Visiting faculty and workshop leaders at this year’s Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference will hold a series of public readings of their work at Bemidji State University beginning June 23.
Since 2003, poets, writers and authors have gathered on the shores of Lake Bemidji for the annual Minnesota Northwoods Writers Conference. Previous guest writers have included 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Tretheway, three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, numerous Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts Fellows, National Book Award winners and college and university faculty recognized for their ability to teach their respective crafts.
This year’s faculty include:
- Douglas Kearney, poetry — Kerney has published seven collections of poetry, and in 2021 won an award from OPERA America for contributing to American opera literature through librettos. Kearney was also a member of the conference’s faculty in 2022.
- Toni Jensen, nonfiction — Jensen is the author of the acclaimed “Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land” and directs the master of fine arts program in creative writing and translation at the University of Arkansas.
- Carl Phillips, poetry; Northwoods Visiting Writer — Phillips has authored 17 books of poetry, most recently “Scattered Snows, to the North” (2024) and “Then the War: And Selected Poems 2007-2020,” which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize.
- Joni Tevis, nonfiction — Tevis has published two collections of essays including “The World is On Fire.” She is a former park ranger and seller of cemetery plots and teaches English at Furman University. Tevis is making her fourth appearance at the conference, having previously been on the faculty in 2022, 2015 and 2013.
- Benjamin Percy, fiction — Percy is a novelist and comic book writer, with seven novels and comic series featuring Wolverine and Batman among his multiple credits. Percy was also a member of the conference’s faculty in 2022.
- Jennifer Foerster, poetry — Foerster has authored three books of poetry, including “The Maybe-Bird,” published in 2022. Foerster was also a member of the conference’s faculty in 2021.
The reading series begins June 23 and features a different faculty member each evening throughout the conference.
- June 23 — Douglas Kearney
- June 24 — Toni Jensen
- June 25 — Carl Phillips
- June 26 — Joni Tevis
- June 27 — Benjamin Percy
- June 28 — Jennifer Foerster
All readings begin at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer Hall 150 on the Bemidji State University campus and are open free to the public. Accessible seating is available. Book sales and signings will follow each reading.
A complete schedule is available on the conference’s website, northwoodswriters.org. Archived readings from previous conferences are available, as well.
CONTACT: Mathew Hawthorne, conference coordinator; writersconference@bemidjistate.edu, (218) 308-1180.