The Two Books, Two Communities program, a partnership between Northern Michigan University and the Marquette and Alger County communities, will host its Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie Author Readings and Panel Discussion at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, via Zoom. Access the link at nmu.edu/onebook/twobooks or the Peter White Public Library site at pwpl.info/events.
Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie is a collection of food essays featuring 30 Midwestern writers. Hear from authors Bonnie Jo Campbell, Anne Dimock and Peggy Wolff during the event.
In addition to editing, Wolff wrote the book's introduction and a chapter on "The Door County Fish Boil." Wolff's feature articles on farmers and outdoor markets, chefs, foodstuffs and Jewish holiday food rituals have appeared throughout the past seventeen years in the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers. She has also written features on art, photography, design and ultra-sports for the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine, Chicago Magazine, ArtNews, The Week, Outdoor Photographer and more.
Campbell is the author of Once Upon a River, a national bestseller, and other novels. Dimock is a playwright and the author of Humble Pie.
Fried Walleye and Cherry Pie was named the Foreword Book of the Year 2013 Gold winner for anthologies and finalist for essays. The awards are for the best of independent presses, judged by librarians and booksellers.
In a meditation on comfort food, Elizabeth Berg recalls her aunt's meatloaf in the book. Stuart Dybek takes readers on a school field trip to a slaughtering house, while Peter Sagal grapples with the ethics of paté. Parsing Cincinnati five-way chili, Robert Olmstead digresses into questions of Aztec culture. Harry Mark Petrakis reflects on owning a South Side Chicago lunchroom, while Campbell nurses a sweet tooth through a fudge recipe.
Two Books, Two Communities hosts a number of author events and related programming. The final event this year is the Battle of the Recipe Box Taste Off and Awards at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16 at the Munising School Public Library. Learn more here.
The other featured title this year is 2021 Michigan Notable Book Award Winner Teacher/Pizza Guy, a collection of poems by Jeff Kass.
Copies of the books are available for purchase at the NMU bookstore, Snowbound Books, Falling Rock Books and Cafe in Munising and other bookstores in Marquette County. Download the free Libby or Overdrive app from Google Play, the App Store or Microsoft to access a free eBook version, if you have a library card.
For more information, contact Rebecca Tavernini at retavern@nmu.edu or 227-1016.