The only thing more powerful than the truth is the truth well-told
Nonfiction Mentor
In four decades of journalism, Hertzel has worked as a columnist, news reporter, feature writer, news editor, editor of special projects, magazine writer and editor, and, for 15 years, the books editor at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis, Minn.
She has held fellowships from Duke University and the James Thurber House; and has won national, regional and local awards for her writing, including awards from the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors and the Society for Features Journalism. She was recently honored with the Kerlan Award, bestowed annually by the University of Minnesota. Hertzel has published short fiction (including the Thomas Wolfe Prize-winning “Snapshots”) and has reported from the Soviet Union and Cuba. Her memoir, “News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist,” won a Minnesota Book Award. She is co-author of “They Took My Father: Finnish Americans in Stalin’s Russia.” She served two terms on the board of the National Book Critics Circle, including stints as President and also as Chair of the Autobiography Committee. She has taught at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis and at Ohio State University. Her work has been anthologized and has appeared in newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and Newsday, as well as in publications in Australia and Finland. Now retired from newspapers, Hertzel reviews books for the Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and elsewhere.