as assistant dean of Liberal Arts. He was also a popular speaker for the Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions program.
His Cuban Missile Crisis thriller, Goodbye Cuba, has been nominated for the Eric Hoffer award. It will be followed by Goodbye Bobby (Robert Kennedy and the Vietnam War) and Goodbye Virtue (The Iranian Hostage Crisis). Today he writes his stories of intrigue on the banks of the St. Croix River near St. Paul where he lives happily with his wife Sandy. harriganbooks.com
Rachel Ann Michael Harris is the writer of middle grade fantasy stories (most of the time). She has an eclectic taste in stories which transfers to her writing. She has been published in several anthologies, including Havok Publishing, and is the author of The Beauty of Magic. When not writing, you can find her reading, binge-watching TV, or daydreaming. You can find her and her dog online on Facebook, Instagram, and website at rachelannmichaelharris.com
Steven A. Hauer is the author of One Inch Between Life and Death, a true survival memoir rooted in a real life miracle. Raised in rural Minnesota, Steven lived through a moment where survival came down to a single inch, an experience that permanently reshaped his understanding of faith, resilience, and purpose.
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Rather than sensationalizing the event, Steven focuses on its lasting impact, how it changed the direction of his life, strengthened his faith, and revealed how quiet miracles often shape who we become. His writing centers on perseverance, accountability, and the unseen turning points that define a life.
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Christine Husom is a bestselling author from Buffalo, Minnesota. She writes the suspenseful Winnebago County Mysteries, and the more cozy Snow Globe Shop Mysteries, where bad guys demonstrate not everyone is “Minnesota Nice.” Her latest titles are Buried In The House and Snow Place Like Home. She also has stories in six anthologies.
Husom served with the Wright County Sheriff and gained firsthand knowledge for her stories. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, and is active with the Twin Cities Chapter. She loves meeting readers at events, author panels, and book clubs. christinehusom.com
Donna Hauger is the author of Parkinson’s Caregiver: Strategies That Sustain. A former educator and literacy specialist, she draws on both professional experience and personal insight gained after her husband’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. Donna lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she writes and supports fellow caregivers through shared stories and practical strategies.
A passion and drive for stories, drawing, and a love for children, inspired Joni Jensen to create a series of children's books for early readers. With expressive pictures, she adds dimension to the characters and how they see the world. She has been writing and drawing for as long as she can remember, but only entered the publishing field in the last few years. She has worked with independent writers in the past to help bring their books to life with full-color illustrations, and she will continue to create books that make kids smile.
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Judy Kerr is a lifelong Minnesotan who’s always enjoyed reading, and now writing, mysteries. A number of Judy’s short stories have been published in various anthologies. Black Friday is the first novel in her planned series with a postal inspector protagonist. She’s currently working on the second book in the series. judymkerr.com
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Evelyn Klein has a B.S. in Secondary Education, an M.S. in the Teaching of English and taught in the public schools, at the Loft and Century College. She frequently publishes in journals and anthologies and was editor of and contributor for the MISF journal. She authored four books of poetry, essays, and illustrations, among them Seasons of Desire and Fear and Promise. Her book, Power Behind Your Writing, What Every Writer Needs to Know, about the English language came out in 2024. She presents programs on writing and readings of her work. evelynkleinauthor.com
Dr. Steve Lansing, PhD is a licensed therapist specializing in trauma and PTSD with a focus on veterans and other victims of severe trauma and is a mental health specialist for the Minnesota Veteran’s Treatment Court. He is a Vietnam veteran 1968–1970, U.S. Air Force, and is in long-term PTSD recovery. Founder of the dual recovery program, Empower CTC, he also serves as the President of Veterans Empowered, an organization devoted to increasing awareness and knowledge of the societal impact of untreated PTSD in combat veterans. Dr. Lansing is the co-author of Veterans in Crisis: Treating the Unique Needs of Those Who Served. vetsempowered.org
Helen Lapakko received a BA in social work/criminology from the U of M in 1972, and became a probation officer and also performed singing telegrams. She wrote and performed a one woman show with original music and monologues titled “Merica’s Story” at various venues. Helen attended Augsburg University starting in 1998 where she studied playwriting and music, and wrote the plays, “Connections” and “Maddie’s World.” She has written and published the books, Living Outside the Lines and Can You See Me? as well as The Brocade Couch, Hidden River, and J&S Ranch, about three women and their families living in Wyoming; each of the families has its own very different story to tell.
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David Lapakko is a retired college professor who has moved from academic writing—in particular, an argumentation/critical thinking text that’s going into its 6th edition—to his first attempt at fiction. He Didn’t Know What He Didn’t Know is a coming-of-age novella that follows the main character, Jack, through adolescence and early adulthood, focusing on all the things that he didn’t know about life but should have—sex and romance, relationships, school, jobs, politics, family life, and cultural differences, along with all of their attendant joys, sorrows, and life lessons.
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Brian Lutterman is the author of Incel, a thriller set in Minnesota, and Downfall, which launched the Pen Wilkinson series and is described by Mystery Gazette as “. . .an exhilarating action-packed financial thriller . . ” His other books include Nightfall, Deadfall, and Bound to Die, a Minnesota Book Award runner-up. Nightfall was named 2019 runner-up for Minnesota’s best indie adult novel in the Minnesota Library Association’s annual competition. Lutterman lives with his family in the Twin Cities. brianlutterman.com
Brenda Lyne specializes in gripping cold case mysteries. Explore my titles: Charlie's Mirror and Sister Lost, the full Raegan O'Rourke Mysteries series (The Thirteenth Cabin, Angel Baby, and Fool's Gold), and my newest release, Ripple Effect. If you need a nail-biting crime thriller with a supernatural twist, you've found your next read!
Michael Allan Mallory’s The Lost Dragon Murder won the 2022 Best Independent Book Award (BIBA) for Detective Novel, was a finalist for both the Midwest Book Awards and the Silver Falchion Award (presented by the Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference). Revered Minnesota crime writer William Kent Krueger called Mallory’s latest novel, Tiger Claw, “A joy of a read.” Mallory is also the co-author of two novels featuring mystery’s first zoologist sleuth, Lavender “Snake” Jones. He was an editor on Minnesota Not So Nice: Eighteen Tales of Bad Behavior, which was a 2021 Silver Falchion Award finalist. snakejones.com
Katelyn Mariah is an award-winning author of eight books. Katelyn has spent more than thirty-five years immersed in holistic health, plant medicine, and mind-body-spirit integration. As a herbalist, she crafts high-frequency remedies that reflect her connection to the Earth and her intuitive communion with plants. She believes that when we nourish our bodies, emotions, and spirits in alignment with our true nature, deep healing and transformation become possible.
Whether through words, images, or the alchemy of plants, Katelyn’s purpose is to inspire others to awaken their innate wisdom, reclaim their joy, and live as the unique, magical beings they were born to be. katelyndavidamariah.com
Barbara Marshak iis the author of five books and over 150 published pieces. A writer of both fiction and nonfiction, many of her essays and short stories have earned regional and national awards. Together, Barbara and her husband John enjoy Twins baseball, cookouts with friends and family, evenings on the front porch, and always, a glass of wine. Barbara is working on completion of her sixth book, The Last Fugitive. barbaramarshak.com
Neve Maslakovic writes mysteries set in speculative worlds. In her books, no place is safe from the criminal element—including an academic time travel lab (The Far Time Incident) and a Seattle of the future (All the Whys of Delilah’s Demise). Her newest release is a genre-bending mystery set in Minnesota, That Murder Feeling. Neve’s life journey has taken her from Belgrade, Serbia to a PhD at Stanford University’s STAR Lab to her dream job as a writer. She lives south of the Twin Cities with her husband, son, and high-spirited goldendoodle. nevemaslakovic.com
Mary Frances McKay is an avid reader and an author of Fear Less: Craft Your Life With Wisdom and Imagination. Mary’s book came from a thirty-year journey and arrived during Covid. Long retired, she still finds many ways to engage in community, family, education, and creative ventures.
De Etta Miller is a Minnesota native and local author. As one of six children raised in poverty and harsh circumstances in the 1950s, her childhood would act as the catalyst to a writing career centered around messages of social and familial kindness. DeEtta pursued a college degree in her fifties. In academia, she found her "voice" to share the power of the written word, particularly for children. deettawrites.com
Chris Norbury is the award-winning author of the Matt Lanier mystery-thriller series. His latest, a middle-grade adventure novel, Little Mountain, Big Trouble, has also received several awards. The story was inspired by his twenty year tenure as a volunteer Big Brother. He’s published two short stories in Minnesota crime anthologies and written three articles for the Boundary Waters Journal. Chris donates a portion of his book sales to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota.
North Star Press is an award-winning, family-owned publishing house, specializing in Midwest stories and authors. For almost sixty years we have elevated voices from across the region, and the globe, with our approachable and professional expertise. We offer a wide range of publishing options, from traditional royalty press, to Guided Self-Publishing, to hybrid with our imprint, Polaris. northstarpress.com
MB Panichi's first book, Saving Morgan, won a Goldie Award for Science Fiction. Running Toward Home is the sequel, followed by Blood and Roses, released May 2019. All three are fast-paced Sci-Fi Adventure Romances meant to keep you turning the pages with intrigue and a taste of mystery. Choosing Love is a present-day romance set in northern Minnesota. MB hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota. MB's non-writing obsessions are reading, drumming, heavy-metal music, bikes, and Star Wars. mbpanichi.com
Betty Brandt Passick s an award-winning historical crime fiction novelist of a gangster series. Her first two books were significant memoriams. Gangster in our Midst, her premier novel, most recently won a won the 2025 Editor's Choice Award of Literary Excellence from Reader’s House magazine in the UK. The Black Bag of Dr. Wiltse: Murder on the Prairie won an Indie Book Award. The third book in the series will be announced in 2026. She is married and retired a decade ago from a Fortune 500 Company in the Twin Cities. Read more at bettybrandtpassick.com
Gary Porter is a career educator and has taught at a number of universities including Loyola University Chicago and University of St. Thomas. In addition to several textbooks, Gary has written magazine articles and three other books. Duffy: The Tale of a Terrier was inspired by his first shelter dog. Town Kid: Reflections of a Midwestern Boyhood recalls Gary's time growing up in Greenfield, Iowa. Griff: My Life as Drake's Top Dog tells the story of the live mascot at his alma mater. His newest release, Little Rex: A Night at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, is a prequel to Duff's Tale. calumeteditions.com/authors/gary-porter
Jenny Prater lives in a cottage in Minnesota with her dog, her cat, and twenty-five fairy tale anthologies. She’s been telling stories for as long as she’s been talking, and fairy stories have always been her favorite. When she isn't reading and writing, she likes to bike, sew, and rant about folklore on the internet. She is currently working as a medical transcriptionist by day, and writing her fifth novel by night. Jenny is the author of To Be Loved, When the War Ends, and Shards of Glass. jennyprater.com
Colonel B. Wayne Quist MS, holds advanced degrees in management, history, international relations, and psychology. A Vietnam (1964–1968), Middle East (1968–1989) veteran, he is in long-term PTSD recovery and has published nine books on war trauma, history, and international relations. He is the Secretary/Treasurer of Veterans Empowered, in Rochester, Minnesota, an organization devoted to increasing awareness and knowledge of the societal impact of untreated PTSD in combat veterans. Colonel Quist is the co-author of Veterans in Crisis: Treating the Unique Needs of Those Who Served. vetsempowered.org
e rathke iwrites about books and games at radicaledward.substack.com. A finalist for the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award and recipient of the Diverse Worlds Grant, he is the author of Glossolalia, Howl, and the space opera series, The Shattered Stars. His short fiction appears in Neon Hemlock, Shoreline of Infinity, Mysterion Magazine, Cosmic Horror Monthly, and elsewhere. Find more at erathke.com
Sherry Roberts is the author of award-winning contemporary fiction (Up There, Book of Mercy, Maud’s House) and cozy mysteries (Down Dog Diary, Warrior’s Revenge, Crow Calling). Several of her books are Indie Author Project Select titles as well as finalists in the Midwest Book Awards. Up There won the 2024 Minnesota Indie Author Project. Sherry has contributed essays and short stories to various publications including Saint Paul Almanac, Mystery Magazine, Minnesota Not So Nice, Dark Side of the Loon, and It Was a Dark and Stormy Night—Dontcha Know. She lives in Apple Valley, Minnesota. sherry-roberts.com
Russell Rucker is a seasoned historian with over forty years of expertise in constitutional theory and the history of our country’s founding, and has a background in organizational and government experience. He has authored six books, both historical fiction and non-fiction, including one soon to be published. His work is not political unless you're talking about the politics of the Eighteenth Century. His board game, Race For The White House, was released last year, he helps run two constitutional study groups on Facebook, and also speaks to groups about the Constitution and our founding period.
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The Founders Encyclopedia is the only known comprehensive list of our founders, with biographies of each, a sequence of events, and an index to help with study.126 days in Philadelphia uses a fictional delegate to help tell the story of the constitutional convention, and the formation of our Constitution itself.
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Philadelphia to Yorktown: The Story of the Continental Congress was written in the viewpoint of John Adams, using letters and diaries of the Continental Congress as they work toward a solution with England, and write the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation with the war for Independence is in the background. russelljrucker.com
Peggy Munro Scholberg, is delighted to at last bring her mother’s telling of her story from World War II to publication. Peggy and her husband Bill live in Apple Valley, Minnesota, where they raised two sons. Together, they retraced her parents’ European travels and delved into World War II history. Following her career as a pharmacy manager, Peggy now revels in retirement. Mirroring her mother’s passion, Peggy delights in culinary experimentation, while inheriting her father’s fondness for sports. authorpeggyscholberg.com
Drawing from lifelong ballet and travel experiences, Amy Shomshak writes about the challenges and triumphs of a young dancer, Gina, showcased in her books L'Esprit, Grand Jeté, and Arabesque. Holding degrees in Russian language and Kinesiology, Amy lives in Minneapolis with her husband, two greyhounds, and two cats.
Growing up in New Ulm, Nancy Noyes Silcox has been a librarian in public and school libraries in Virginia and international schools in Egypt, Belgium and Ukraine.
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Her first book was a biography of the African American lawyer who organized America’s first civil rights sit-in in 1939. Her newest is historical fiction about early settlers surviving and building the New Ulm community on the Minnesota frontier. nancynoyessilcox.com
Jonathan W. Sweet is the award-winning author of twelve books. He has also contributed to or edited more than thirty anthologies and collections. Most of his work—both fiction and nonfiction—has a Minnesota slant.
Jonathan is a two-time winner of Best Historical Thriller from the Bookfest Awards and a five-time Pulp Factory Awards Finalist, recognizing the best in modern noir/pulp writing. In 2020, he was named to the “Who’s Who in New Pulp."
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Jonathan lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, two exceptional children and one fairly dim-witted dog. Find more at
JonathanWSweet.com
The pen name, M.R. Tain, is a respelling of the author’s first name, Martin. His first time-travel novel, This isn't Normal, was published in 2005. The sequel, Peace, Man, followed in 2012, with the final piece of the trilogy, For the Children, in 2018. He began writing as a way to illustrate the changes in culture over the years. facebook.com/M-R-Tain
Renee Valois has been an award-winning writer for most of her life, winning a Fellowship in writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, and many national awards for her writing which has appeared on TV, radio, social media, websites, print magazines and newspapers. She co-authored a novel, The Devil and the Diva, which was one of four finalists for a Minnesota Book Award in genre writing and was named one of the Best Books of the Year by Minnesota Monthly magazine. Her new nonfiction book was inspired by a dramatic poltergeist encounter.
collectingspiritsghosts.com
Scott R. Welvaert is a writer of middle grade, young adult and adult fiction who has authored numerous books, including The Curse of the Wendigo, The Mosquito King, The Alabaster Ring, Grotesque, The 13th Floor, The Ghost of the Wicked Crow, Escape from Atlantis City, Grayduck, and The Traveler’s Kiss. An avid outdoorsman, reader, and comic book nerd, he enjoys writing stories that bend the fabric of reality and offer something more than this world can conjure. He currently lives in Chaska, Minnesota with his lovely wife and a deaf husky named Rocket. scottwelvaert.com
Catherine Wilson is a writer, speaker, group facilitator and singer-songwriter with over forty years of experience providing inspiration and support for personal growth in a wide variety of events including workshops and retreats. Her first book, A Trail of Breadcrumbs – a Poetic Memoir of Survival, Healing and Spiritual Growth, is the foundation for many of her offerings. Her co-writer, psychologist Lyndall Johnson, provides a Guide for Going Deeper which helps the reader reflect on their own journey as they witness Catherine's story. groundedvisions.com
A native Minnesotan, Alida Winternheimer grew up with wholesome Midwestern values and a daily dose of “Minnesota Nice,” but always sensed there was more going on behind people’s closed doors. Her stories explore the core of our humanity with richly emotional, darkly themed tales about strong women, their families, and the secrets that haunt them.
Winner of the Minnesota Library Association’s 2025 MN Author Project Award, among others, she is three times nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and a notable in Best American Essays. Alida is a developmental editor and story craft coach with a podcast for writers and readers curious about writers, called the Story Works Round Table. alidawinternheimer.com