8/21/2012 Write On! Radio

We speak with Steve Kemper, author of A Labyrinth of Kingdoms: 10,000 Miles through Islamic Africa, the story of near-forgotten explorer Heinrich Barth.  The book has been praised by Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, the Wall Street Journal, and the Boston Globe, among others.  Steve Kemper is also the author of Code Name Ginger (about the Segway), which was selected for Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers award, and he has written for many national publications, including Smithsonian and National Geographic.

Also joining us is Anya Achtenberg, who will be talking about her new novel Blue Earth, a beautifully written book that weaves together inherited grief from many conflicts, including the Minnesota farm crisis of the 1980's and the 1862 Dakota war.  Jay Gabler of the Twin Cities Daily Planet says, "Blue Earth gives the James Michener treatment to a pivotal, and profoundly tragic, event in Minnesota History."