Shannon Olson Fiction ReadingApril 17, 2007 at 7–8 p.m.

Shannon Olson is the author of the novels Welcome to My Planet: Where English Is Sometimes Spoken (Viking 2000; Penguin 2001) and Children of God Go Bowling (Viking 2004; Penguin 2005). Welcome to My Planet was a finalist for the 2000 Minnesota Book Award in Fiction. Children of God Go Bowling was selected for the Talking Volumes series, an on-air book club sponsored by the Loft Literary Center, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Star Tribune.

Olson has an MFA from the University of Minnesota, where she has taught fiction and nonfiction writing, and co-taught a humor-writing course with Garrison Keillor.

She has written articles and reviews for The Guardian (London), InStyle, Good Housekeeping, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Minnesota Monthly and is a regular contributor to Minnesota's alternative monthly, The Rake.