The Thread® - Books and Literary News

The Thread® is your source for book recommendations and other literary news.

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Sign up for The Thread newsletter to get reading recommendations from Kerri Miller and other bookworms around the MPR newsroom. Sam Stroozas rounds up local events and Minnesota book news you may have missed.

Ask a Bookseller

Ask a Bookseller is a weekly series where host Emily Bright checks in with booksellers around the country about their favorite books of the moment. Listen to Ask a Bookseller to find your next favorite book.

Big Books and Bold Ideas

Big Books and Bold Ideas is a weekly series hosted by Kerri Miller and produced by Kelly Gordon every Friday at 11 a.m., featuring conversations about books and other literary ideas. Listen to Big Books and Bold Ideas here.

Talking Volumes

Talking Volumes is an annual event series featuring notable authors in conversation about their new books. Presented by MPR News and The Minnesota Star Tribune.

Ann Patchett lauds the romance of friendship in 'Whistler'
Ann Patchett returns to Big Books and Bold Ideas for a boisterous conversation with Kerri Miller about writing a novel within a novel, the romance of friendship and how Kate DiCamillo changed Patchett’s new novel, “Whistler.”
Inside the Twin Ports gay bar that helped fuel LGBTQ+ rights activism in northern Minnesota
The new book “Remember the Main: The Gay Bar That Started a Movement in the Northland” tells the story of Bob Jansen, owner of the Main Club. It’s a gay bar that opened in the 1980s and served as a refuge and organizing hub for LGBTQ+ people in northern Minnesota.
Ask a Bookseller: ‘We Burned So Bright’ by TJ Klune
Rachel Ostrom of Acorn Bookshop recommends TJ Klune’s new novel “We Burned So Bright.”
Is Medea misunderstood?
Maybe, says mythologist and broadcaster Natalie Haynes. Her new novel, “No Friend to This House,” retells the story of Medea and Jason with Medea at the center.
Three Minnesota literary organizations receive major national grant 
The Literary Arts Fund announced Thursday that the Loft Literary Center, Graywolf Press and the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop are among 40 recipients that will share $7.7 million.
10 new books in June will transport you
With all that's required to reach “dream destinations” these days, another option is to walk to your local public library instead — and pick up one of these new books out in June set across time and place.