Chippewa Valley Book Festival

The Chippewa Valley Book Festival, Oct. 15-22, features the following speakers:

Mike Perry
Michael Perry was raised on a small farm in northwestern Wisconsin. His writing has appeared in numerous publications including Esquire, Newsweek, the New York Times magazine, Salon, the Utne Reader, and Cowboy Magazine, and his essays and humor are frequently heard on both Wisconsin and Minnesota public radio. His latest work, "Truck: A Love Story," is due out in October 2006.

At the Festival:
Reading
October 15 | 3pm | Masonic Temple, 616 Graham Ave, Eau Claire

Marge Piercy
Marge Piercy is the author of seventeen novels including the New York Times Bestseller "Gone To Soldiers" and the National Bestseller "The Longings of Women." Her latest book, "Sex Wars," was published in the fall of 2005. She has been a featured writer on Bill Moyers’ PBS Specials, Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion, the Today Show, and many radio programs nationwide. She has taught, lectured and/or performed her work at well over 400 universities around the world.

At the Festival:
Reading
October 17 | 7pm | Davies Theatre, UW-Eau Claire

Minnesota Crime Wave
The Minnesota Crime Wave is made up of three popular mystery writers from the Minnesota area. They have become known for their compelling costumed presentations to audiences at bookstores, libraries and other venues across the country. In 2005 the Minnesota Crime Wave published an anthology titled "The Silence of the Loons." The book consists of 13 short mystery stories from some of Minnesota’s best crime writers. The group is currently working on putting together another anthology. The new volume, to be titled Resort to Murder, is planned for release in late summer, 2007. Individual Minnesota Crime Wave author bios below.

At the Festival:
Themes and Forms in Crime Fiction
October 21 | 2:30pm | Chippewa Valley Museum

Reading
October 21 | 7:30pm | Chippewa Valley Museum

Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen
Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen's nine books include the Elizabeti Series, beginning with "Elizabeti's Doll; We'll Paint the Octopus Red." Her books have earned honors such as the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, the Africana Book Award, the Parents' Choice Foundation Book Award, and the LA Notable Book Award. After living on Midway Atoll for nearly three years, she now lives in the state of Washington, not far from Mount St. Helen's and is a permanent faculty member of the Whidbey Writers Workshop MFA program.

At the Festival:
Reading For Kids and Teens (with David LaRochelle and Patrick Jones)
October 21 | 10:15am | Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Public Library

Sources for Stories with Emphasis on the International Perspective(with Joel Friederich and Karen Loeb)
October 21 | 1pm | Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Public Library