The local literary community is always working, creating and crafting to express themselves and connect with readers.

Three mainstays of the community have books either recently released or forthcoming; while certainly there are more worthy titles coming out of Columbia and mid-Missouri, these definitively deserve mention.

Daren Dean, "Lovesick"

While readers should also have their eyes out for Dean's forthcoming novel "Shelter Me" (out in October), the former Columbia resident and Lincoln University professor offers a wondrous literary curio here. "Lovesick" gathers short works of prose, from creative, craft-focused nonfiction and prose poetry to a couple stories. Perhaps most compelling is the story "Severe Weather," which both captures a tarnished father-child reunion and its namesak

See Full Page