PATRICIA WEAVER FRANCISCO

A native of Detroit, Francisco was graduated from the University of Michigan (B.A. Journalism) and has lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota since 1974. Before writing TELLING, she wrote a novel, a play and a book of essays:

• Cold Feet, (Simon & Schuster,1988), a novel about a Vietnam War draft resister and his return from exile in Canada.
• Village Without Mirrors (with Timothy Francisco, Milkweed Editions,1989), a collection of essays and photographs which chronicle encounters with the Tarascan Indians of central Mexico.
• "Lunacy" (Dramatic Publishing Company, 1986), a full-length play based on the 13 women who trained for the space program in the 1960s and were abruptly dropped before having a chance to go into space. It was commissioned by the Women's Theatre Project and has been produced in non-profit theaters throughout the country.

She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, two fellowships from the Bush Foundation, the 1997 Loft-McKnight Award of Distinction, and grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board. She is a former associate editor of Minnesota Monthly magazine and currently teaches creative writing in the MFA program at Hamline University.