Each day leading up to the 32nd annual Minnesota Book Awards announcement, we’ll be featuring an exclusive interview with one of our 36 finalists.
Interview with Jacqueline West, author of Last Things, part of the Young Adult Literature category, sponsored by United Educators Credit Union
How does it feel to be a Minnesota Book Award finalist?
It seems like there are more wonderful books being published by Minnesotans every year, so I’m incredibly honored to be part of this group.
Tell us something about your finalist book that you want readers to know?
I always sum up Last Things as my modern-day, Minnesotan, metal retelling of the legend of the musician who may have sold his soul to the devil. That either works for people or it doesn’t.
Share something about your writing process and preferences. For instance, where is your favorite place to write?
My favorite place to write would be a corner of a busy coffee shop, but these days, I’ll take whatever I can get: my desk, the front seat of a parked car, the bathroom floor in the middle of the night…
Minnesota has a reputation as a state that values literature and reading. In your experience, what is it about our state that makes it such a welcoming place for writers and book creators?
Community. Community that has been fostered by great bookstores, writing programs, literary events, and libraries.
What is something you are good at that few people know about?
I hate to brag (I AM a Minnesotan), but my chocolate chip cookies are pretty legendary, at least within my family. I might be the only person who sent boxes of cookies home from college, instead of the other way around.
What do you love about libraries?
Absolutely everything.
Jacqueline West is the author of the New York Times-bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere, as well as The Collectors, and Dreamers Often Lie. She lives in Red Wing with her husband and son.