New Ulm — After several years of trying, the New Ulm Public Library is hosting the Moving Words program on Friday.

The Moving Words program seeks to bring Minnesota Book Award-winning authors into libraries across Minnesota to share their stories. Young adult novelist Antonia Angress, children’s author Daniel Bernstrom, and Non-fiction writer Will McGrath will be there to share their varied experiences. Programming Director LeRoy Harris said the program will be more broad than it has been in years past.

“This year’s theme is the idea an author isn’t necessarily tied down to one type of writing, or one particular genre,” he said. “It’s multi-genre because each of these authors has written or published works in different kinds of styles. [Angress] has written in magazines before, and now she she won the award this year for her novel Sirens and Muses. [Bernstrom] teaches English and writing, but now he’s doing picture books. McGrath has done editing and ghostwriting for other authors and he’s written for professional journals.”

Harris said the library has been attempting to get the Moving Words program to New Ulm since before his tenure began. The application process is a first come first serve selection, and this year New Ulm was able to confirm a date and time fast enough to be selected.

“It’s gratifying,” Harris said. “We want to bring in a variety of authors and presenters and performers. We want to allow people to have the opportunity to engage with different styles of writing and different ideas and perspectives. People can learn, grow, and connect. It’s nice to bring in fresh authors. Minnesota Book Awards are often given to up-and-coming authors. They don’t have the big-name publishers behind them yet.”

The event runs from 3-4 p.m. Friday. Attendees will be able to ask the authors questions and potentially buy copies of their books, depending on what the authors bring. For those interested in the literary process, it’s the place to be.

“It will allow them to see what it’s like to become a writer in 2023,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of ideas about what it takes to become a published author or the writing process. Hearing multiple perspectives of people who are doing it right now can motivate people to write, read, and think about things in a new way.”