Writers and readers will gather on Thursday at the Loft to celebrate 42 years of work by New Rivers Press, a nonprofit literary press based at Minnesota State University at Moorhead. New Rivers was founded by Bill Truesdale in 1968 and has published more than 300 books.

A dozen or more New Rivers authors will speak, including Joyce Sutphen, Rachel Coyne, Tim Nolan, William Reichard and Susan Steger Walsh, followed by a reception. The event is free and open to the public. It begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at the Target Performance Center at Open Book, 1011 Washington Av. S. in Minneapolis.

Also...

•"D is for Dala Horse: A Nordic Countries Alphabet," by Kathy-jo Wargin of Minnetonka, illustrated by Renée Graef of Cedarburg, Wis., has been published by Sleeping Bear Press.

•"1+1=5 and Other Unlikely Additions," by David LaRochelle of White Bear Lake, illustrated by Brenda Sexton, has been published by Sterling Press.

•First published in 1988, "The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway" by Edward Benton-Banai is back in print with the University of Minnesota Press. The book documents the histories and culture of the Ojibway people through stories and myths.

•"Baseball Guy," a picture book by Gordy Jones of St. Paul, illustrated by Tim VanNess, has been published by Beaver's Pond Press.

•"Dizzy the Mutt with the Propeller Butt," by St. Paul radio personality Ian Punnett, illustrated by D.C. Ice of St. Paul, has been published by Beaver's Pond Press.

•"Low Down and Coming On: A Feast of Delicious and Dangerous Poems about Pigs," edited by James Lenfestey of Minneapolis, has been published by Red Dragonfly Press. The anthology includes poems by Robert Bly, Louise Erdrich, Bill Holm, Galway Kinnell, Ted Kooser, Sylvia Plath, Billy Collins, and many others.

•"Brock Lesnar: The Making of a Hard-Core Legend," by former Star Tribune news assistant Joel Rippel, has been published by Triumph Books. Lesnar grew up on a dairy farm in South Dakota and went on to be the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion and, briefly, a Minnesota Viking.

• The National Association of Black Storytellers will hold its 28th conference this week in Minneapolis. Registration opens Thursday at the City Center Marriott, with events through Sunday, including workshops, panel discussions and classes. The conference is open to the public. Cost is $150-$300.