Authors and Artists

Fall 2023

Books

Maddalena and the Dark

Julie Fine ’10, Flatiron Books, June 2023

Venice, 1717. Fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. As a student at the Ospedale della Pietà, she hopes to become a protege of the great Antonio Vivaldi. After a scandal threatens her noble family’s reputation, Maddalena is sent to the Pietà to preserve her marriage prospects. When she meets Luisa, Maddalena feels the stirrings of a friendship unlike anything she has known. Maddalena is a Venetian fairytale about the friendship between the two girls. They must decide what it is they truly want — and what they will do to pay for it. Fine is the author of The Upstairs House, winner of the Chicago Review of Books Award for Fiction; and What Should Be Wild, which was shortlisted for the Bram Stoker Superior First Novel Award.

 

Memories of the Past

Robert Asbille ’70, Amazon/Kindle, January 2023

This allegorical narrative of the search for enlightenment recounts the story of two ships that travel back in time to search for the lost archives of a professor believed to have learned supernormal powers, such as levitation, from a shaman. Set primarily in Indonesia in 1943, the story has a little sci-fi, historical fiction, romance, and a discussion of the most important principles of yoga.

My Friend from Outer Space

Caroline Scheaffer Arnold ’66, DHL ’01, Amazon, July 2023

A graphic picture book for young readers illustrated with colorful, anime-style art, My Friend follows Sherry as she tries to convince her best friend that she comes from outer space. Arnold, who majored in art and literature at Grinnell, is the author of more than 170 books for children. Her work has received awards from the American Library Association, and the National Science Teachers Association, among others, and she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the College in 2001.

Power, Patronage, and the Local State in Ghana

Grinnell College Associate Professor of Political Science Barry Driscoll, Ohio University Press, July 2023

What makes governments, especially in the developing world, responsive to the few rather than the many? Driscoll explores why electoral competition may lead to worse public services, and why efficient government may be an outcome of patronage politics. Power is a detailed account of local state power dynamics. Driscoll’s research and teaching explores the political economy of development and the state in Africa, focusing on decentralization, local governance, taxation, state capacity, and political parties.

The Wisdom of Morrie: Living and Aging Creatively and Joyfully

Morrie Schwartz (author), Rob Schwartz ’84 (editor), Blackstone Publishing, April 2023

Wisdom is a meditation by Rob’s late father (of Tuesdays with Morrie fame) filled with empathic insights, stories, anecdotes, and advice on how to get the most out of later stages of life. Rob adds essays that give context and family history. A philosophy major at Grinnell, Rob is a writer, producer, and entrepreneur. His work has appeared in Time, Newsweek, and Variety, among others, and he has been an Asia correspondent for Billboard magazine since 2008.

Summer 2023

Books

Baking by Feel: Recipes to Sort Out Your Emotions (Whatever They Are Today!)

Becca Rea-Tucker ’15, Harper Wave, October 2022

The creator of the popular Instagram account @thesweetfeminist has written a one-of-a-kind self-care cookbook and guide to baking your way through your emotions. Rea-Tucker has never shied away from adorning her baked goods with her opinions, including her belief that all feelings are valid and deserve to be fully experienced. Baking by Feel offers 65 beautifully photographed recipes and a unique guide to identifying and processing emotions — in the kitchen.

Crossing the River Styx: The Memoir of a Death Row Chaplain

Charles Peppers ’22, Todd C. Peppers, and Russ Ford; University of Virginia Press, March 2023

The Rev. Russ Ford, who served as the head chaplain on Virginia’s death row for 18 years, raged against the inequities of the death penalty while ministering to 28 men condemned to die in the 1980s and 1990s. His unusual ministry makes this memoir a unique and compelling read. Revealing the cruelties of the state-sanctioned violence, Crossing the River Styx serves as a cautionary tale for those who still support capital punishment.

 

Recorded Solo Concert Spirituals, 1916-2022

Randye Jones, McFarland, June 2023

This work catalogs commercially produced recordings of Negro spirituals composed for solo concert vocalists. More than 5,000 tracks are listed. The featured recordings enhance the study of concert spiritual performance in studio, concert, worship service, and competition settings. This guide extends beyond simply providing historical context and encourages the use of the recordings themselves. Jones manages media collections for the Grinnell College Libraries.

The Art of Brevity

Grant Faulkner ’87, University of New Mexico Press, February 2023

With elegant prose, deep readings of other writers, and scaffolded writing exercises, The Art of Brevity takes the reader on an exploration of compact storytelling, guiding readers to heighten their awareness of not only what appears on the page but also what doesn’t. Faulkner is the executive director of National Novel Writing Month, co-founder of the literary journal 100 Word Story, and co-founder of the Flash Fiction Collective.

When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers

Ken Krimstein ’80, Bloomsbury Publishing, November 2021

New Yorker cartoonist Krimstein’s new graphic nonfiction book is based on never-before-published autobiographies of six Eastern European Jewish teens on the brink of World Ware II. When I Grow Up shows their beautifully illustrated, heart-wrenching stories, full of humor, yearning, ambition, and all the angst of the teenage years. When I Grow Up was selected as a Best Book of the Year by both NPR and the Washington Post.