Go on the road with Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes, the author series hosted jointly by Star Tribune and Minnesota Public Radio, is going on the road this spring with two well-loved Minnesota writers.

Author/illustrator Drew Brockington, who lives in Minneapolis, is the creator of the popular CatStronauts series for children, as well as the Waffles and Pancakes series, featuring two space-flying felines. His third book in that series, "Waffles and Pancakes: Failure to Lunch," will be published in March and the fourth will be published in October.

Brockington has a degree in art and art history, and before moving to Minneapolis worked on "The Gates" in New York City, the Central Park art installation by Christo and Jean Claude.

Brockington will be in conversation with MPR's Kerri Miller at 2 p.m. May 6 at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.

The second on-the-road event will take place in Duluth with William Kent Krueger, author of the popular Cork O'Connor series of mysteries. Krueger and Miller will be in conversation at 7 p.m. May 18 at Mitchell Auditorium at the College of St. Scholastica.

Krueger, who lives in St. Paul, is also the author of three stand-alone novels, "Ordinary Grace," "This Tender Land" and the forthcoming "The River We Remember," to be published in September.

Krueger has been honored with the Edgar Award, Minnesota Book Award, Northeastern Minnesota Book Award, Dilys Award, Lovey Award and Anthony Award and his books have sold more than 1 million copies.

Tickets go on sale March 13; price is $25 with a $2 discount for MPR members and Star Tribune subscribers. For the Rochester event, tickets for children under 12 are $15.

Tickets can be purchased from mprevents.org.

Laurie Hertzel is senior editor for books at the Star Tribune.