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For the new May issue, we three editors each got to take a road trip to a Midwest location of our choosing. As soon as we found out this was happening, we began eagerly scouting potential “hidden gem” towns. Both Andrea Behling and Maija Inveiss started by searching for the best food and drinks within driving distance. I, naturally, Googled bookstores.

As a visitor, I believe there is no better doorway into a town than the local bookstore or library. There is arguably no better measure of a community's health than whether it can sustain an indie bookshop. And if you're lucky enough to find a book about the area you want to visit, it can add the richest layers to any vacation.

I've been known to drag along a stack of history and guidebooks on family trips and read aloud to my captive carload so they better appreciate where we're going. But my favorite is to look up local authors in my destinations and find a novel they've written, especially if it's based in their town. For example, one time on the way to somewhere else, a series of unfortunate events left us stranded for two weeks in Great Falls, Montana. When I learned it was the hometown of the author Pete Fromm, I had two of his novels sent to me there. As we explored our unexpected destination, I felt like I was experiencing the town on an entirely different plane, losing myself in a fictional world with a far deeper and more authentic point-of-view than I would have had I read the books at home. It's difficult to articulate, unless you're a book lover. Then you know.

After scoping out Fair Trade Books and noting the robust events list supporting local authors, I chose Red Wing, Minnesota, for my road trip. I had a wonderful time exploring the town, which you can read about in the new issue along with the amazing dining, drink, recreation and leisure activities we all found in our travels. In Red Wing, be sure to stop by the bookstore and meet the shop dog, and the owner who gives every first-time customer a free book. There's just one catch: She gets to pick it — which I think is absolutely perfect.

Associate Editor Maggie Ginsberg curates this monthly newsletter for Madison Magazine.
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Only in print for now
It's a mystery that captivated Madisonians in 1989: skeletal remains later identified as male, found wearing women's clothing inside the chimney of a local music store. Who was the victim? What happened and how did they get there? Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, those questions remain — but the answers might finally be coming, thanks to a new DNA initiative. Don't miss this special report from Doug Moe about a cold case heating up.
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On the left is the cover of the July issue of Madison Magazine and on the right is the opening spread of the cover story on hidden gem Midwest road trips.
Coming to newsstands
If you're not already a subscriber, you can find the May issue on newsstands starting May 4. In addition to the road trips cover story and cold case mystery feature, you'll find photos of a gorgeous thread art exhibit at the Chazen, a glimpse into the world of billiards, an astonishing fine arts maker, a Mother's Day-themed guest essay, plant-infused spirits, stacked sandwich spots, a new bike-friendly effort, John Roach's take on authority figures, and more.
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Favorites from past issues
In last month's April issue of Madison Magazine our regular A&E columnist, Michael Muckian, gave us something different with his personal essay about a celebrity encounter he had while working as Madison cabbie on a summer evening in 1978. Equally cool is the commissioned illustration that brought Muckian's words to life — you really have to see it to fully appreciate it.
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Don't miss these web-exclusive articles
On the left is the cover of the book winter stars and on the right is author Dave Iverson
From the web
Former editorial director of WISC-TV and Madison Magazine Neil Heinen is back with a web exclusive book review of "Winter Stars," the new memoir by award-winning journalist Dave Iverson about his extraordinary mother Adelaide, who died in 2017 at the age of 105. Iverson, then 59, moved into his Menlo Park childhood home to care for his mother. "Winter Stars is a book of small details and large truths," writes Heinen.
On the left is Ben Sidran with his dog and on right is the cover of the new album Swing State.
Doug Moe's Madison
On the "Doug Moe's Madison" blog this month, Moe wrote about one local's special connection with Duke Basketball's "Coach K" ahead of the NCAA Championship Game. Next he covered a new book by Peter Fauerbach on the history of the Fauerbach Brewing Company, then he caught up with Madison jazz legend Ben Sidran about his new album, "Swing State," calling it "the feel-good escape we all need after a trying couple of years."
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Articles from other journalists that caught our attention this month
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New book releases, author events and other local literary news
  • Beloit College emeritus professor of history Beatrice Loftus McKenzie has collaborated with Mary Wong Palmer on a new book called "The Wongs of Beloit, Wisconsin," published by the University of Wisconsin Press on April 26. It features family interviews, photographs and national records to trace the experiences of a multigenerational immigrant family.
  • Former administrative law judge Jeffrey D. Boldt has released his debut novel, "Blue Lake," an environmental legal thriller set in Wisconsin.
  • The Wisconsin Book Festival has several April and May events scheduled both online and in-person at Central Library. Check out the updated list on the Festival's website.
  • First-time author Julie Murphy Agnew's new book, "In It Together: a 2020 story" is now available on her website. It is about children's and families' experiences during the pandemic.
  • The Black Child Book Fair Tour, a national initiative, is making a stop at the Boys & Girls Club of Dane County in Madison on Sat., April 30, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • A Room of One's Own bookstore has partnered with Wonderstate Coffee to create a branded medium roast blend called, wait for it, "A Brew of One's Own."
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Meet a Wisconsin author
On the left is author Maggie Smith with her chin in her hands and on the right is the cover of her debut novel Truth and Other Lies
Q&A with Maggie Smith, author of 'Truth and Other Lies'
The clever title says it all: “Truth and Other Lies,” the tightly plotted, lively paced debut novel from Wisconsin author Maggie Smith, explores how our individual biases and lenses influence our perspectives of the world around us. Smith examines themes of generational feminism in the #MeToo era, mentorship, power, politics, journalism, social media and ethics. Perhaps more interestingly, the story is never didactic — Smith’s characters often make surprising choices that still manage to feel accurate, nudging us to push back against the binary politics and groupthink permeating our culture today.
Read the Q&A

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