Minnesota Author Showcase

At a cozy new stage in the Progress Center, a fantastic lineup of Minnesota authors will present their new books in a quick-paced, fun-filled Showcase that stretches throughout the day! Each half hour features a different group of writers offering short talks, readings, or activities; after each session, visitors can chat with the authors and get books signed at a special Showcase mingling area, where all titles will be available for purchase. *Starred events are ASL interpreted.
For author and book information, click HERE.

10:30 – 11:00 AM
Amazing Anthologies

We begin our Showcase day by celebrating two new anthologies of Black writing, presented by the books’ editors! Collecting poems, essays, stories, and more, these anthologies bear witness to the past and present, and look toward future healing and change.

Ebony Aya (Let the Black Women Say Asé)
Erin Sharkey (A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars)

11:00 – 11:30 AM
Multigenre Magic

Two genres are better than one in this Showcase segment focusing on multigenre works! Blending memoir and poetry, poetry and art, or art and architecture, these books cross categories to express powerful messages.

Korynn Newville (Indiscernible Elements: Calcium)
Said Shaiye (Are You Borg Now?)
Sam Zimmerman / Zhaawanoogiizhik
(Following My Spirit Home)

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Poetry Showcase

Four illustrious Minnesota poets – including the current Minnesota Poet Laureate and a former Minnesota Poet Laureate! – take the Showcase stage to offer timeless verse from new books.

Diane Jarvenpa (Shy Lands)
Freya Manfred (When I Was Young and Old)
Joyce Sutphen (That Other Life)
Gwen Nell Westerman (Songs, Blood Deep)

12:00 – 12:30 PM
Local Lives

Kick off the noon hour at TCBF by joining three Twin Cities changemakers as they present their new memoirs! With powerful stories and elevated writing, these authors are sure to leave readers with fresh perspectives—and great books in hand.

Charles Adams (Twin Cities: My Life as a Black Cop and a Championship Coach)
Jeremy Norton (Trauma Sponges: Dispatches from the Scarred Heart of Emergency Response)
Lynette Reini-Grandell (Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story)

12:30 – 1:00 PM
Prairie Wisdom

Join co-authors Angie Bailey and Susie Shubert for a brief talk followed by a rousing game of trivia based on their new book, Little House Life Hacks! As you test your knowledge of prairie life, you’ll learn how to convert pioneer wisdom into modern-day strategies that will make each day a little brighter. All trivia winners get a free LHLH lip balm!

1:00 – 1:30 PM
Literary Fiction I*

Fiction readers, head to the Showcase stage at 1 pm to see four Minnesota authors present their latest books! This event is ASL interpreted.

VV Ganeshananthan (Brotherless Night)
Daniel Hornsby (Sucker)
Joe Milan Jr. (The All-American)
Caleb Tankersley (Sin Eaters)

1:30 – 2:00 PM
Literary Fiction II*

Fiction readers, head to the Showcase stage at 1:30 pm to see four Minnesota authors present their latest books! This event is ASL interpreted.

Nigar Alam (Under the Tamarind Tree)
Raymond Luczak (Widower, 48, Seeks Husband)
Julie Schumacher (The English Experience)
James Sullivan (Harboring)

2:00 – 2:30 PM
Genre Masters

Novelists with new genre fiction share the spotlight in this 2 pm segment of the Showcase! From horror to fantasy, these authors are crafting some of the most thrilling fiction out there.

Steven Brust (Tsalmoth)
P.L. Hampton (Shadowland)
David Oppegaard (Claw Heart Mountain)
Emma Törzs (Ink Blood Sister Scribe)

2:30 – 3:00 PM
Family & Society

These three authors explore social, historical, and environmental topics via family stories, making for an enriching nonfiction Showcase that reveals how intricately the personal and the social are connected.

Emma Nadler (The Unlikely Village of Eden)
Beth Obermeyer (When Winter Came: A Country Doctor's Journey to Fight the Flu Pandemic of 1918)
Emily Strasser (Half-Life of a Secret: Reckoning with a Hidden History)

3:00 – 3:30 PM
Intrepid Journalism

Where would we be without books that doggedly investigate the cultural life of communities? From deep dives into the worlds of weirdos and stars to lesbian bars across the nation, the authors of these books enrich our understanding of who and where we are.

Krista Burton (Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest To Track Down The Last Remaining Lesbian Bars In America)
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl (The Essential Dear Dara: Writings on Local Characters and Memorable Places)

3:30 – 4:00 PM
Short Break

Please allow our Showcase stage a short break while we set up for our final event:

4:00 – 4:30 PM
Musicians Write

Cap off your day at the Showcase with a special words-and-music segment! These gifted musicians and writers will treat you to a few tunes while giving you a peek behind the curtain on their books. Featuring:

Mikkel Beckmen (Gifts of the Superior Hiking Trail: Walking into Myself)
Charlie Parr (Last of the Better Days Ahead)
Paul Metsa & Rick Shefchik (Blood in the Tracks: The Minnesota Musicians Behind Dylan's Masterpiece)