Rain Taxi

Rain Taxi review of books is a 56-page quarterly with reviews for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and graphic novels. Between the covers, readers find an average of 50 reviews per issue, in-depth author interviews, provocative essays on literary topics, even more published on our website. Rain Taxi devotes space in every issue to new poetry, debut fiction, and many works in translation. Rain Taxi is unique in its focus on works published by independent and small press publishing houses, often over-looked by mainstream media. Consequently, many of the writers and writing featured in Rain Taxi are representative of a diverse, multi-national demographic. Rain Taxi reviewers comprise a dedicated pool of talented writers - in the past 24 years we have worked with over 1300 writers. Many are well-known authors or university professors who are actively engaged in the field, while some appear in print for the first time. We provide a significant opportunity for emerging writers to publish a respected international venue.

Each year Rain Taxi showcases eight to ten emerging and established writers, both local and national, who publish with small and independent presses. These talented writers, who could be characterized as "the accessible avant-garde," are eager to engage with local audiences. They represent a wide demographic, including but not limited to african american, asian american, latin, and lgbtq voices. Our readings take place in local art galleries, bookstores, and community spaces. Sample events include readings by autistic poet dj savarese, nobel prize-winner olga tokarczuk, carolyn forche, cherrie moraga, and tessa hadley.

The annual twin cities book festival has been produced every october since 2001. A day-long celebration of books and authors, the festival takes place at the Minnesota state fairgrounds in saint paul, Minnesota. Rain Taxi gathers international, national, and local writers in the twin cities to present new work. The event is free and open to the public. Audience attendance has grown steadily since its inception and for the last twelve years has been over 6,000 making it the biggest free literary event in the twin cities. The festival presents an all-day exhibit featuring over 150 publishers, booksellers, and authors showing off their wares, with book signings and specials. Two auditoriums feature author readings, panel discussions, and workshops on current literary issues throughout the day. A children's pavilion presents storytelling, activities, music, and crafts. The twin cities book festival brings attention to the wealth and diversity of contemporary literature and brings pride to the twin cities, a reading capital.

Other program service accomplishments include the chapbook series and other programs.