NEMBA awards–and the winner is...

Congrats are in order for Aaron Brown, author of Overburden, for winning the award in the Memoir and Creative Nonfiction category at the Northeastern Minnesota Book Awards (NEMBA). If you haven't heard about Aaron, you will. He is a talented young writer and his book is really worth the read. While I was not exactly expecting to win an award for pre-published newspaper columns, I think it's great to be overshadowed by this young talent! 

If you weren't among the book lovers of our area attending the NEMBA event today, you missed a fun afternoon. It turns out we live in a rather literary neck of the woods and it was encouraging to see that interest and many talented writers represented at the event. The keynote speaker, Annette Atkins, Minnesota author and historian, was wonderful. As someone who is a history buff, I was taken by her command of history and understanding of the story in the people who make our history. Very good speaker. 

Above are a couple of pics of all the nominees. That's me near the front. Sometimes it pays to be a bit taller–at least it did in this case.

MN Book Awards Kudos...

Pretty exciting news from St. Paul. The Minnesota Book Awards list of finalists was announced last week and my publisher is on that list! Local author/publisher Tony Dierckins was selected as a finalist for his book, Crossing the Canal. Tony put in many hours of love in that book. It's a definitive history of Duluth's Aerial Lift Bridge, filled with fascinating historical accounts of the bridge as well as some pretty interesting folk lore. The book includes artistic photos by local photographers as well and is a wonderful read for any household. Congrats to Tony!

I was happy to notice also that an up and coming young Iron Range writer/blogger, Aaron Brown, was nominated for his book, Overburden. I expect we'll hear more from this talented writer in the future.

Iron Range tour...

Thanks to all who came to visit and check out my book on Saturday during my Iron Range tour of bookstores.  What a warm and inviting experience it was to meet so many wonderful readers and enjoy the hospitality of gracious Iron Range/Grand Rapids booksellers. Tony Dierckins, my publisher and author of Crossing the Canal,  joined me for this tour. If you have not seen Tony's book, be sure to check it out. The "bridge book" is the definitive book about the aerial lift bridge and filled with history, folk lore and gorgeous pictures. Just a great book!

One of our visitors was Iron Range columnist and author, Aaron Brown. Aaron is a most talented young writer. I've been enjoying reading his new book, Overburden, and would highly recommend it. Aaron and I have some things in common besides our column writing. He is the father of three young boys–two are twins–and I am the grandfather of twin boys. It's lots of work but so much fun–and we all know "it takes a village" to raise twins. Thanks for stopping by, Aaron!