Writer's Block

​Q&A with Juliann Rich

August 5th, 2015

Minneapolis-based author signing books at FM Pride

Juliann Rich is an award-winning Minneapolis-based author. She currently has three novels under her belt: “Caught in the Crossfire,” “Searching for Grace” and “Taking the Stand.” They are a trilogy that chronicles the love of two young boys at Bible camp.

Rich will conduct a meet and greet through the Affirmative Faith Community at this year’s FM Pride in the Park.

HPR: Can you please tell us about the affirmative faith…

Read more...


​‘Beneath the Bonfire’ review

July 9th, 2015

If winter is the season for hibernating and tackling hefty 19th-century Russian novels, then perhaps the short story is the perfect medium for reading during an active summer. And now that we’re on the other side of the Fourth of July mayhem, it’s the perfect time to give the psyche some much-needed rest and relaxation, and switch out the bottle rockets for a good set of short stories.

Nickolas Butler, whose novel “Shotgun Lovesongs” was a standout debut of 2014, has released a…

Read more...


​Let us now praise independent booksellers

April 29th, 2015

Melanie Hoffert

Zandbroz celebrates Independent Bookstore Day

A world in which independent bookstores can still thrive is certainly a good one. Independent bookstores enrich their communities in many ways, partly by connecting people with local authors and fostering a unique sense of place.

This year, these unique shops get a special day in their honor.

Saturday, May 2 marks the first national Independent Bookstore Day, sponsored by the American Booksellers Association and Penguin Random House. More than…

Read more...


​Tales of war and home

April 1st, 2015

In Phil Klay’s short story “War Stories,” a former Marine muses “I’m tired of telling war stories.”

Although said in a numbly serious manner, the statement remains somewhat humorous in light of the fact that it is the very first line of “War Stories,” which also happens to be part of a short story collection comprised solely of – that’s right – war stories.

Klay, a veteran of the Marines who served in Iraq, doesn’t seem to be through with war stories just yet.…

Read more...


The Other Half: The UND Writers Conference brings women to the forefront

March 18th, 2015

The 46th Annual UND Writers Conference, “The Other Half,” will take place March 25-27, 2015 at the Memorial Union on UND’s campus in Grand Forks. The conference will feature only women authors and artists for the first time since 1973, when Gwendolyn Brooks and Mary McCarthy, among others, shared the stage. The conference will feature readings, panel discussions, book signings, workshops and film screenings. All events are free and open to the public. Free parking is available.…

Read more...


​Q&A with Bonnie Jo Campbell

March 18th, 2015

Q&A with Bonnie Jo Campbell

By Sara Dupree

Bonnie Jo Campbell is one of the featured writers at the 2015 University of North Dakota Writers Conference. She is the author of the national bestselling novel “Once Upon a River” and the short fiction collection “American Salvage,” a finalist for the National Book Award. She has been awarded a Pushcart Prize and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

HPR: Animals figure prominently in your writing. Are there particular moments of interacting with…

Read more...


​Full of Faith: Adam Copeland on “Wrestling with Faith and College”

January 28th, 2015

It was two weeks ago today that Adam Copeland, Concordia professor and director of theological inquiry, held a reading at Zandbroz Variety for his book “Kissing in the Chapel, Praying in the Frat House: Wrestling with Faith and College.” This event included free food, coffee and wine, along with copies available for sale.

Copeland’s book, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers back in December, is a collection of essays written by students in their 20snationwide. For his…

Read more...


​“Lines & Notes” event coming up at the HoDo

November 28th, 2014

Kevin Zepper / Photo by J Earl Miller

Music and performance poetry will come together next Wednesday at Stoker’s in the Basement (The Hotel Donaldson), where poet Kevin Zepper and pianist Terrie Manno will put on a show entitled “Lines & Notes.” This collaborative exhibition will be free and open to the public.

This isn’t the first time these two local artists have collaborated. Zepper’s Reverbnation webpage features audio and video clips of his poetry readings, including one for National Poetry Month last April.…

Read more...


​Boose and The Red Bishop

November 25th, 2014

In the early 2000s, High Plains Reader published an article by writer Greg Boose titled “Three Older Women Stand in Line to Yell at the Author James Frey when Malcolm-Jamal Warner Stops By with a Two-Liter of Cherry Coke Under his Arm.”

Years down the road, Boose published the piece on his website and the one-and-only No. 1 bestselling author of “A Million Little Pieces,” James Frey, contacted Boose to say he enjoyed the piece.

Today, this Minnesota State University Moorhead grad…

Read more...


Fargo author Ryn Pitts releases a murder mystery

November 19th, 2014

Last year, Fargo author Ryn Pitts released her first book, “Deadly Benefits,” a murder mystery that utilizes her background in pharmacy, health administration and insurance, as well as her Scandinavian background (with her proudly Finnish heroine, the pharmacist Heli Harri).

The plot revolves around Christine Runyan, a young mother stricken with Crohn’s disease, who dies in the intensive care unit at the fictional Swedish Hospital in Fargo. Fearing a malpractice lawsuit, Dr.…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry FPL2 Tracker Pixel for Entry staveq1 Tracker Pixel for Entry Bismarck Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstWest Tracker Pixel for Entry Empire Tracker Pixel for Entry 7Clans

Recently in:

By Bryce Vincent HaugenOn Palm Sunday two thousand years ago, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey to directly take on the authoritarian Roman rulers of the region, according to Christian scripture. It was an overtly political…

By Michael M. Miller Rev. Salomon Joachim, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Beulah, North Dakota., delivered an address to the Western Conference of the Dakota District of the American Lutheran Church in 1939. His presentation was…

Wednesday, March 25, Group lesson 7 p.m., Dance 9 p.m.Sons of Norway, 722 2nd Avenue North, FargoCare to dance? If you don’t already know how to dance, the Northern Lights Dance Club can show you a thing or two about social…

By John StrandDisclaimer: This editorial is the work of someone who’s spent most of his adult life working in the media — most of those years co-owning this very entity, the High Plains Reader, since 1996. The notion that folks…

By Ed RaymondWhat if eight billion people looked and acted like Adam and Eve?So, we have different fingerprints and DNA. We can transfuse people’s blood and implant organs with some limitations. With facial recognition equipment,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Sabrina Hornung There’s a Bosnian saying that states simply, “It’s a sin to throw away bread,” which really resonates with me — especially growing up with grandparents who lived through the Second World War and the Great…

The Slow Death at The AquariumSaturday, March 21, doors at 7:30 p.m. The Aquarium above Dempsey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe Slow Death is a punk supergroup led by Jesse Thorson, with members and collaborators that include…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Julia Ducournau’s third feature, a mashup of body horror, family melodrama and AIDS allegory set in a grim and gray dystopia, fails to live up to the promise of her wild debut…

By Jacinta TensI have been a fan of graffiti since I first saw it as a child. As a kid who was always into some sort of creative endeavor, the movement, colors and intricate details of pieces I would see on trains always fascinated…

Saturday, January 31, 6:30-9 p.m.Transfiguration Fitness, 764 34th St. N., Unit P, FargoAn enchanting evening celebrating movement and creativity in a staff-student showcase. This is a family-friendly event showcasing pole, aerial…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liverani In November 2025, the FDA initiated the removal of the “black box” warning from Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The “black box” warning is a FAD safety warning for healthcare providers and patients…

January 31, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Viking Ship Park, 202 1st Ave. N., Moorhead2026 marks 10 years of frosty fun! Enjoy sauna sessions with Log the Sauna, try Snowga (yoga in the snow), take a guided snowshoe nature hike, listen to live…

By HPR StaffI'm a Gen Xer who landed in Fargo in the late '90s, a small town kid who didn't know a soul. By sheer dumb luck I ended up at Ralph's, and that place gave me my people. Lifelong friends, the kind you don't find twice.…