Minnesota Festival Support

The Festival increased exhibit space to allow for more Minnesota authors and publishers to present their work to the general public with over 110 exhibitors and 32 local exhibiting authors. In the Local Lit Lounge, people mingled with over 20 Minnesota authors who had published recent titles, including the North Shore's Jim Northrup and Wendy Webb. Southeastern Minnesotan Howard Mohr presented his revised How To Talk Minnesotan. The Classics Old and New Panel featured Minnesota Book Award winners Marlon James and Alison McGhee. Writers at Work featured four local authors who face practical and creative issues of making a living at writing. The Minnesota Poetry Showcase presented recent work by four local poets, including Matt Rasmussen who was nominated for a National Book Award and award-winning poet Patricia Kirkpatrick. The Children's Pavilion hosted over a dozen local storytellers and artists including Mary Logue, Kurtis Scaletta, and SA Bodeen. 2: By increasing publicity and outreach through libraries and bookstores, the Festival drew in a record number of Minnesotans, with over 6300 attendees. Through a free raffle and surveys, we estimated that attendees represent over 175 zip codes across the state, with over 80% drawn by the main book fair. The average length of stay was over two hours. 90% said the Festival contributed significantly to the cultural vitality of the Twin Cities. The expanded space for the exhibit and Children's Pavilion, along with multiple food vendors, made the venue family friendly and allowed for a lengthy stay to take in the wide variety of literary diversity.