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Minnesota Book Awards We’re often asked for reading lists, and here’s a dandy! The books listed below have all been short-listed for the Minnesota Book Awards, which will be announced on April 5.  (Read more about the Minnesota Book Awards at thefriends.org/events/mnba.) General Non-fiction Evil Men by James Daby Harriman vs Hill by Larry Haeg The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai Soda Shop Salvation: Recipes and Stories from the Sweeter Side of Prohibition     by Rae Katherine Eighmey Genre Fiction The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart The Cold Nowhere by Brian Freeman Tamarack County by William Kent Krueger Wolves by Cary J. Griffith Memoir and Creative Non-fiction The Girl Who Sang to the Buffalo: A Child, an Elder and the Light from an Ancient Sky     by Kent Nerburn Prairie Silence by Melanie Hoffert Thunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960s Mississippi     by Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner     with Cheryl Reitan We’ll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down: Memoir of a Gravedigger’s Daughter     by Rachael Hanel Minnesota A Love Affair with Birds: The Life of Thomas Sadler Roberts     by Sue Leaf Minneapolis Madams: The Lost History of Prostitution on the Riverfront     by Penny A. Petersen Modern Spirit: The Art of George Morrison     by W. Jackson Rushing III     and Kristin Makholm Survival Schools: The American Indian Movement and Community Education in the Twin Cities     by Julie L. Davis Novel and Short Story Let the Dark Flower Blossom     by Norah Labiner Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories     by Ethan Rutherford Vacationland by Sarah Stonich Poetry Black Aperture by Matt Rasmussen The First Flag by Sarah Fox It Becomes You by Dobby Gibson Slip by Cullen Bailey Burns Nominees for children and young adult literature are in Youth Yak. Just for fun: the first person to correctly name the authors listed above who visited Beagle and Sister Wolf in the last year (March 2013 to February 2014) will win a copy of Soda Shop or How Martha Saved her Parents from Green Beans (your choice.) E-mail us at sisterwolfbooks@arvig.com with your answer. Here’s a hint to get you started: one author visited both stores. BestSellers in February Beagle Books     The New Midwestern Table by Amy Thielen   Soup & Bread Cookbook by Beatrice Ojakangas   Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal       Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra   Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman     Notes from Hannah A New Publishing Adventure When I got back to work after the New Year, it became clear it was time to move on. I started to reach out and search for opportunities, focusing on moving to a job where I could work with children’s books. In the midst of my search, a friend informed me she’d heard of an open position at a literary scouting agency. When she asked if I wanted her to send my resume, I kind of shrugged and said, “Why not?” I didn’t think too much of it until I was contacted by the agency and then I had to learn what scouting is. There aren’t a lot of scouts and it seems to be the kind of job that you don’t actually understand you’re doing it. But the basic idea is that literary scouts work with international publishing companies—the scout is the eyes and ears in New York and serves to advise and be the connector between US and international publishers. The farther I got in the interview process, the more excited I got about the prospect of it all. When I was offered the assistant/junior scout position, I paused for a beat to let go of the idea of what my career path would look like, but I’m so happy to tell you that I accepted the offer. I’m anxious about the change and a little nervous about learning a new job. But I couldn’t be more thrilled to take off in a new publishing direction! Hannah was a bookseller at both Beagle and Sister Wolf and is now making her way in the publishing world in New York City. Midwest Connections for March Books or authors of particular interest to our region Shotgun Lovesongs a novel by Nickolas Butler Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town—Little Wing—and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still farming the land that’s been tilled by his family for generations. Others went farther afield to make good, with varying degrees of success; as a rock star, commodities trader, rodeo stud.  And seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them—both then and now—fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of lovesongs and rivalries.        Now all four are home, in hopes of finding what could be real purchase in the world. The result is a shared memory only half-recreated, riddled with culture clashes between people who desperately wish to see themselves as the unified tribe they remember, but who are confronted with how things have changed.  See Staff Picks for Alli’s review of this book. Stillwater a novel by Nicole Helget Fraternal twins, separated at birth, are raised in the same small town, where they struggle for freedom from their families, their destinies, and, sometimes, each other—all with the underground railroad as a haunting presence in their lives.       Stillwater reveals the hardscrabble lives of pioneers, nuns, squaws, fur trappers, loggers, runaway slaves and freedmen, outlaws and people of conscience, all seeking a better, freer, more prosperous future. It is a novel about mothers, about siblings, about the ways in which we must take care of one another and let go of one another. And it’s brought to us in Nicole Helget’s winning, gorgeous prose. See Staff Picks for Jen’s review of this book. Inappropriate Behavior stories by Murray Farish “What is your ‘inappropriate behavior’ of choice? Debut author Murray Farish, in this hip collection of stories, exposes an America living on the edge-the edge of the law, the edge of grief, the edge of society. Portraying characters who appear as real as a next-door neighbor, each unique story will make you wonder just what is happening behind closed doors. Highly original and focused on the unusual, Inappropriate Behavior is an auspicious beginning for the talented new voice of Murray Farish.”  Nancy Simpson-Brice, Book Vault, Oskaloosa, Iowa