
YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES

Rock-star writer Chuck Palahniuk goes to hell in his latest novel, "Damned" -- and finds a new voice in a 13-year-old girl. Updated Nov. 10, 2011
This is the 12th season of the community-wide book club and reading series. Talking Volumes brings high-profile authors to to the Twin Cities for a live interview, later broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio, and profiles the writers in the Star Tribune.
Colson Whitehead
A love of horror movies and a recurring nightmare led the writer to devote his newest novel to a vision of a city overrun by the undead.
Stacy Schiff
Stacy Schiff was pretty happy, working as an editor in New York. Then she got an idea for a biography, and it wouldn't let her go.
Jennifer Egan
Talking Volumes season opens with author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad."
Pulitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan.
Writing what she didn't know in "A Visit From the Goon Squad" hasn't stopped Jennifer Egan from making some of the keenest cultural observations of our time, or winning a Pulitzer.
Channy Moon Casselle
The authors' series also features Twin Cities musical talent.
Jennifer Egan appears Sept. 14 on Talking Volumes
Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the fall Talking Volumes lineup that starts Sept. 14.
Nora Ephron
The complete lineup from the past 11 years.
Jonathan Franzen
Four well-known writers will appear in St. Paul this fall as the Talking Volumes series returns.
Author Wally Lamb
In his first novel in 10 years, he sweeps up history, violence and family heartbreak. Dark stuff, but he's also open to the possibility of redemption.
Author James Ellroy at his home
He lives like a monk and swears like a sailor. He worships Beethoven and doesn't own a computer. For novelist James Ellroy, fierceness and stamina are required to reveal giant lies and tell big stories.
Author, director, producer, screenwriter Nora Ephron
A one-woman creative dynamo, Nora Ephron learned from her screenwriter mother that, in the lives of writers, "everything is copy."
Monica Ali
In her latest novel, author Monica Ali thoughtfully examines a chef's identity crisis and how it mirrors dramatic changes in British society and culture.
Stephen King
A mesmerizing master of the macabre, Stephen King finds inspiration for his 51st novel, "Under the Dome," in human frailty.
Barbara Kingsolver
Farm chores and her family keep author Barbara Kingsolver grounded, but so does her determination to advocate social change through literature.
A Lethal Dose: The war on synthetic drugs
They carry names like Bliss and TranQuility, but don't be fooled: Synthetic drugs can be deadly. From a small town in Oklahoma to suburban Minnesota, these products have generated unusual violence and physical suffering. Efforts to control these substances remains a losing battlle.
State regulators have failed to protect some of Minnesota's most vulnerable citizens from being victimized by their care givers. Even known criminals have obtained state permission to work in nursing homes and other care settings.
Home builders are routinely allowed to break the rules on shoreline development. Polluters are allowed to keep polluting. And clean-up efforts are falling short. While public officials are trying to save Minnesota's iconic lakes, their efforts are undercut by a lack of federal mandates.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT