Each day leading up to the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony, we’ll be featuring an exclusive interview with one of our 36 finalists. Learn more about these incredible local writers and gear up to see the winners announced live in person April 21.
Interview with Nicole Helget, author of The End of the Wild
Category: Middle Grade Literature, sponsored by Education Minnesota
Humbling. Scary. I think Minnesota readers, reviewers, and critiquers are the most well-informed, well-educated bunch in the literary world. I am always a Minnesotan first. When I write, my first audience is Minnesota. So, it’s an enormous honor to have my book noted, but the moment is also frightening. I keep waiting for an email from an astute librarian from the outstate who’s going to tell me every thing wrong with The End of the Wild.
What does writing mean to you?
I’m so lucky. Being a writer is just part of my humanity. I view everything – bird migrations, plant development, cat fights, tree death, weather changes, child illnesses – with a writing sensibility. And, I’ve been able to make a living doing it. That is in large part to the support Minnesota offers for its artists.
Why are stories important for our communities?
Story is the last, best tool in the kit that’s going to save our natural world and our democracy. We are in a national crisis of ecological disasters and political deterioration into authoritarianism. In Minnesota, our waters are polluted beyond use. We are the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” Why this issue isn’t on the front page at least once a week is beyond me. Every single economic and political argument is, at its core, about natural resources. It seems to me that children, more than adults, are receptive to story as a mechanism to address problems and discuss solutions. Children intuitively think and process in a story form. I find the bravest writers to be those writing for children.
Tell us something people might not know about you.
Well, that’s probably a lot. I purposefully live out in the boondocks with terrible internet and phone reception. I am neurotically introverted. I hate public speaking, and I have panic attacks on drives to the Cities. I communicate with plants and animals much easier than humans.
What do you love about libraries?
Librarians have made it possible for me to have a career in writing. One of my best friends is a librarian at MSU, Mankato. I can’t even express how many rabbit holes I have sent him down to find information for me. “Mark, I need to know the exact temperature of Rice Street in Mankato in 1907. Also, how many trains came through that day? Mark, I need the precise demographics of Block 16 in Blue Earth County in 1913.” This is, like, one day’s writing queries.
More about Nicole Helget:
Nicole Helget is the multigenre author of six books for adults and young readers. She and her work have been recognized in People magazine’s “Critic’s Choice,” as a Barnes and Noble “Discover New Writers” selection, as a Minnesota State University “Distinguished Alumni,” and with many literary and service grants, nominations, and awards. She has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing and is pursuing a Master of Public Policy concentrating in rural arts, education, and environmental issues. She lives with her family and dogs on the headwaters of Seven Mile Creek.
See the winners announced live at the 30th annual Minnesota Book Awards Ceremony!
