There are so many reasons why you might know the name of Margaret Wurtele. If you hang around the Loft Literary Center, you might have seen her--she's on the board. Ditto the Minnesota Opera. She spearheaded the capital campaign for the new Guthrie Theater, and the Wurtele Thrust Stage is named for her and her husband, Angus.
She has also been a board member of Graywolf Press, helped found Hungry Mind Press, and runs a winery (Terra Valentine) with her husband out in Napa Valley.
And so, of course, she has tons of free time (!) and she spends that time writing books. She is the author of two memoirs, one published by St. Mary's University Press and the other by John Wiley & Sons, and she now has a debut novel, "The Golden Hour," to be published in early Feburary by New American Library.
"The Golden Hour" is a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old girl in Italy during the beginning of the Second World War.
Wurtele will launch the book with an event at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Loft, 1011 Washington Av. S., Mpls., and a second event at 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Wayzata Community Church, 125 Wayzata Blvd. E., Wayzata, sponsored by the Bookcase.
