Karen Latchana Kenney revealed the cover of her new young adult STEM nonfiction book Fascinating Fungi, launching October 7, 2025, from Lerner Publishing. Pre-order here. 

Check out V.T. Bidania’s poignant middle grade novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Pre-order link: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/.../a-year-without.../

Coming in January, 2026. Preorder it here. Congratulations to Kao Kalia Yang!

The third book in Mélina Mangal’s nature-based board book series, Squirrels Scamper, will be published on August 25th. Join cousins Kamali and Josiah as they step outside to discover the busy world of squirrels in their own backyard. You can pre-order books here or through your favorite bookseller.

The PPGJ Fall 2025 Book Collection is now available for pre-order 

School is out but learning doesn't stop. Make this summer productive and fun with PPGJ Books. They have a large selection of diverse books that are perfect for ages Pre-K to 6th grade. 

Books are available at www.ppgjbooks.com and bookstores nationwide.

Sun Yung Shin 신 선 영 and Mélina Mangal are thrilled to reveal the cover of their forthcoming picture book biography Revolutions Are Made of Love: The Story of James Boggs and Grace Lee Boggs. The bold mixed-media artwork was hand-created by Minneapolis artist Leslie Barlow. Though the story of two amazing philosopher-activists won't be in stores until November 4th, the book is available for pre-order here.  

There's still room in this summer's Youth Writing Intensive, for ages 14-18, at the Loft Literary Center where young writers can learn from the amazing Shannon Gibney.  

Don't let program cost be the reason why you can't attend: Access funds are available.

Find out more and apply here.

The Rock in My Throat by Kao Kalia Yang was the Elementary Level Winner of the 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award. Hooray!

Rondo Writing Competition -Now accepting submissions 

Calling all writers! The Rondo Writing Competition is open for submissions of original children’s books about Rondo history and culture. They welcome submissions from all African American writers, both youth and adults living in Minnesota.

The winner will receive $1,500 and published copies of the book. Check out their website for more information: Open: Rondo Writing Competition

Deadline: October 1, 2025

*This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

RSVP here.

Join auther Sarah Warren and Babycake’s Book Stack on July 5th for a story time at 11am at the Mill City Farmers Market. Click here for details!

Join Meenal Patel at the Midtown Farmers Market on Saturday, July 12th at 9am for a book signing and giveaway!

Join Picture Book Parade at the Midtown Farmers Market for a story time featuring author Cristina Oxtra and get a free signed copy of her book! This book will be on display as a story stroll from 9-noon.

Join Kao Kalia Yang for the paperback launch of her MN-award winning book The Diamond Explorer at Red Balloon Bookshop, July 15, 6PM. Resister here.

Meenal Patel will have a booth at the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair selling her books, art, and products!

https://www.homespunevents.com/minnehahafallsartfair

Friday July 18th 3-8pm

Saturday July 19th 10am-7pm

Sunday July 20th 10am-5pm

Join Sarah Warren for this very cool event with the men of Ebsilon Rho and Xi Chapters of Omega Psi Phi. This is Sarah’s first ever partnership with a fraternity. Please don’t tell them she’s a total nerd.

On July 19th collective member Cristina Oxtra and fellow Filipino American author Selina Li Bi will be at the 37th Annual Philippine Day celebration from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Ojibway Park in Woodbury, MN. Red Balloon Bookshop will have copies of their books available for purchase. The authors will provide an activity, candies, and swag. This event, hosted by the Cultural Society of Filipino Americans, includes live entertainment, food, vendors, games, and more. It is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Cultural Society of Filipino Americans' page on Facebook and Instagram.

Join Planting People Growing Justice, Dr. Artika R. Tyner, and Nasra Noor for a Literacy Outreach Event on July 19, 2025 from 11:am- 1:00pm. Meet some amazing authors, grab some free food, and collect some wonderful books to share. This event will take place at Lutunji's Palace 1400 Park Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55404. 

Shannon Gibney will be keynoting this summer's Camp Read-a-Lot Conference, at the SMSU Conference Center, in Marshall, Minnesota on August 5. This is a conference for K-12 school library media specialists and teachers to celebrate reading, learn, and network.

For more information or to sign up, visit: https://readingmn.wixsite.com/website

Join Trần Thị Minh Phước and storytellers from the collective at the Landmark Center in St Paul on Sunday, August 17th from 1-3pm!

Celebrating AAPI Creators in the Twin Cities

To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, collective member Payal Doshi organized a fabulous event with Big Hill Books on May 29. Educators and parents came, local authors and creators fielded their questions in a panel discussion and signed books, and educators won free author visits for their schools. The event even made it into Shelf Awareness!

Other collective members there included Cristina Oxtra, V.T. Bidania, Karen Latchana Kenney, Remona Htoo, Jade Amez, Emiko Rainbow, and Meenal Patel.

The NSF STEM Day celebration was a fun-filled event, which also premiered "Nature Detectives." Based on Mélina Mangal’s picture book Jayden's Impossible Garden, "Nature Detectives" follows real kids Ellie and Isaiah, and their animated friends Kitty and Leo, on an adventure with books in the new PBS program Book Drop! You can watch it on YouTube here or through PBS here.