“Considering our population, I think that we’re vying with New York and California and Illinois for [numbers of] very highly respected authors and illustrators,” Vicki Palmquist says. “Publishers ask us what we have in the water here!”
Palmquist should know. She and her husband Steve created Children’s Literature Network, a web site and professional organization dedicated to serving writers and artists in the upper Midwest, four years ago.
Well, what do we have in the water? For starters, we’ve got first-rate support organizations, like the Loft Literary Center and the Children’s Literature Network. We’ve also got nationally noted collections of children’s literature at the University of Minnesota and Mankato State University, among others.
And, perhaps most importantly, writers can actually make a living here, working with the respected educational publishers like Lerner and Capstone and many others.
“All of those things together add up to a good environment for authors and illustrators,” Palmquist says. “And what that does is bring forth new people who are welcomed into the community and nurtured.”
The Children’s Literature Network is a major force in nurturing those new writers. Palmquist says that one of their missions right now is helping writers learn how to market their work, as publishers shift their marketing budgets to celebrity authors and bestsellers, away from newer authors and backlists.
Lovers of children’s literature and Minnesota writers can help support this community of writers by checking out ChildrensLiteratureNetwork.org. Palmquist and her husband – on their own time, as this is entirely a volunteer effort! – post suggested reading lists, upcoming books, and a daily birthday feature. Someday soon, they hope to post a literary map of the United States, showing where books have been set.
You’ll also find a very comprehensive list of profiles of Minnesota authors and illustrators. We could never hope to be as complete here, but please enjoy a few tidbits from the rich landscape of Minnesota authors.
