Feb. 12: Minnesota State Mankato's Good Thunder Reading Series Continues with Visit from Novelist CJ Hauser

Thursday, February 12, 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Opening workshop

Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s 2025-2026 Good Thunder Reading Series will host novelist CJ Hauser, this year’s Eddice B. Barber visiting writer, Feb. 12 in the series’ third event of the 2025-26 academic year.

In addition, Minnesota State Mankato faculty member Rachael Hanel will join Hauser for the evening reading.

All of the events are free and open to the public. Campus visitor parking information is available at: https://www.mnsu.edu/visit/campus-visitor-parking/

Thursday, Feb. 12 schedule:

• 10-11 a.m. – Workshop, Memorial Library, first floor.
• 3-3:50 p.m. – Craft Talk, Centennial Student Union, Room 245. Books available for purchase.
• 7:30-8:15 p.m. – CJ Hauser will read from their work, Carnegie Art Center, 120 S. Broad St., Mankato. They will be joined by Rachael Hanel. Books available for purchase.

The following information about CJ Hauser was provided by the Good Thunder Reading Series: CJ Hauser’s memoir, “The Crane Wife,” is published by Doubleday in the United States and Viking in the United Kingdom. They are also the author of two novels: “Family of Origin” and “The From-Aways.”

Hauser’s work has also appeared in: Tin House, Narrative Magazine, The Paris Review, Esquire, The Guardian, Bon Appetit, Elle Magazine, Vogue and the New York Times.

Hauser holds a master of tine arts degree from Brooklyn College and a doctorate from Florida State University. They have been teaching in the Department of English & Creative Writing at Colgate University since 2016.

Hauser is at work on a new novel called “The Night Gardeners,” about a magical, botanical brain hospital near Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal. The novel is part of a three-book series about healing, health care, botany, brain injuries, Trans love and how we change our minds.

Founded in 1981, the Good Thunder Reading Series brings nationally and internationally acclaimed writers from diverse backgrounds and literary traditions to Mankato, Minnesota, with the goal of promoting access to great literature, inspiring creativity, and connections in our communities, and fostering lively conversations about how writers work and why writing matters.

The Good Thunder Reading Series is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

The 2025-26 Good Thunder Reading Series also receives support from Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Creative Arts; College of Humanities and Social Sciences; the Nadine B. Andreas Endowment; the Eddice B. Barber Visiting Writer Endowment; the Robert C. Wright Endowment; the Minnesota State Arts Board; Friends of the Library; and individual donors.

For more information or to get involved, contact Robin Becker, a creative writing faculty member at Minnesota State Mankato, at robin.becker@mnsu.edu, or visit gt.mnsu.edu.

Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 15,721 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.