Between Labor Day and Halloween comes one of the happiest, most bookish weekends of the year: the weekend of the Twin Cities Book Festival hosted by Rain Taxi, which has taken place steadily — in person and, more recently, virtually — for more than 20 years.
The event began in 2001 and went all-virtual in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Last year, it became a hybrid, venturing out carefully in person once again but with plenty of online events, as well.
This year the festival returns to a robust in-person event, with just a sprinkling of virtual events. As always, it will run all day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 15, in the Progress Center at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights. It is free.
The popular Minnesota Author Mashup begins at 11 a.m., with 50 Minnesota writers getting three minutes each to talk about their book — or anything else they want to talk about. The event features Minnesota writers who have a book out this year. Participants will include Sequoia Nagamatsu ("How High We Go in the Dark"), Antonia Angress ("Sirens & Muses"), Andrew DeYoung ("The Temps"), Allen Eskens ("Forsaken Country"), Will McGrath ("Farewell Transmission"), Kyle Tran Myhre ("Not a Lot of Reasons to Sing, But Enough") and Artika Tyner ("The Inclusive Leader"). For a comprehensive list, go to https://twincitiesbookfestival.com/in-person-festival/authors/#mnauthormashup.
As always, there will be thousands of books and records for sale — a fundraiser for the festival — and a book fair featuring booths and tables with more than 100 publishers, authors and literary organizations.
A full list of writers who will be on stage throughout the day is online at twincitiesbookfestival.com, but the lineup includes poet and Harvard University professor Stephanie Burt; poet and director of the Palestine Writing Workshop Maya Abu Al-Hayyat; activist and poet Brenda Hillman; Whiting Writers Award winner Major Jackson; novelist Phong Nguyen, and illustrator and graphic designer Magdalena Mora.
Local writers who will take the stage include Anika Fajardo, John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Abby Jimenez and Marcie Rendon. Again, the full list is online.
The festival will wind down Saturday evening with a ticketed event launching the new chapbook by hip-hop artist and poet Dessa, "Tits on the Moon." (Can I say that in a family newspaper?) While the festival itself is free, tickets for Dessa's event are $5 and can be purchased at the Rain Taxi booth at any time during the festival.
The festival has strict COVID-19 protocols and will issue wristbands upon seeing proof of vaccination, so bring your vax card. Masks are encouraged but not required.
Laurie Hertzel is the Star Tribune's senior editor for books. On Twitter: @StribBooks
LOCAL FICTION: Featuring stories within stories, she’ll discuss the book at Talking Volumes on Tuesday.
