Writer's Block

​Amy Thielen: book launch and reading

June 7th, 2017

Last Thursday, Zandbroz Variety hosted a book launch and reading for Amy Thielen’s memoir “Give a Girl a Knife.” Though originally scheduled for May 25th, the event had to be rescheduled due to illness. Nonetheless, the turnout at Zandbroz was substantial, with pastry goods courtesy of Youngblood Coffee.

“Give a Girl a Knife” chronicles her journey as a chef, from her rural upbringing in Minnesota to the elite culinary world of New York, followed by her move back to Park Rapids…

Read more...


​The power of slug: local children’s book inspires

May 17th, 2017

“When I was a little guy, I don’t know that this was so long ago -- we didn’t have all these formal designations for various learning disabilities and whatnot. I was in special classes for various things but I remember being told very specifically that I could do whatever I wanted -- but there was this weird little caveat at the end of that and that’s what the story is about.” says Peter Schultz, author of the children’s book Peter the Slug.

“All of Peter’s friends tell…

Read more...


From the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Fargo

May 17th, 2017

By Francese Manya

I was born in Congo in Lumbumbashi. It was kind of good where I was, but we had conflict between two tribes—Kasais and Hancomas. My grandma left us and went to Namibia, and I stayed with my mother, niece, and brothers.

We were sitting in my grandma’s house talking, joking, and playing outside, just when we saw another tribe; they came and attacked us. They were beating my mom and my father and my brothers. We were all crying. They took a stick and they hit my head and…

Read more...


​Amy Thielen cookbook launch party

May 10th, 2017

Three years ago, Minnesota author and former Food Network chef Amy Thielen held a launch party for her cookbook, ‘The New Midwestern Table: 200 Heartland Recipes,’ at Fargo’s Zandbroz Variety. This book was illustrated by North Dakota artist Amber Fletschock and earned the praise of celebrity chefs Andrew Zimmern and Lidia Bastianich.

Next Thursday, Zandbroz will once again host Thielen for a launch party for her new memoir, Give a Girl a Knife, which chronicles her journey from…

Read more...


​Danielle Nadler and the Sierra Phantom

May 3rd, 2017

Back in December, journalist and MSUM alum Danielle Nadler released a nonfiction book entitled “Without a Trace: The Life of the Sierra Phantom,” the result of Nadler’s conversations with John P. Glover, a man who lived off the grid in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for 50 years. At the age of 75, Glover settled in a small town in California, once his advanced age made him more vulnerable to hypothermia and frostbite.

On Saturday, May 13, as part of her book tour, Nadler will be back…

Read more...


​Laurie Hertzel to visit MSUM

April 19th, 2017

This Monday journalist and author Laurie Hertzel will be at MSUM to promote her memoir News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist published by the University of Minnesota. This book won the Reader’s Choice Award at the Minnesota Book Awards back in 2011.

There will be an informal meet-and-greet at noon, followed by a reading and book signing at 7:30pm. Both events will take place in Room 205 in the Comstock Memorial Union. In between, she will be a guest on KDSU-FM, 91.9 FM,…

Read more...


​Madelon Sprengnether at MSUM

March 29th, 2017

Next Wednesday the poet, memoirist, and literary critic Madelon Sprengnether will be at Minnesota State University Moorhead as part of the Clarence Glasrud Lecture Series. She will give a lecture at 4pm, followed by a reading at 7:30, both at the Livingston Lord Library Porch.

For her work, Sprengnether has received awards from the Loft Literary Center, the Bush Foundation, and The National Endowment for the Arts. Her essays have appeared in many books of literary criticism, including…

Read more...


​The hermit who came in from the cold

February 1st, 2017

Back in December, journalist Danielle Nadler, a South Dakota native and MSUM alum, published “Without a Trace: The Life of the Sierra Phantom.” The book was the result of interviews with John P. Glover, a man who lived off the land with little human contact for 50 years in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California.

Nadler, who currently runs a community newspaper in Northern Virginia, was introduced to Glover through a mutual friend.

“Within our first conversation,” Nadler…

Read more...


​The Story of Heroin

January 25th, 2017

During a time when heroin use has risen to epidemic levels in North Dakota, a timely memoir entitled In Spite of Heroin is being sold locally at Zandbroz Variety and Vintage Point, as well as other independent bookstores throughout the Midwest.

The book’s author, Dana Chase, printed it through AuthorHouse, which supports self-publishing services for writers around the world.

“I tried the traditional way for about a year,” Chase said, “which is sending query letters to literary…

Read more...


​Illustrator Carrie Hartman: reception and autographs

January 18th, 2017

On Friday, January 27th, award-winning children’s book illustrator Carrie Hartman will be at Ellen Hopkins Elementary and Robert Asp Elementary as part of a collaboration between the schools. She will sign autographs and present to various classrooms during their alternating library times.

Hartman previously made an appearance at the primary school in Becker MN, where a teacher was quoted as saying, “Carrie's multimedia presentation and stories were entertaining, engaging, and…

Read more...


Tracker Pixel for Entry Tracker Pixel for Entry EmpireAUG2021 Tracker Pixel for Entry MidwestRoadTripAdventures Tracker Pixel for Entry WurstDowntown Tracker Pixel for Entry Tracker Pixel for Entry ParamountMar2022

Recently in:

Proposed Bills Could Take Books off Library ShelvesBy Laura Simmonslaurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu The passing of ND House Bill 1205 and ND Senate Bill 2360, which would prevent sexually explicit books from being in public…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comHPR chats with a local legendThe following interview was done in February of 2016, just a few months after Mr. Josef Olivieri's 90th birthday. We're sorry to hear of his passing at the age of 97 on…

Tuesday, March 21, 6:30pmZandbroz Variety, FargoAuthor of “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land” Taylor Broby will discuss the important role libraries play in their communities as sanctuaries of acceptance. He will…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.comOur Opinion: Who on Earth would ever want to move to North Dakota?Let’s talk about the left hand and the right hand. Or, more correctly, let’s focus on the right hand, being as there is no left in ND…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comTwo ForumWhite Nationalist Trumplican Nincoms Have Pooped All Over LibrariansSo it has come to pass that Scott Hennen and Ross Nelson have assaulted librarians in the state, accusing them of…

Well shiver me timbers. After weeks of sampling some of the finest drinks in F-M from more bars than we could shake a belaying pin at, the results of High Plains Reader’s 6th Annual Cocktail Showdown are in! For nine weeks,…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comWhen thinking of popular sandwiches associated with the Upper Midwest, the sloppy joe immediately comes to mind. But let’s not forget the sandwich with a spicy side – the taco grinder. It’s a…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comphoto by Andy Wilcox Many of Fargo-Moorhead’s talented bands and musicians have been able to gain fans around the country. Some of this, of course, is due to social media making it…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comKevin Armento’s play “Killers” inspired both Stefanie Abel Horowitz’s 2019 short film “Sometimes, I Think About Dying” and Rachel Lambert’s 2023 feature “Sometimes I Think About…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comIf you’ve ever driven down the Enchanted Highway, the 32-mile ribbon of road connecting Regent to Gladstone in western North Dakota, home to the world’s largest salvaged metal sculptures,…

By Jessica M. Hawkesjmhawkes84@gmail.comIt wasn’t long after the founding of the railroad and river town of New Rockford that entertainment venues started to put down their own roots. Its population bolstered by booms of nearby…

By Jan Syverson  Jan.r.Syverson@gmail.comFor the past 30 years live, stand-up comedy has had a place in the Fargo Moorhead area, Starting with…

By Kris Gruberperriex1@gmail.comSpring is here (mostly), and our area is buzzing with people eager to get back out and about -- many newly vaccinated and feeling a bit safer. Partnering with Jade Events, Fargo Brewing is just…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Ken and Alice Christiansonsubmit@hpr1.com HB 1332 is currently before the North Dakota legislature. The bill proposes to permit social workers to use a discredited treatment method to convert the sexual orientation of gay and…