September 8th, 2021
MANKATO, Minn.—The 6th edition of the Deep Valley Book Festival will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, October 2, at the Loose Moose Saloon and Conference Center, 119 S. Front St., Mankato.
Entrance is free, and festival-goers can visit with more than 50 authors and publishers on hand to talk to festival-goers and sign copies of their books. There are drawings for free books throughout the day and hundreds of books from all genres will be for sale.
Will Weaver, author of several novels and short story collections, is the keynote speaker. He will give an 11:30 a.m. talk titled The Writer’s Life: Just When You Think You’ve Done It All about his experience editing novelist Jon Hassler’s posthumous memoir. This is a $25 ticketed event and lunch is provided.
At 10 a.m., people can attend “Coffee with ‘Cooked to Death’ authors, featuring some of the region’s finest crime and mystery writers talking about their food-related mysteries featured in the “Cooked to Death” anthologies. This is a $10 ticketed event and coffee and a roll is provided.
Other programming features author Jason Lee Willis, who will present “Joseph Nicollet and the Raiders of the Lost Stone” at 1:15 p.m. Regina Downing will present “Music with Ms. Regina” for children at 2:15 p.m. Three book drawings will be held throughout the day, including a drawing for a Friendship Bag of books for Festival Friends ($200+ value). Activities for children include face-painting and balloons.
The Deep Valley Young Writer and Artist Competition Awards will be presented at 3 p.m. to students ages 7 to 17 who entered and had their work judged by professional authors and artists.
An Authors After Hours reception will be held at the Loose Moose Saloon Conference Center at 4 pm. The reception is open to the public to mingle with participating authors and enjoy food and beverage from the menu.
The Deep Valley Book Festival is the largest literary festival of its kind in southern Minnesota. To see a lineup of authors, to purchase tickets or to become a Festival Friend, go to www.deepvalleybookfestival.com. Follow Deep Valley Book Festival on Facebook for the latest news and updates.