Literary Hub has revealed the cover for American Occupation, an anthology documenting Minnesota writers’ responses to the federal government’s occupation of the Twin Cities. The book, edited by Literary Hub Editor in Chief Jonny Diamond and poet Su Hwang, will be published by the University of Minnesota Press on January 26, 2027. The cover was designed by Jeff Clark.
The anthology collects the letters originally published on Literary Hub, plus a dozen new contributions. The series began after the murder of Alex Pretti by federal ICE agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026. Two days later, Literary Hub published a letter from the poet Dobby Gibson.
As Diamond wrote at the time: “Children and their families have been separated, schools have been targeted, and two US citizens—Renee Good and Alex Pretti—have been murdered in the street. Over the next few weeks we’ll be publishing letters from Minnesotans—novelists, journalists, poets, memoirists—that they might share their experiences, as both witness and warning, of American authoritarianism.”
That first letter turned into forty-four, in a series that ran until February 20.
The contributors
The anthology features Charles Baxter, Nick Estes, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Siri Hustvedt, Michael Kleber-Diggs, David Mura, Bao Phi, Marcie Rendon, Sean Sherman, Michael Torres, Diane Wilson, Kao Kalia Yang, Dobby Gibson, and Sarah Green.
The full contributor list also includes Angela Ajayi, Anonymous, Victoria Blanco, Jennifer Eli Bowen, Katherine Packert Burke, Zeke Caligiuri, David Aiona Chang, Dana Chiueh, Heid E. Erdrich, Nimo Farah, Shannon Gibney, Molly Beth Griffin, Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, Marian Hassan, Hedgiee, Laurie Hertzel, Carolyn Holbrook, Andrea Jenkins, Đenise Hạnh Huỳnh, Ed Bok Lee, Josina Manu Maltzman, Will McGrath, Jim Moore, Nia Navarro, Sahra Noor, Kara Olson, Peter Pearson, Angela Pelster, Kaia Preus, Susan Raffo, Kate Romero and Gustavo Romero, Sun Yung Shin, Gabriela Spears-Rico, Kawai Strong Washburn, Sana Wazwaz, chaun webster, A.E. Wynter, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, and Michelle Zamanian.
What the book covers
The press release describes American Occupation as a record of “an extraordinary outpouring of literary witness” while the consequences of Operation Metro Surge continue to affect communities across the country.
The collection places Operation Metro Surge “in conversation with the longer history of American expansion, imperialism, borders, and the US government’s abuse of power against its own civilians.” It asks readers to consider “what happens when the machinery of occupation turns inward, and what forms of resistance become possible when ordinary people refuse to accept terror as normal.”
The cover design
Jeff Clark designed the cover, which was revealed alongside the announcement. Diamond and Hwang edited the collection together.
The anthology will be published on January 26, 2027.
Key facts box
- Publication date: January 26, 2027
- Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
- Editors: Jonny Diamond and Su Hwang
- Cover design: Jeff Clark
- First letter: Published two days after January 24, 2026
- Series end: February 20
- Total letters: Forty-four
- New contributions: A dozen
How the book came together
- Alex Pretti was murdered by federal ICE agents in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026.
- Two days later, Literary Hub published the first “Letter From Minnesota” by poet Dobby Gibson.
- The series grew to forty-four letters and ran until February 20.
- The letters were collected, and a dozen new pieces were added.
- The anthology was announced with its cover reveal.
The book stands as a permanent record of a moment when writers in Minnesota refused to stay silent.
Source: lithub.com
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