Wayne Catan

Dec 9, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Wayne Catan

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! Historical fiction is an intriguing genre. Some authors can brilliantly revisit previous epochs with meticulous description of the setting and make characters from yesteryear come alive on the page. Louis Bayard, a former instructor at George Washington University, is a master of the form. His 2022 novel, Jackie & Me, is a reimagination of the courtship of Jackie and John F. Kennedy through the eyes of a Kennedy confidant.

Oct 22, 2024 | minnesotamonthly.com | Wayne Catan

In Charles Baxter’s seventh novel “Blood Test: A Comedy,” the Minneapolis native conjures a Midwestern family in crisis, starting with the protagonist Brock Hobson, an insurance salesman, Sunday school teacher, and a divorcé. Through Baxter’s narrative, we meet his two children (three if you count his daughter’s boyfriend) and near-perfect girlfriend, Trey.

Oct 16, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Wayne Catan

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! Megan Doney, a literature and creative writing professor at Virginia’s New River Community College, is the winner of the 2024 Washington Writers’ Publishing House Nonfiction Prize. Some might think this is her time to celebrate, but the mere mention of celebrating might cause Doney disquiet. Here’s why: Unarmed: An American Educator’s Memoir is based on a 2013 school shooting that she survived while teaching at New River.

Jul 25, 2024 | minnesotamonthly.com | Wayne Catan

Author William Kent Krueger, the New York Times bestselling novelist known for his Minnesota-set stories, is back, and his latest is a multifaceted book that addresses Big Oil, Native trauma and addiction, social inequities, and the unbreakable bonds of a family. Former sheriff and current private investigator Cork O’Connor returns, too, for the 20th time in “Spirit Crossing.” The murder mystery, set in fictional Tamarack County and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is available Aug.

Jul 9, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Wayne Catan

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! Though she no longer calls D.C. home, writer Marissa Higgins knows her way around the District, where she lived in various Northwest neighborhoods from 2014 to 2020. The city even celebrated her work in 2020 with a grant for her nonfiction writing, which has appeared in numerous publications including The Atlantic, Salon, and Slate.