Coming Spring of 2022: Lily Leads the Way

A little sailboat has a big burst of determination when a fleet of tall ships needs assistance.

Margi’s latest picture book features Lily the sailboat, small but sturdy, in a harbor full of enormous cargo ships, speedy fishing vessels, and bossy tugboats that all have somewhere to go. And something to say—mostly, “Out of my way, Lily!” But Lily has somewhere to go, too. Out on the lake, the tall ships are coming! To pass from the harbor to the lake, Lily must blow her horn and ask the lift bridge to rise—“Meee-me?”—but the big vessels’ blasts are so much louder as they crowd her out and rock her with waves. Finally, Lily slips under just before the bridge goes down, her sails fluttering with excitement as she spies the majestic barquentine, schooner, and other grand old ships heading toward the now-lowered bridge. Silently! How will the bridge know to rise? Can Lily save the day?

This tale of plucky persistence, illustrated by Matt Myers with the splash and sparkle of a summer day on the water, is sure to empower any child to take charge when the time is right.

Matt is also the illustrator of the Infamous Ratsos chapter book series as well as the picture books E-I-E-I-O: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm (with a Little Help from a Hen) by Judy Sierra and Pirate’s Perfect Pet by Beth Ferry. See more of his work at myerspaints.com.

Margi Preus Presents: “Can I Pull This Off?"

Tuesday, June 8, 2021 from 7:00 - 8:00 PM

Margi Preus Presents, “Can I Pull This Off? And Other Questions That Drive Our Writing And Inspire Our Stories”

Questions lie at the heart of every story. Yes, “What will happen next?” and “How will this turn out?” are forefront, but what other kinds of questions do you pose to the reader? What questions do you ask yourself as you write? Perhaps more importantly, what are the questions that set you, the writer, on this path—the path of this story and the path of writing in general? How can these questions enlighten your reader—and you? As Eugene Ionesco suggested, “It is not the answer that enlightens but the question.”

In this session, hosted by the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, we’ll ask a lot of questions! We’ll take a look at the questions we raise in our stories, the questions we ask ourselves as we write, and the questions that keep us writing. Maybe we’ll even find a few answers! And we’ll take a look at a handful of first pages (maybe yours?) to see what readers wonder about as they begin the story, and what bigger questions may lurk ahead.

Co-sponsored with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and the Eau Claire Community Foundation’s John and Betsy Kell Family Fund!

2021 SELCO Author Talk: Tuesday, May 25

Each year the Southeastern Libraries Cooperating (SELCO) works with local libraries to build regional author tours featuring Minnesota authors. The 2021 author tour includes:

• Brian Freeman: https://bfreemanbooks.com/

• David Housewright: https://www.davidhousewright.com/

• Alison McGhee: https://alisonmcghee.com/

• Margi Preus: https://www.margipreus.com/

Margi’s book, “The Littlest Voyageur” is a finalist in the 2021 Minnesota Book Awards. Her author talk is on Tuesday, May 25 at 6:30pm via Zoom and Facebook live. Learn more at https://legacy.selco.info/author-tour/

Minnesota Book Awards: Meet the 2021 finalists in Middle Grade Literature

Minnesota Book Award winner Kate Allen (The Line Tender, 2020) moderated a discussion between all four 2021 finalists in the competitive Middle Grade Literature category:

• Drew Brockington, author of CatStronauts: Digital Disaster (Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group)

• Anika Fajardo, author of What if a Fish (Simon & Schuster)

• Margi Preus, author of The Littlest Voyageur [illustrated by Cheryl Pilgrim] (Margaret Ferguson Books/Penguin Random House)

• Kurtis Scaletta, author of Lukezilla Beats the Game [illustrated by David Sossella] (Capstone Editions)

The Minnesota Book Awards program is sponsored by Education Minnesota. Education Minnesota is also generously, specifically sponsoring the Middle Grade Literature category in 2021.

First Chapter Friday with the Word Nerd

Each Friday, Amanda Zieba, the Word Nerd, shares the first chapter of a favorite book for middle schoolers. In this episode she reads aloud the first chapter of Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus. Stick around afterward to listen in on an interview with Margi as Amanda asks her the below questions:

1. Many WWII books take place in Germany. How and why did you decide to set this story in Norway?

2. Cross Country Skiing plays a large role in this story. Do you ski? Is there a connection in your life that made you want to include this topic in the story?

3. I know that you did a lot of research for this book. Many times people assume "research" means books and the internet and the library, but did you use any unique research strategies for this book like interviewing or a research trip (or others)?

4. Kids in this book are not bystanders. They step up and take action. Even though WWII happened along time ago, this message is still very relevant today. What would you like modern readers to learn and take away from this story that they can apply to their own lives?

5. Would you say Historical Fiction is your favorite genre? Why do you feel pulled to write stories in this genre and tell these stories?