Anna Weir is a publicist at UNP. She is “that person” who brings her current craft-in-progress on flights.

Just a few short weeks after the South Dakota Festival of Books (at which I gained a renewed respect for Great Plains literature and a most excellent coffee mug), I’m off to the Mini-Apple (Minneapolis, Minnesota) for the Heartland Fall Forum. A regional trade show that represents twelve states and nearly 350 independent bookstores throughout the Midwest, HFF is a celebration of indie books, authors, and readers.

The schedule is a three-and-a-half day extravaganza of literature, jam-packed with panels, signings, lectures, and awards. A few things I’m most excited for:

• The plenary with PRH: “Ideas That Work”
• The lecture “Independent Bookstores & Indie Authors: Creating a Match Made in Heaven”
• The Movable Feast—speed-dating with forty amazing authors, including UNP’s own B. J. Hollars
• The bus tour of five Minneapolis indie bookstores—it’ll be like a trip on the Magic School Bus, but with less shrink rays and more books

A full schedule of events can be found here.

UNP will be in the Trade Room Floor at booth 401, and we’ll bring some forthcoming titles we can’t stop talking about, including:

• Flock Together: A Love Affair with Extinct Birds by B. J. Hollars—who will be signing galleys at our booth Friday morning!
• There I Go Again: How I Came to Be Mr. Feeny, John Adams, Dr. Craig, KITT, and Many Others by William Daniels
• Should I Still Wish by John W. Evans
• Fit for the Presidency?: Winners, Losers, What-Ifs, and Also-Rans by Seymour Morris Jr.
• Pain Woman Takes Your Keys, and Other Essays from a Nervous System by Sonya Huber
• Making My Pitch: A Woman’s Baseball Odyssey by Ila Borders & Jean Hastings Ardell
• Beautifully Grotesque Fish of the American West by Mark Spitzer

If you find yourself in Minneapolis this weekend, make your way to booth 401 for some excellent books and enthusiastic waving from yours truly.