Mystery author visits Glencoe

Residents of Glencoe had the opportunity to hear Minnesota-native mystery writer David Housewright speak at the ballroom in the Glencoe City Center on Tuesday, April 10, in celebration of National Library Week. In the Minnesota-native mystery/crime writing niche, this event was the mecca for literature enthusiasts in the area.
A little-known fact to many is that Housewright started as a sports journalist for the Minneapolis Star, which has since been merged with the Minneapolis Tribune and called the Star Tribune. His career as a journalist ended after the merger between the two news companies, and that’s where he began to pursue a career as a novel writer.
Head Librarian Jackee Fountain introduced Housewright. Once he had the spotlight, all chitter-chatter came to a halt, people redirected their chairs to square up toward him, and all eyes and ears in attendance were on Housewright.
Like a catchy lead or the first sentence in a novel, he gradually lured the audience into his message by starting with a personal story. At one of Housewright’s book signings, his table was next to Garrison Keillor—notorious for creating Minnesota Public Radio’s (MPR) “A Prairie Home Companion.” Keillor already had a line much longer than Housewright’s, and the MPR radio host hadn’t even shown up yet. Once he arrived, Housewright called out, “Hey, Keillor!” and successfully grabbed his attention.
Keillor walked over, and Housewright told him, “You’ve given me such pleasure over the years, I hope this can give you a little pleasure,” and handed him his book. Keillor grabbed the book, read the first line and responded, “I don’t read mysteries” and tossed the book back at Housewright.
For more about the author's visit, see the April 18 print edition of The Chronicle.