October 3, 2008 - Minneapolis author George Rabasa's new novel explores love, opera and the agony of writing. "The Wonder Singer" is the story of Mark Lockwood who is hired to ghost-write the autobiography of an aging operatic diva. When she dies suddenly leaving him with hours of interview tapes, he realizes he has the greatest story of his life, but he faces the greatest struggle of his life to tell it. George Rabasa told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that he didn't start out to write about opera - his interest was more in the plight of the ghost writer.
October 2, 2008 - A million dollar grant will help the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis develop new work, and promote it on the web. The money from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will be paid out over five years. Center Producing Artistic Director Polly Carl says in addition to developing and presenting new plays the center will develop trailers for plays which will be available on the web.
October 1, 2008 - A million dollar grant will help the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis develop new work, and promote it on the web. The money from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will be paid out over five years. Center Producing Artistic Director Polly Carl says in addition to developing and presenting new plays the center will develop trailers for plays which will be available on the web.
August 31, 2008 - Some folks are coming to the RNC to get delegates to watch movies. For the four days of the Convention the non-partisan Impact Film Festival will hold free screenings of new movies about healthcare, water protection, disaster recovery and other social challenges. The Festival opened last week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Festival co-founder Jamie Shor (SHORE) told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr when film makers heard about the chance to show their work to policy makers, they not only offered their films for free, they all agreed to attend the screenings in person.
August 15, 2008 - MPR’s Euan Kerr reports on a musical of “Little House on the Prairie” premiering in Minneapolis. Kerr talks with creative team member of show and others in the theatre scene about musical’s potential success.
July 14, 2008 - Lin Enger's new novel "Undiscovered Country" explores the effect of a northern Minnesota man's apparent suicide on his family. Enger teaches writing at Minnesota State University Moorhead, and under the pen name L.L. Enger, has written several crime novels with his brother Leif. Lin Enger told Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr that "Undiscovered Country" began with a thought he had while sitting in a deerstand a dozen years ago.
May 29, 2008 - This weekend two stage veterans who have worked together on and off since the early 1960's will present their latest collaboration. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr reports Wendy Lehr and Bain Boehlke will star in "The Gin Game" at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis.
May 12, 2008 - The McKnight Foundation today gave writer Bill Holm its 2008 Distinguished Artist Award. The award includes a fifty-thousand dollar grant.
May 12, 2008 - Writer Bill Holm is celebrating a little. Today the McKnight Foundation named him its 2008 Distinguished Artist. The award carries a fifty-thousand dollar stipend. Minnesota Public Radio's Euan Kerr called Holm to talk about the news and found him looking both forward and back.
April 12, 2008 - The Minnesota Book Awards will be presented tonight at a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St Paul. Awards are presented in eight categories, including novel and short story, memoir, Minnesota books and poetry. The event is organized by the friends of the St Paul Library. Awards co-chair Elaine Hopkins says the event has attracted a great deal of attention.