Christine Husom
December 21

On the last Saturday before Christmas Christine Husom, author of the Winnebago County Mystery series and the Snow Globe Shop Mysteries, both set in Minnesota, came to Beagle and Wolf. She autographed books, and we gift wrapped them.

Trouble:
A Glam-Punk Trans-Rock Love Story
December 13

What an exciting after-hours event for writers and others! 

Lynette Reini-Grandell and her spouse of 36 years, Venus de Mars, will read from and discuss the process of writing separate memoirs on their parallel journeys through the ups and down of art, love, rock and roll. They shared writing strategies that have helped them move forward in creating book-length manuscripts and how they've coped with dredging up the sometimes painful past. Discussion followed. Lynette Reini-Grandell and Venus de Mars are fiscal year 2019 recipients of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Lynette, the granddaughter of Park Rapids' Harvey Konshok, is a frequent visitor to the area.
We carry her poetry collection, Wild Verge, in the store.

Allen Eskens

Customer favorite Allen Eskens, author of The Life We Bury, was here! He talked about his new book, Nothing More Dangerous, answered questions, and signed books. Allen is an informative and humorous speaker.

Frank Weber

Frank Weber signed copies of his latest book, Last Call. It’s another riveting true crime thriller. Frank also had the MN Murder Trilogy signed, shrink wrapped, and wrapped with crime scene tape as a gift package. 

The holidays came to Park Rapid!
November 29

Our part of the Park Rapids included offering refreshments and a 20% discount on any in-store book listed in our holiday catalog.

Nathan Jorgenson

Nathan Jorgenson was in the store to give a talk and sign copies of his new book, Contrapasso.

You waited a long time for this book!

Children were welcomed by downtown businesses for our annual trick or treating.

Columnist, author, and performer, Carrie Classon came to Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery for a reading and book signing.

Classon’s weekly newspaper column, The Postscript, is carried in more than 160 newspapers in 26 states and heard weekly on Public Radio. Her memoir, Blue Yarn, was released earlier this year. Excerpts from the memoir and her columns comprise her one-woman show, I’ve Been Waiting All My Life to be Middle-Aged, which will be showcased at the New York Hilton Midtown in January.

The Mountain Mail wrote about Blue Yarn: “Classon’s storytelling is honest and insightful. She opens herself up to the emotions and discoveries that influenced the rediscovery of her passions under harrowing circumstances, learning to value herself and trust her inner voice.” “I started writing Blue Yarn, honestly, to try to understand what had happened to me,” Classon says. “In the space of two months, I found myself without a husband, a job, or even a home, living in Nigeria. How the heck did this happen? I had to write to figure it out. Who am I now, after everything that defined me is lost? What happens next? These questions are questions I think everyone grapples with at some point in their life.”

We were a site for Art Leap! We hosted artist Kent Estey. Here’s what he says about himself and his work:

Kent Estey is a proud member of the White Earth Nation of Anishinaabe, in Northwestern Minnesota. He and his wife Becky live and work on the White Earth Reservation where Kent teaches Art, Technology, and Robotics at the local Charter School in Naytahwaush, Minnesota.

For more information about Art Leap.

Tom Stetzler
September 15

Park Rapids’ own Tom Stetzler has published a new book of poetry, Seeing in the Dark. Tom gave a reading at Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery, celebrating the release of the book.

See LouAnn's review of the book.

End of Season Sale
August 30 to September 2

When the summer winds down it's time to make way for fall books and merchandise. Watch for our sale next Labor Day weekend!

Marcie Rendon
August 31

Marcie Rendon was in the store to sign copies of her books. Rendon, a citizen of the White Earth Nation, is an award-winning poet, playwright, performance artist, and activist.

Tim Jollymore
August 30

Tim Jollymore, a regular visitor to the store, was here to sign copies of his latest book, People You’ve Been Before.

William Kent Krueger was in the store,
signing copies of This Tender Land!
August 29

Krueger has stepped away from the Cork O’Connor series to give us an adventure story set in 1932, during the Great Depression. Although the stories are unrelated, Krueger calls This Tender Land a companion to his earlier book, Ordinary Grace.

The book release date is September 3. In a scheduling quirk, Krueger was at Beagle and Wolf on August 29 for a signing—yes, before the release date for the book. We had copies of the book available that day.

Sally’s review of This Tender Land.

Ever wonder why independent booksellers love William Kent Krueger?

Kalia Kao Yang at the Nemeth Art Center
August 21

Yang was the visiting writer at the North Beach Writer’s Retreat on memoir writing. Her memoirs, The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet, tell the story of her Hmong family and traces their journey from southeast Asia to Minnesota.The books have received many awards, and our customers have enjoyed meeting her over the years. She gave a talk at the Nemeth Art Center. A social time, sponsored by the League of Women Voters preceded the talk.

We were there to sell copies of The Latehomecomer and The Song Poet, and to take pre-orders for Kalia’s forthcoming children book, A Map into the World, which will be available in the fall.

Great new books have been coming out in paperback this summer! Jason Gobble, our Random House rep, was with us for the evening, recommending his favorites.

Chris Norbury
August 9

Minnesotan Chris Norbury is the award-winning author of the suspense-thriller Castle Danger. His new novel, Straight River, is the prequel to Castle Danger andthe first book of a planned trilogy. The stories feature Matt Lanier, a southern Minnesota farm-kid-turned-professional-musician whose comfortable middle-class world is turned upside down by a conspiracy of powerful, ambitious, violent men.

Where's Waldo?
July 1 to 31

Where’s Waldo? In Park Rapids, of course! The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs visits twenty-five local businesses throughout our community in July. Find Waldo Local is a great summer vacation activity and a wonderful way to support local businesses and the Shop Local movement in our community, including Bella Caffe, Lickin’ Good Whole Pet Foods, and Molly Poppins.

The “Find Waldo Local in Park Rapids!” passport contains the names of all the participating sites. And to make things a little more challenging, Waldo’s nemesis, Odlaw, also hid in Beagle and Wolf Books. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitled diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing on July 31, with the top prize being a copy of Where’s Waldo? Destination: Everywhere!, a tribute to Waldo’s many decades of wandering.

Timothy Otte & friends
July 27: Rebound, Restart, Renew, Rebuild, Rejoice 

Timothy Otte read from his manuscript-in-progress, Landscape Quartet, and his chapbook Rebound, Restart, Renew, Rebuild, Rejoice. Otte is a recipient of a 2019 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative grant and mentorships from the Loft Literary Center and the Poetry Foundation. He lives in Minneapolis, grew up spending summers at cabins in Dorset and Hackensack, and now keeps a home on the internet: timothyotte.com. He was joined by fellow poets, making the afternoon a delight for poetry lovers.

Noel Allard
July 26: Minnesota Aviation History

Was there flight in Minnesota before Charles Lindbergh put our state on the aviation map? Noel Allard’s fascinating account of the growth and development of aviation in Minnesota covers 88 years, from the time when Minnesotans flew in balloons until 1945. This was a chance to hear all about it—and to buy a signed copy of Noel’s book!

Harper Live Video for Facebook

Last summer, our friends at Harper Collins boosted a video tour of the store. This year, they asked us to make another video, sharing our recommendations for the best summer reads.
See it here.

Minnesota native Sarah Coomber signed copies of her memoir, The Same Moon. At 24, recently wed—and quickly divorced—Sarah escaped the disappointments of her Minnesota life for a job teaching English in Japan. Her plan was to use the year to reflect, heal, and figure out what to do with her wrecked life while enjoying the culture of the country where she had previously spent a life-changing summer.

The reality?

Sarah found herself the lone English speaker in an isolated rural area, where she was drawn into serving tea to her male coworkers, performing with a koto (zither) group, advocating for her female students and colleagues, and embarking on a controversial romance with a local salaryman.

This isn’t the Japan Sarah was seeking, but it just might be the Japan she needs.

Did you know that during the early years of the twentieth century, community bands were as important to mid-sized towns as professional sports teams are to large cities today? A renowned Music Man was G. Oliver Riggs, who was employed at one time or another by Bemidji, Crookston, Grand Forks, and St. Cloud. Riggs’ great-granddaughter, Joy Riggs, writes his story in her new book, Crackerjack Bands and Hometown Boosters. Joy opens a window to an earlier time, and tells of civic pride, community participation, and the power of music to transform lives and connect people across generations.

Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen
July 6

Phyllis Root and Betsy Bowen were at the store with their new book, The Lost Forest.The picture book tells the story of a lucky surveying error that preserved 144 acres of old-growth red and white pine in northern Minnesota. With gentle humor, Phyllis Root takes readers deep into a stand of virgin pine, one of the last and largest in the state, where U.S. history and natural history meet. With the help of Betsy Bowen’s finely observed and beautiful illustrations, she shows us all the life that can be found in the Lost Forest. We also have other books by Root and Bowen.

Beagle and Wolf Books & Bindery hosted the 13th annual pie baking contest and auction this 4th of July! All proceeds were donated to the Park Rapids Area Library.

Here are the winning pies:

• Single crust
• Custard or Cream
• Double crust
• Juvenile (Any pie by an 8-12 year old)

Sarah had lunch with the Sister Wolf Book Group then returned to the store to sign copies of Vacationland and Laurentian Divide.

Lorna Landvik

The incomparable Lorna Landvik and her latest book, Chronicles of a Radical Hag, joined us at Bella Caffe’ for an entertaining author talk and signing.

Here’s what our colleague, Pamela Klinger-Horn from Excelsior Bay Books, says about Chronicles of a Radical Hag:

"With a sprinkle of some very special Minnesota magic, Lorna Landvik has once again created an absolute delight on the page. Chronicles of a Radical Hag is a tribute to hardworking journalists, the power of feminism, and, as always, the importance of friends and family. Book clubs will be gathering with platters of Almond Crescents and coffee as they talk long into the night.”

Jen with Lorna Lankvik after the publication of Once in a Blue Moon Lodge.

Heid Erdrich
Reading and book signing, June 29
Nemeth Art Center

Heid E. Erdrich is a poet, writer, and interdisciplinary artist. She edited the recent anthology New Poets of Native Nations. She is also the author of six books of poetry and a non-fiction work, Original Local: Indigenous Foods, Stories, and Recipes from the Upper Midwest. Heid is Ojibwe, enrolled at Turtle Mountain. We sold Heid’s books at the event.