Northern Narratives and Northern Focus 2025 Celebrations Set for October 14
The reception celebrating the creative work of both Northern Narratives and Northern Focus is set for Tuesday, Oct. 14, at Fargo's City Hall Commission Room. Join us to mingle with the artists, see the photo gallery, enjoy a Q&A with the Northern Focus winner and honorees, and listen to the authors of Northern Narratives 2025 give readings from their published work. All ages are welcome. Contact Lori at 701.476.5977 if you have additional questions.
Note: this event will be live-streamed and recorded.
Tuesday, Oct. 14 – Commission Room at Fargo City Hall (225 4th St. N.)
• Author & Photo Celebration at 5:30 p.m.
• Photography presentation starts at 6 p.m.
NF 2025 winner MN cowboy watermark
2025 Northern Focus Photography Project and Exhibit
Northern Focus is a project conceived by the Fargo Public Library for up-and-coming, recreational photographers with the aim to provide a free space, for artist and viewer alike, to showcase their artwork and share local perspectives. This is the sixth year that photographers from North Dakota and parts of western Minnesota sent in their favorite photographs taken anywhere within the region.
Thank you to all who participated in the Fargo Public Library’s Northern Focus 2025 photo contest. We had 135 submissions and the judging panel had a challenging job choosing the winning photo. The 2025 Northern Focus exhibit is on display in the entryway gallery at the Main Library during regular library hours. Photos on display as part of the 2025 Northern Focus photography exhibit are also available to view online here.
Justyn Rembowski's MN Cowboy was chosen from among them to be the front cover of Northern Narratives 2025, Northern Focus’s sister project for regional writers.
Please note: Photographers retain the rights to their photographs.
• Special thanks to the Friends of the Fargo Public Library for supporting both the Northern Focus photography project and the Northern Narratives writing project.
Library's "Northern Narratives Jr. 2025" Magazine Available
Northern Narratives Jr. is the library's kids-only, literary magazine. This anthology is available to be read online here and features over 50 entries of poems, nonfiction essays, short stories, drawings, photographs, and comics written and created by school-age children from the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo community in the spring of 2025. Categories had first and second place winners, and some categories also had honorable mentions, as judged by the Fargo Public Library Children's Services Staff. Winners works are indicated by an asterisk.*
Please note: Transcription of each piece is taken directly from the original work, so any creative spelling, grammar, or formatting is considered intentional by the artist.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2024" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2024 is the library’s eighth publication of poems, essays, and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the [cover art]( "Northern Narratives 2024 book cover") (titled Heaven on Earth) for this book was by photographer Derrick Mindt and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2024 photography project.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2023" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2023 is the library’s seventh publication of poems, essays, and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Yellowjacket on a Grape Leaf) for this book was by photographer Jeffrey Westgard and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2023 photography project.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2022" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2022 is the library’s sixth publication of poems, essays, and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Milky Way and Meteor) for this book was by photographer Gordon Court and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2022 photography project.
Library's "Northern Narratives Jr. 2022" Magazine Available
Northern Narratives Jr. is the library's kids-only, literary magazine. This anthology is available to be read online and features over 50 entries of poems, nonfiction essays, short stories, drawings, photographs, and comics written and created by school-age children from the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo community in the spring of 2022. Categories had first and second place winners, and some categories also had honorable mentions, as judged by the Fargo Public Library Children's Services Staff. Winners works are indicated by an asterisk.*
Please note: Transcription of each piece is taken directly from the original work, so any creative spelling, grammar, or formatting is considered intentional by the artist.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2021" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2021 is the library’s fifth publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled The Wild Mist) for this book was by photographer Brittani Hovland and submitted as part of the Northern Focus 2021 photography project.
Library's "Northern Narratives Jr. 2021" Magazine
Northern Narratives Jr. is the library's first ever, kids-only, literary magazine. It is available to be read online and features poems, nonfiction essays, short stories, drawings, photographs, and comics written and created by school-age children from the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo community in the spring of 2021. Each category had first and second place winners as judged by the Fargo Public Library Children's Services Staff. Winning works are indicated by an asterisk.*
Please note: Transcription of each piece was taken directly from the original work, so any creative spelling, grammar, or formatting is considered intentional by the artist.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2020" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2020 is the library’s fourth publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online. Please note that the cover art (titled Home in the Middle of Nowhere) for this book was by photographer Hannah Borsheim submitted as part of the inaugural Northern Focus photography project.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2019" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2019 is the library’s third publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online.
Library's "Northern Narratives 2018" Book Available
Northern Narratives 2018 is the library’s third publication of poems, essays and short stories produced by local and regional authors. It is available at all three library locations for check out, or it can be read online.
