Page Turners Announces This Year’s City Wide Read Author – Austin Daily Herald
The Austin Page Turners announced their 20th author for their City Wide Read on Tuesday.
This year’s Minnesota author will be Diane Wilson, who wrote “The Seed Keeper.” Wilson will present on Thursday, April 21 and be the keynote speaker at 7 p.m. that evening at the Austin Public Library.
Wilson, a member of the Dakota people and descendant of the Mdewakanton people, is the first Native American author to be chosen by the Page Turners.
Copies of “The Seed Keeper” by Diane Wilson will be available at the Austin Public Library. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“After last year, our goal was to look at more diverse authors,” said Page Turners member Terry Becker-Ersland.
Six of Wilson’s books will be available at the Austin Public Library, and some will be available for purchase at Sweet Reads in downtown Austin. Along with the books it currently has, the library also has five e-books and a handful of audiobooks to peruse, as well as the ability to check out books from other libraries.
“We’ll have you covered,” said library director Julie Clinefelter.
“The Seed Keeper” is Wilson’s first fiction book and third overall.
“It’s a beautiful book about a Native American girl who learned about nature from her father, who was a teacher,” said Page Turners member Peggy Benzkofer.
During this journey, the main character, Rosalie Iron Wing, will go from her home to a foster family in Mankato and eventually return to her childhood home.
Through it all, Rosalie will confront her present as well as her past, while learning the strength of coming from women who have protected loved ones as well as traditions.
Wilson’s invitation to this year’s Page Turners also had beneficial coincidences, including a new seed library, which will come to life in the library in the near future, as well as the development of the chert quarry near Grand Meadow, a long-term Mower County project. Historical Society.
“It makes sense to find a nature writer to help us understand their way of life,” Becker-Ersland said.
This annual event started in 2002 with Sandra Benitez and her book “A Place Where the Sea Remembers”. Last year’s featured artist was Alison McGhee and her novel “Never Coming Back.”
Past Authors Reading Page Turners Citywide
2002 Sandra Benitez: A place where the sea remembers
2003 Tim O’Brien: The things they carried
2004 Erin Hart: haunted land
2005 Patricia Haml: Stories of St. Paul by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2006Larry Engelmann: girl from china
2007 Lorna Landvik: A selection of his novels
2008 Will Weaver: Sweet Land: New and Selected Stories
2009 Leif Enger: So brave, young and beautiful
2010 William Kent Krueger: Thunder Bay
2011 Kao Kalia Yang: The latecomer
2012 Ron Handberg: deadly meeting
2013 Peter Geye: Sheltered from the sea
PS Duffy 2014: The cartographer of no man’s land
2015 Sarah Stonich: holiday country
2016 Allen Eskens: The life we bury
Faith Sullivan 2017: Goodnight Mr. Wodehouse
2018 Amy Thielen: Give a knife to a girl
Loretta Ellsworth 2019: Stars over Clear Lake
2021 Alison McGhee: never come back
2022 Diane Wilson: The seed keeper
