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Chuck Palahniuk's latest an empowering inferno

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.

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Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead's zombie dream
Article By: ROHAN PRESTON ,Star Tribune Publish October 23, 2011 2:00 AM / Update October 29, 2011 3:28 PM
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.

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Stacy Schiff

Stacy Schiff's remarkable obsession
Article By: LAURIE HERTZEL , Star Tribune Publish September 25, 2011 2:00 AM / Update November 6, 2011 10:54 AM
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.

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Jennifer Egan

Jennifer Egan, novelist and Pulitzer winner, speaks in St. Paul
Article By: claudepeck , Publish / Update September 15, 2011 7:40 AM
Talking Volumes season opens with author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad."

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Pulitzer Prize winning author Jennifer Egan.

A very goon year for Jennifer Egan
Article By: KRISTIN TILLOTSON , Star Tribune Publish August 28, 2011 2:00 AM / Update September 6, 2011 8:14 PM
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.

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Channy Moon Casselle

Talking Volumes musical guests
Article By: claudepeck , Publish / Update August 24, 2011 2:52 PM
The authors' series also features Twin Cities musical talent.

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Jennifer Egan appears Sept. 14 on Talking Volumes

Pulitzer Prize winners kick off new Talking Volumes season
Article By: CLAUDE PECK , Star Tribune Publish August 7, 2011 2:00 AM / Update August 9, 2011 4:31 PM
Tickets go on sale Tuesday for the fall Talking Volumes lineup that starts Sept. 14.

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Nora Ephron

The Talking Volumes lineup, 2000-2011
Publish September 20, 2007 2:00 AM / Update December 27, 2011 2:43 PM
The complete lineup from the past 11 years.

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Jonathan Franzen

Author, author! (Plus two)
Article By: CLAUDE PECK , Star Tribune Publish July 14, 2010 2:00 AM / Update August 2, 2011 3:50 PM
Four well-known writers will appear in St. Paul this fall as the Talking Volumes series returns.

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Author Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb: Breaking his silence
Article By: CLAUDE PECK , Star Tribune Publish November 16, 2008 2:00 AM / Update March 23, 2011 3:58 PM
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.

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Author James Ellroy at his home

Ellroy Confidential
Article By: Neal Justin , Star Tribune Publish September 20, 2009 2:00 AM / Update March 23, 2011 3:41 PM
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.

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Author, director, producer, screenwriter Nora Ephron

Nora, Inc.
Article By: COLIN COVERT , Star Tribune Publish November 14, 2010 2:00 AM / Update November 17, 2010 7:19 AM
A one-woman creative dynamo, Nora Ephron learned from her screenwriter mother that, in the lives of writers, "everything is copy."

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Monica Ali

'Kitchen' philosopher: Monica Ali
Article By: Claude Peck , Star Tribune Publish May 2, 2010 2:00 AM / Update March 23, 2011 3:39 PM
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.

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Stephen King

Inside King's dome
Article By: james lileks , Star Tribune Publish November 15, 2009 2:00 AM / Update March 23, 2011 3:39 PM
A mesmerizing master of the macabre, Stephen King finds inspiration for his 51st novel, "Under the Dome," in human frailty.

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Barbara Kingsolver

Barbara Kingsolver: Conscientious reflector
Article By: KRISTIN TILLOTSON , Star Tribune Publish October 25, 2009 2:00 AM / Update March 23, 2011 3:40 PM
Farm chores and her family keep author Barbara Kingsolver grounded, but so does her determination to advocate social change through literature.

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Losing Our Lakes

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