Sunday 4/23: Author Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrator Claudia McGehee, and stream-hunter Mike Osterholm will present their beautiful new picture book Creekfinding. There will also be a signing and reception with refreshments. Red Balloon Bookshop, 3 p.m., free.
Monday 4/24: Poet Chris Santiago will be reading from his collection Tula to celebrate National Poetry Month. Maple Grove Library, 6:30 p.m., free.
Tuesday 4/25: Join Excelsior Bay Books for Literature Lovers’ Night Out! Featured authors will include Nickolas Butler, Kathy and Linda Koutsky, Randy Susan Meyers, and Kathleen Rooney. Excelsior Bay Books, 7 p.m., $10, ticketed event.
Celebrate Minneapolis author Kurtis Scaletta’s new book Rooting for Rafael Rosales on release day at Red Balloon. Red Balloon Bookshop, 6:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 4/26: The Moth StorySLAM! The topic is FRESH: prepare a five-minute story about the crispest and cleanest of life’s offerings. A new zip code, spouse, haircut, or nose. Out with the stale, and in with the freshly baked. Throw your name in the hat, and see what happens! Amsterdam Bar and Hall, doors 6:30 p.m., $10.
Check out the Birchbark Books Reading Series; it features new, emerging, and established writers quarterly, September through May. April’s event is curated by Michael Kiesow Moore and Ardie Medina, and will feature readings from Margaret Hasse, Denise Lajimodiere, Denise Low, and Thomas Pecore Weso. Bockley Gallery, 7 p.m., free.
The Loft presents Lesley Nneka Arimah, author of the new collection What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky. Open Book, 7 p.m., free.
Thursday 4/27: Russell Rathbun will be reading from his new book The Great Wall of China and the Salton Sea: Monuments, Missteps, and the Audacity of Ambition. Subtext Books, 7 p.m., free.
John Sanford will be discussing his book Golden Prey. This is a seated event. Once Upon A Crime, 7 p.m., free.
Jeff VanderMeer and Benjamin Percy will discuss Jeff’s new novel Borne, with a book signing to follow. Grace-Trinity Community Church, 7 p.m., free.
Friday 4/28: The April installment of Next Poetix, a reading series for what’s emergent in poetry & hybrid writing, will feature Sagirah Shahid, G.E. Patterson, and Ashleigh Lambert. Main Auditorium, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, 6:30 p.m., free.
Novelist Angela Flournoy reads from her work and elaborates on matters of writing process and craft. Open Book, 7 p.m., $15 general entry, $10 for Loft members.
Sarah Manguso will present her book 300 Arguments. Magers & Quinn Booksellers, 7 p.m., free.
Poken Sword Literary Salon: the theme is “Fools.” Readers will share original, new work. 2001 A SPACE, 7 p.m., free.
Saturday 4/29: It’s Independent Bookstore Day! Join the celebration of independent booksellers in our community. There will be events happening all day at participating stores around the Twin Cities. Independent bookstores are also teaming up to create an Twin Cities Independent Bookstore Passport, which can help you win prizes and exclusive giveaways. Sweet.
The Loft presents a McKnight Reading with Kiese Laymon. Open Book, 7 p.m., $10, $5 for members.
Here’s a thing: Oh, man. So, for all you fledgling writers out there trying to figure out how to break into the scene (and wondering, despairingly, how one gets so lucky as to be published by indie publishing superstar Graywolf Press), here’s Graywolf’s First Pages blog. Fiona McCrae and the staff at Graywolf examine what makes a great opening, and how manuscripts grab their attention from the first line. It’s instructive and revealing.
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Please email any event listings you’d like to see to [email protected].
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