For thirty years, the Minnesota Book Awards have recognized the best in writers, illlustrators, and book artists who are Minnesotans. Last Saturday evening in downtown St. Paul at the Intercontinental Hotel Riverfront, more than 800 people attended the awards ceremony emceed by Rohan Preston, theater critic for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. With more than 250 books submitted for the annual award, a panel of judges narrowed it down to four finalists across eight categories in January. Carolyn Porter, for Marcel’s Letters, had been named a finalist in the category of Memoir and Creative Nonfiction. On Valentine’s Day, she gave a talk at the Hamline Midway Library as part of the Fireside Reading Series which highlights the work of the finalists for the Minnesota Book Awards. The awards are sponsored by Education Minnesota and presented by the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library. There are too few moments in an author’s career when you receive critical acclaim and professional affirmation. I encourage you to grab these moments when you can. When your book is a finalist in a prestigious award category, it’s appropriate to pop the champagne and celebrate. Even if it doesn’t take first place, it’s still a winner. Deeply touched to have been invited to join Carolyn Porter and her husband, Aaron, for the awards ceremony, I enjoyed the evening and the chance to meet so many literary artists in one place at one time. The full list of winners in all categories of the Minnesota Book Award can…
Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate by Carolyn Porter, is the incredible story of her search to uncover the mystery of one man’s fate during WWII. Skyhorse Publishing will release it this June. Today is the last day to enter a Goodreads Giveaway for a free copy. Recently, I interviewed Carolyn about the backstory to writing her new book. Jill… [Read More]
Filed Under: Berlin, Carolyn Porter, Daimler, font, France, Marcel's Letters, Skyhorse Publishing, STO, typography, WWII
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It can be intimidating to think about writing your life story. Relax. Memoir isn’t your entire life story. It’s a slice of life, not birth to death. Don’t confuse memoir with autobiography. Today the only autobiographies which find publishers are those written by presidential candidates, retired statesmen, and superstars. And typically written by authors who don’t trust biographers to paint their portrait in a flattering… [Read More]
A new book festival brings Sherman Alexie and Margaret Atwood to the Packer’s Title Town the end of this month. Untitled Town Book and Author Festival is the first event of its kind for the greater Green Bay area and plans to unite readers, writers, podcasters, storytellers, publishers, books, and Packer fans. Alexie and Atwood are not the only big name authors who are featured… [Read More]
If you’re an aspiring author, pursuing a career in the world of words, or just writing an email to your boss later today, chances are your work will need some editing. New to the world of books, I quickly learned the best sentences can become even better by using some great free tools at your disposal. No, I’m not talking about the pamphlets we received… [Read More]
As more people come to value the natural world and venture into wildlife areas, a reference guide to help identify the animals who call these places home has never been more useful. A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the Northeast will be released July 4, 2017, from Countryman Press (W. W. Norton). I recently interviewed author Linda J. Spielman about how she came to… [Read More]