An exhibit of works by 30 Minnesota illustrators of children's books will be on display at the University of St. Thomas beginning this week.

"Minnesota Made: Through the Eyes of the Children's Book Illustrators Guild of Minnesota" will be showcased in the lobby of O'Shaughnessy Educational Center Friday through Feb. 28 on the college's St. Paul campus, with a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. next Sunday.

Included are works by Anne Adix Fabie, Quinette Cook, Franklin Haws and others. The exhibit coincides with the annual Hubbs Children's Literature Conference, which will take place Feb. 27 and feature Caldecott winner Chris Raschka and Minneapolis author Phyllis Root.

Also ...

•The Laurel Collective -- a group of Twin Cities poets -- has published its first anthology, "The Quiet Eye," a collection of poems about nature. The collective was established in 2002 and has published many chapbooks and collections by its members, who include Margot Fortunato Galt, Eileen O'Toole, Ann Iverson and Nolan Zavoral. They will do a reading at noon Jan. 24 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Av. S., Minneapolis.

•A special Talk of the Stacks anniversary event will explore the literary culture of the Twin Cities through a discussion with the directors of the three nonprofit literary presses and the Loft. In 2009, Coffee House Press celebrated 25 years, Milkweed Editions celebrated 30, and Graywolf and the Loft Literary Center marked 25. Panelists will include Fiona McCrae of Graywolf, Allan Kornblum of Coffee House, Jocelyn Hale of the Loft and Daniel Slager of Milkweed Editions. The event is at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Central Library on the Nicollet Mall.

•"The Burying Place" by Brian Freeman will be published in April by Minotaur Books. Freeman's new thriller is set in Grand Rapids and Duluth. He lives in Woodbury.

•Brent Olson's latest book, "Papa: Figuring Out What Matters," has been published by Kirk House. Olson, a farmer in western Minnesota, is an essayist and the author of "Letters From a Peasant" and other books.

•"The Italians of Lackawanna, NY: Steelworkers, Merchants and Gardeners," by John Andreozzi, has been published by Cabin Six Books of Shoreview. Andreozzi grew up in Lackawanna and now lives in Shoreview.