Tidbits & Trivia

Here's where you'll find fun and interesting stories about and around Minnesota cities. Check back every now and then to learn some new tidbits & trivia. Enjoy!

Authors from Minnesota cities

Leif Enger—Osakis
In 1961 Leif Enger was born in Osakis, Minn., and grew up there. From his early teens Enger wanted to be a writer. He worked as a producer and reporter for Minnesota Public Radio from 1984 until 2001. Most famous for his book, Peace Like a River, which was published in 2001, Enger also penned a mystery series with his brother, Lin, under the name L.L Enger in the early 1990s. His most recent novel, So Brave, Young and Handsome, was published in 2008. Enger currently resides in the Twin Cities.

Neil Gaiman—Minneapolis
Born in 1960 in Porchester England, Gaiman has lived in Minneapolis since 1992. Gaiman has had a literary career that has included journalism, screenwriting, as well as writing graphic novels and fiction for adults and children. He is best known to some as the author of the popular comic book series The Sandman, which ran from 1989 to 1996. In 2001, his novel American Gods won the Hugo award, which honors the best science fiction or fantasy novel of the year. He has also written novels that he classifies as for “all ages,” such as Coraline. This also won the Hugo award in 2003 for best novella and was recently made into a major motion picture. His most recent novel, The Graveyard Book, another “all ages” book, recently won the 2009 Newbery Medal.

Pete Hautman—St. Louis Park, Golden Valley
Pete Hautman was born in 1952 in Berkeley, Calif., but moved to St. Louis Park, Minn., when he was 5. He graduated from St. Louis Park High School and attended the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and the University of Minnesota. His first novel, Drawing Dead, was published in 1993. Although he has written both novels for adults and teens, it is his teen fiction which has brought him the most acclaim. In 2004 his teen novel Godless was published and went on to win the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. In addition to several other novels, Hautman has coauthored The Bloodwater Mysteries series with Mary Logue since 2006. Currently he resides in Golden Valley, Minn., and spends much of the time when he is not writing, visiting schools and public libraries to discuss his books and writing with teens.

Ole Rolvaag—Northfield
Ole Rolvaag was born in 1876 in Norway and immigrated to the United States in 1896. In 1906 Rolvaag became a professor of Norwegian language and literature at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and taught there until his death in 1931. He wrote many Norwegian textbooks and poems, but is best known for his two novels, Giants of the Earth and Peder Victorious. These works focus on the Norwegian-American immigrant experience and received international acclaim.

Louise Erdich—Little Falls, Minneapolis
Louise Erdich was born Karen Louise Erdich in 1954 in Little Falls, Minn. She grew up in Wahpeton, N.D., where her parents taught at the Bureau of Indian Affairs school. She is considered to be one of the most significant modern Native American authors. Erdich began her writing career in the late 1970s with short stories but it was her first novel, Love Medicine, published in 1984, that gave her widespread recognition. Love Medicine was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award and has never been out of print. She has gone on to write several more adult novels, poems and several books for children, including The Birchbark House. In 2009 her novel The Plague of Doves, was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She currently lives in Minneapolis and owns the independent bookstore Birchbark Books.

Margaret Culkin Banning—Buffalo
Margaret Culkin Banning was born in Buffalo in 1891. She was a bestselling author and early advocate for women’s rights. Banning’s literary career begin with stories and essays for magazines and that eventually led to novels. During her career she penned 36 novels, the first was The Marrying and was published in 1920 and the last novel was Such Interesting People and was published in 1979. Her work focused primarily on problems of women, youth, and social change.

Wanda Gag—New Ulm
An author, illustrator and artist, Wanda Gag was born in New Ulm, Minn., in 1893. She first began her career writing and illustrating at 15 shortly after the death of her father. Wanda sold many illustrations to the Minneapolis Journal for its juvenile section featured on Sundays. After attending art schools in St. Paul, Minneapolis and New York, she began to produce illustrations for socialist magazines. In 1928 she published the well known children’s book, Millions of Cats, which won the 1929 Newbery Honor Award and today is the oldest American picture book still in print. The success of this book allowed her to focus on producing lithographs, drawings, and writing and illustrating several more children’s books. Today her artwork can be found in the collections of several major museums in the United States.

Rachel Coyne—Lindstrom
Rachel Coyne is a novelist and poet who resides in Lindstrom, Minn. Her novel Whiskey Heart was published in 2009. Coyne is a graduate of the Perpich Center for Arts Education, a public arts high school in Golden Valley, Minn., and Macalester College in St. Paul. She is a devotee of Pablo Neruda, a lover of Don Williams songs, and a collector of vintage editions of Jane Eyre. Her previously published works include a children’s book titled Daughter, Have I Told You? During the day Rachel works as a research attorney at the League of Minnesota Cities.