Writer-in-residence celebrates release of 15th book

Greater Minnesota, Patrick Hicks’ newest book, acts as a love letter to the place he grew up. 

The novel, which follows Hicks on a narrative journey through his home state, is a nonfiction travel log and history lesson about a place that Augustana’s writer-in-residence assuredly loves. It discusses different regions of Minnesota, those which are outside of the Twin Cities. Hicks visited several locations in the state — Mayo Clinic in Rochester, the SPAM museum in Austin — and wrote about his experiences going there. Written in the first-person point of view, Hicks himself is the main character of the story. 

“I think if you read this book, you’ll find out things about me that you didn’t know,” Hicks said. “And I’ve heard from readers that they’ve discovered things about Minnesota that they didn’t know.” 

Professor of Economics Reynold Nesiba can certainly attest to that. 

“It transports your mind to another place in Minnesota,” Nesiba said. “For instance, after reading chapter four, I need to make a trip to see the Abbey Church at Saint John’s. How have I lived so near to these for 30 years and never heard the story?”

Over the past 15 years, Hicks has written three fiction novels about the Holocaust. He knew that whatever he wrote next would stray from that path. 

“For my own mental health, I just needed to step back from the overwhelming darkness,” he said. 

About a year and a half ago, Hicks went out for drinks one night with a friend who urged him to write a book about his home state. 

“I didn’t know what that would look like,” Hicks said. “But in the span of half an hour, I had the whole book figured out, written on several napkins.” 

From there, Hicks sent a sample chapter to the editor-in-chief at Indiana University Press. He then immersed himself in the novel completely, taking a well-deserved sabbatical from teaching to write and finish the book in only 16 short months. 

The novel debuted as #1 in the nation on Amazon for Travel Writing. Karie Frank, division coordinator of humanities, read it and left a 5-star review almost immediately.

“I love it. Minnesotans will be proud, ” Frank wrote in an email. 

Greater Minnesota is a celebration of the place Hicks came from — an exploration of a beautiful state and a peek into the past of an author that is beloved to Augustana. Charming and witty, it is another impressive addition to Hicks’ repertoire.