BAD LUCK BOOK CLUB: An Evening of Author Readings & Books
Friday, March 13 | 5 – 8 PM
@ The YES! House
Calling all black cats for The YES! House’s BAD LUCK BOOK CLUB, on Friday the 13th!
Starting at 5 PM, The Granite Falls Public Library will be hosting a themed table with books available to be checked out. If you have a library card, bring it with you to check out items at the event. The YES! House will have a creative station where you can make your own felt bookmarks to take home along with a selection of free books for mystery lovers of all ages!
At 5:45 PM hear live readings by writers Jessie Hennen, Lynette Reini-Grandell, and Nicole Rowe, with a Q&A afterward. Musician and performer Venus de Mars will perform a short solo acoustic set following the readings!
Jessie will be reading selections from her work-in-progress, a speculative-fiction horror novel set in Granite Falls in 2021 (and 1918). Some of those may have been inspired by tales from last year's "Tell Me Your Ghost Stories" event at The YES! House.
Lynette Reini-Grandell will read from her current writing project, historical fiction loosely based on the lives of her grandparents, who emigrated from Finland to northern Minnesota in the early twentieth century, as well as experiences of the Ojibwe in northern Minnesota as their lives changed radically over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Nicole will be reading from "Friend" – supernatural tale and "A Master Until The End" – Gothic historical Fiction.
Whether you want to attend live readings from Authors, learn more about your local library, find your next read, or silently dig into your own book – you’ll find it all at this event at The YES! House. It will be a dark and gloomy night, complete with a tea bar, sweet treats, and BAD LUCK.
This event is free and open to the public!
Artist Bios:
Lynette:
Lynette Reini-Grandell is the author of the memoir Wild Things: A Trans-Glam-Punk-Rock Love Story as well as two poetry collections: Wild Verge and Approaching the Gate. Her current project is historical fiction loosely based on the lives of her Finnish immigrant grandparents. She performs with the Bosso Poetry Company and the jazz/poetry collective Sonoglyph. Often inspired by Finnish folk culture and song, she frequently collaborates with Nordic Roots artists in multimedia performances. She is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board.
Jessie:
Jessie Hennen, originally from St. Paul, now lives near Wood Lake. In addition to her weekly Notes from the Granite Arts Council and This Happened Here columns for the Advocate Tribune, she's written and produced numerous editions of the Minnesota parody sketch show A Granite Falls Home Companion. Her current project, tentatively titled Have You Tried Not Talking About It?, is a novel about the Spanish flu, Midwestern Spiritualism, and the notorious Minnesota freeze. She is represented by Better Read Agency, has published fiction and nonfiction in The Millions, the Star Tribune, The Toast, EuropeNow, and elsewhere, and directs the Creative Writing and Literature programs at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. In addition to her husband Miles Taylor, she lives with one dog, four cats, and – nearby, in a coop that was once an old car – seven chickens.
Nicole:
Nicole Rowe was born in London, Ontario, Canada in October of 1994. In 2003, she immigrated with her parents and two younger brothers, 100 head of dairy cattle, 3 guinea pigs, a cat, and a dog to Castlewood, SD, USA. She met her husband, Patrick, on her first day at her new school. They will be celebrating 14 years together in October of 2026. They have two very spoiled cats named Ringo and Murphy. Nicole is the current Site Librarian at the Granite Falls Public Library (Pioneerland Library System). It is her dream job and she loves every second of it! In her spare time she loves cooking, gardening, watching anime, reading, and occasionally creative writing when the mood strikes her.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature; and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.