Laura Billings Coleman
creative content for the common good
Book Reviews
Astonish Me
Ballet may be infamous for its bodily punishments, but in “Astonish Me,” author Maggie Shipstead finds even better material in the psychic costs of an art form fueled by creative rivalries and the relentless pursuit of the fleeting.
Heart of a Historian
Duluth writer Margi Preus’s great eye for historical detail adds depth to her award-winning novels for middle-grade readers.
West of the Moon
Newbery Honor winner Margi Preus returns with a rollicking middle-grade adventure set during Norway’s “America fever” epidemic.
Recommended Reading
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
A Little History of the World by E. H. Gombrich
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland, 1890-1923 by RF Foster
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
The Tenth of December by George Saunders
Bio: Laura has been writing for national magazines, newspapers and new media since before it was called "content." A former columnist for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Mademoiselle and Mpls/St. Paul, her reporting and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Outside, Fast Company, SELF, Salon and many other publications.
Fun fact: Laura spent her formative years writing relationship advice in women’s magazines. Ask her anything. She’s here to help.