Feb. 12: Storytime at the Rob Hadaway Storytelling Festival

Sunday, February 12 at 9:30 am

The Rob Hadaway Storytelling Festival will be held Feb. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Duluth Children's Museum. This year's storytellers include Margi Preus (at 9:30 am), Chris Monroe, Cheri "Mrs. T." Tesarek and John Donahue.

The storytelling festival was renamed in honor of the late creative director, Rob Hadaway, who started the semi-annual tradition to share kindness, laughter, stories and magic with the children of our community. He served as creative director for the museum for seven years and launched the festival in 2018.

"I remember my first impression of him; he just twinkled. He had this sparkle in his eye and a laugh that wouldn't quit," Laurel Sanders, Hadaway's assistant, said. "There are some people who you meet and it's just like the highlight of your life and just being able to be his friend was like that. I think he'd be pleased to see the festival continue in his honor. He's someone who truly understood the value of storytelling."

Learn more about Rob Hadaway’s amazing life and creative legacy here >

Feb. 12: Storytime at the Winter Out West Festival

Sunday, February 12 at 11:30 am at Zenith Bookstore

Margi Preus will lead a children's story time at Zenith Bookstore, reading her newest picture book Lily Leads the Way.  This children's reading is part of WINTER OUT WEST, a weekend of fun activities in West Duluth sponsored by Riverfront Community Development and Valley Youth Center to connect, explore, shop and celebrate our community.

The complete festival schedule is posted below. You can find the latest event info on Facebook >

Windswept: 2023 Minnesota Book Awards Finalist

On January 28, Friends of the St. Paul Public Library announced finalists in nine categories for the 2023 Minnesota Book Awards, presented this year by Education Minnesota. Nominees were chosen by 27 judges from around the state — writers, teachers, librarians, booksellers and others from the literary community.

Windswept was one of four books nominated for Best Middle Grade Literature. The 2023 nominees include:

• The Counterclockwise Heart by Brian Farrey

• Meet Me Halfway by Anika Fajardo

• Monsters in the Mist by Juliana Brandt

Winners for 2023 will be announced Tuesday, May 2 in a live Ceremony at the Ordway. View all 2023 finalists from all categories >

Windswept: Interview with ReadWonder

Blogger Patrick Andrus interviewed Margi about Windswept for ReadWonder, a fourth grade teacher’s journey through the world of books. Below are a few highlights:

Patrick: What do you think Tag can offer to other children that are experiencing similar situations to what she went through?  

Margi: I hope no other children are kept indoors until they turn 15 or have been swept away by windstorms! But for children who are buffeted by the harsh winds of life, I hope Tag can inspire them with her resilience, grit, determination, stick-to-it-ness—and also her faith that things will get better.

Patrick: How did you research Tag and the circumstances she found himself in?

Margi: For my historical fiction, I always do lots and lots of all kinds of research. For Windswept, I read a lot of fairy tales. I find that fairytales give me ideas, solutions to knotty problems, and perhaps stretch my imagination a little further than it would ordinarily go. The idea of being windswept came from a fairy tale, and of course the impossible challenges—carrying water in a sieve, catching the wind in a net, and other such things in my story are also found in many fairy tales…

Read the complete interview here >

Kirkus Reviews: Best Middle Grade Books of 2022

Thank you, Kirkus Reviews!

Margi is thrilled to see Windswept on the list of Best Middle-Grade Books of 2022! (Seriously, she was in such shock that she had to check the list three times!) Check out the full list of 100 top titles for the young readers in your life at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/best-of/2022/middle-grade/books/