DULUTH — The One Book Northland committee has named its 2023 selection, which local literary institutions will encourage everyone in the region to read. "The Wolf’s Trail: An Ojibwe Story, Told by Wolves" channels Indigenous wisdom through the voice of an elder wolf speaking to cubs.
Thomas D. Peacock, the book's author, is a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Anishinaabe and the winner of multiple Minnesota Book Awards.
While the book is technically considered a novel, Peacock said at the time of the book's publication that it draws on Ojibwe story in a way that defies conventional classification.
"In a way it's historical fiction," he told MPR News. "In a way, it's not. It's cultural fiction. I'm not sure what it is. I am not sure there's a word for it."
Holy Cow! Press, an acclaimed publisher based in Duluth, released the title in June 2020. Star Tribune book reviewer Pamela Miller called it "a small, quiet masterpiece," writing that "there is such strong wisdom in this novel."
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The One Book Northland program debuted in 2002 as "One Book, One Community," with Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" as the inaugural selection. Literary organizations including libraries, bookstores and colleges across northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin participate in each year's selection, which is supported with events across the region.
According to a news release, in springtime the committee will release a complete list of 2023 One Book Northland events. In the meantime, the author will appear at Duluth's Zenith Bookstore on Dec. 29 at 11:30 a.m. to sign copies of "The Wolf's Trail."
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