Your weekend's 'booked': Catch the Twin Cities Book Festival
On Saturday, the Minnesota State Fairgrounds will play host to the largest literary gathering in the upper Midwest: the Twin Cities Book Festival.
In the Fair's Progress Center, more than 50 exhibitors, including local presses, literary journals, writing programs and booksellers will be celebrating books: Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, graphic novels, children's lit, young adult and more.
Local literary stars and national names will be reading from their work on the event stages. Authors including Joy Williams, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Susan Cheever, Jabari Asim, Rupert Thomson and others fill the lineup.
Find the full schedule online from Rain Taxi, the Twin Cities literary organization behind the festival. Saturday festivities run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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What not to miss at the Twin Cities Book Festival
Bike to the books
The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota is leading a relaxed ride from Minneapolis to the fairgrounds for the festival. Meet up with some two-wheeled readers and take the ride together. (All riders get a poem!) Register for the ride with the Bicycle Alliance in advance.
Stroll the festival
You'll find a little bit of everything from the local literary exhibitors. There's Graywolf Press, which has been having a banner year with some of its critically acclaimed books, and the Minnesota Prison Writing Project, which brings creative writing classes to prisoners around the state.
Birchbark Books, Louise Erdrich's bookstore that publishes titles in the Ojibwe language, will be there, too. So will the Loft Literary Center, which offers dozens of writing classes for writers of all levels year-round.
Visit The Thread
MPR News' The Thread, which celebrates reading and books, will be at the fair among the exhibitor tables. Stop by to hear what we have coming up, and tell us about the best book you've read lately.
Add to your collection
Books will be for sale everywhere you look.
Rain Taxi will be selling used books and records as a fundraiser for the festival. Red Balloon Bookshop, Magers & Quinn and Common Good Books will all be on hand, and many of the local literary exhibitors will have discounts on their books and journals, as well: A great time to add some local writers to your bookshelf!
Catch story time at the Children's Pavilion
There will be something for the littlest readers (and listeners), too: Authors will be reading from their family-friendly works all day. You'll also find face-painting, an obstacle course and a make-your-own jigsaw puzzle station.
Let tweens and teens find their own reads
The festival is planning to have a Teen Tent and a Middle Grade Headquarters, so younger readers of all levels can explore the fair. Things kick off with a Star Wars party at Middle Grade HQ and wrap up with an author party and book signing at the Teen Tent. YA Bingo and other bookish fun is on the menu, organized in partnership with the Red Balloon Bookshop.
Meet local writers at the Author Hub
The hub will be a smorgasbord of local talent, from the mayor of Duluth with his book "Hillsider," to the chefs behind "The Norske Nook Book of Pies and Other Recipes." Twin Cities mystery maven Ellen Hart and many others, including MPR News host Tom Weber, will also be on hand.