5 writers lined up for Pen Pal lectures

Five writers, including one Minnesotan, are in the lineup for next season's Pen Pal lecture series, which is sponsored by the Library Foundation of Hennepin County.

OCT. 8-9:

Erik Larson, author of "Isaac's Storm," "The Devil in the White City," and "Thunderstruck." "The Devil in the White City," Larson's nonfiction account of a serial murderer at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, was on the New York Times' bestseller list for five years. Larson is a former staff writer for the Wall Street Journal.

DEC. 17-18:

Azar Nafisi, author of "Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books." Nafisi, who is now a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, was expelled from the University of Tehran for refusing to wear a veil. "Reading Lolita" has been translated into 32 languages and has won many awards.

MARCH 11-12, 2010: Sarah Vowell, author of "Assassination Vacation" (an account of a road trip to visit tourist sites honoring slain presidents) and "The Wordy Shipmates," her recent history of the Puritans. She is a contributing editor to public radio's "This American Life," and is a frequent guest on TV's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien."

APRIL 22-23, 2010:

Michael Chabon, author of the novel "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," which was a New York Times bestseller. Chabon won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001 for "The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay." His latest novel is "The Yiddish Policeman's Union."

MAY 13-14, 2010:

William Kent Krueger, author of the mystery series that features detective Cork O'Connor. Krueger has won four Minnesota Book Awards and a Loft McKnight Fiction Award. His books are set in the North Woods of Minnesota, and Krueger lives in St. Paul. His latest book is "Red Knife," which was published last fall.

The Pen Pal series is the longest-running literary series in the Twin Cities. All proceeds benefit the Library Foundation of Hennepin County and the Hennepin County Library System. Season ticket renewals for the series will go on sale today. New subscriptions will go on sale June 30th. Individual tickets will be available Aug. 11.

Prices are $150 and $175 for season tickets, and $35 and $45 for individual tickets. For more information, go to www.supporthclib.org.

Star Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel is at 612-673-7302.