Writer's Block

​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…

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​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…

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​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,…

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​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…

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​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…

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​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…

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​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…

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​Award-winning author Elizabeth Raum: reception and autographs

January 11th, 2017

On Wednesday, January 18th, nonfiction author Elizabeth Raum will be at Ellen Hopkins Elementary and Robert Asp Elementary as part of a collaboration between the schools. She will sign autographs that morning in Ellen Hopkins’ library before presenting to classes during their alternating library times.

Raum, a former teacher and librarian, has written nearly 100 educational books for several children’s series, including Countries Around the World, American Lives, Fact Finders, and…

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​Poetry Rag provides a voice for writers

December 21st, 2016

Since October, a monthly journal known as “The Poetry Rag” has been circulating throughout Fargo, Moorhead, and Grand Forks. It can be found in local coffee shops, bookstores, record stores, and other small businesses that carry free publications.

The two masterminds behind “The Poetry Rag” are its creator Joe Bertrand and editor Kendra Smith. Depending on the length of the poems, each issue contains 15 to 18 poems.

“The Rag started out of frustration,” Bertrand admits.…

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​Definitely not a kid’s book

October 26th, 2016

Back in 2015, local poet L. Reuben Willis released his poetry book, “Dog and Fox, and Other Musings” through Amazon’s CreateSpace publishing platform and Kindle Direct Publishing, complete with photographs as visual aids.

More recently, Willis has come out with a very different collection entitled “Losing My Religion: Wooing and Losing a Goddess,” a set of poems with an overriding narrative inspired by two people Willis knows.

“It’s about a long-distance love affair between…

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