WILLMAR — Three Minnesota authors will be on hand to discuss their most recent works, among others, at the second "Wisdom and Wine" event hosted by the Friends of the Willmar Public Library organization on Thursday, June 9, at the Willmar Conference Center.
The event, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, makes its return with Minnesota authors Faith Sullivan, Leif Enger and Mindy Mejia as its featured guests.
Attendees are welcome to sip a free glass of wine while perusing a bevy of silent auction items, the proceeds of which will go to the Friends of the Willmar Public Library Fund to support collection development and library programs. Doors for the event open at 6 p.m., and dessert is served at 6:30.
Books by each of the three authors will be available for purchase, and signing opportunities will follow the author presentations.
Tickets are $35 and may be purchased at the Willmar Public Library front desk by cash or check. Tickets also can be bought online at willmarwisdomandwine.eventbrite.com . Ticket sales close on May 18. No tickets will be issued at the door.
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About the authors
Faith Sullivan
Faith Sullivan was born and raised in southern Minnesota, and is the author of six novels set in the fictional town of Harvester, Minnesota: "Ruby and Roland" (2019), "Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse" (2015), "Gardenias" (2005), "What a Woman Must Do" (2002), "The Empress of One" (1997) and "The Cape Ann" (1988).
Before these she published a contemporary fantasy, "Mrs. Demming and The Mythical Beast" (1988); a thriller, "Watchdog" (1983); and the humorous "Repent, Lanny Merkel" (1981), also all set in Minnesota.
She lived 20-some years in New York and Los Angeles, returning to Minnesota often to keep her roots planted in the prairie. A self-described "demon gardener, flea marketer, and feeder of birds," she currently lives with her husband in Minneapolis. They have three grown children.
Leif Enger
Leif Enger grew up in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio before writing his debut novel, "Peace Like a River." The book won the Booksense Award for Fiction and was named one of the year’s best books by both Time Magazine and the LA Times.
His second novel, "So Brave, Young, and Handsome," appeared in 2008 and was also a national bestseller. It was a Midwest Booksellers Honor Book and won the High Plains Book Award for Fiction. His third novel, "Virgil Wander," was published in 2018.
He and his wife, Robin, live in Duluth. They have two grown sons.
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Mindy Mejia
Other than brief interludes in Iowa City and Galway, Mindy Mejia has lived and worked in Minnesota her entire life.
Mindy generally focuses her fiction writing on the novel, though she also writes short stories, which have appeared in "rock, paper, scissors"; "Things Japanese: An Anthology of Short Stories"; and "THIS Literary Magazine."
"The Dragon Keeper," which came out in 2012, is her debut novel. Her second novel, "Everything You Want Me to Be," came out in 2017 and was a People magazine Best New Books Pick and one of the Wall Street Journal's Best New Mysteries. She subsequently wrote and published "Strike Me Down and Leave No Trace."
She lives in the Twin Cities with her family.
