May 15, 2026

6 - 7:30 pm

​

Sex, Lies & Memoirs: Deborah Copperud in conversation with Courtney Kocak and Kelly Foster Lundquist

​

Acorn Bookshop

2238 Carter Ave, St Paul, MN

​

Join us for an amazing evening of readings at the newly opened Acorn Bookshop, featuring celebrated memoirists Courtney Kocak and Kelly Foster Lundquist, followed by a conversation with Deborah Copperud, host of the Read Minnesota Books podcast! 

​

Courtney Kocak's memoir Girl Gone Wild released on April 1st. Kocak is a writer, podcaster, and comedian based in Los Angeles. She originally hails from a rural farming community in Minnesota, and her coming-of-age memoir about her journey to Hollywood and how it changed her was recently reviewed in The Pioneer Press.

​

Kelly Foster Lundquist is the author of Beard: A Memoir of a Marriage. Originally from Mississippi, she now teaches writing in Minnesota. Dan Savage recently told her on the air that she was “absolutely delightful company” and that Beard was an “incredibly moving tour-de-force” and those are both things she likes to brag about now.

​

Deborah Copperud is a writer, podcaster, and writing instructor in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in Glamour, HuffPost, Racket, and other outlets. She hosts the Read Minnesota Books podcast and Substack.

​

May 19, 2026

6 - 7:30 pm

​

Persisting: A Reading and Conversation with Courtney Kocak, Mary Lucia, & Angela Pelster

​

Troubadour Wine Bar

2827 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

​

Join us for an evening of readings from three celebrated memoirists who write about their experiences and traumas, and how they persisted to become stronger and more resilient.

​

Courtney Kocak's memoir Girl Gone Wild released on April 1st. Kocak is a writer, podcaster, and comedian based in Los Angeles. She originally hails from a rural farming community in Minnesota, and her coming-of-age memoir about her journey to Hollywood and how it changed her was recently reviewed in The Pioneer Press.

​​

Mary Lucia's memoir, What Doesn't Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To is a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award. Mary Lucia is a local media broadcast personality, writer, actor, and voiceover artist. Known for her unconventional style and expansive music knowledge, she became a wildly popular on-air radio personality at Minnesota Public Radio station The Current over the span of nearly two decades.

​

Angela Pelster is the author of the newly released memoir The Evolution of Fire. Angela Pelster is a multi-award-winning essayist recognized by PEN, the McKnight Foundation, Bread Loaf, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Published in LitHub, Ploughshares, Granta, The Kenyon Review, and other outlets, she lives and works in St. Paul, Minnesota.

​​​