Books

Local Novel Journeys from Midwest to New York City

Dustin Hahn, Tom Giffey |

Eau Claire writer Grant Maierhofer is leaving the realm of poetry with the hard-copy publication of his novel, The Persistence of Crows. The novel follows Henry Alfi, a college journalist who is feeling lost in life and escapes the Midwest to travel to New York City. His journey takes him on an emotional adventure where he meets new people, including a girl who is just as confused and desperate as he is. The Persistence of Crows had previously been self-published as an e-book, but Maierhofer’s persistence brought it to the attention of Texas-based Tiny TOE Press, a DIY-style outfit that specializes in hand-pressing books with hand-printed covers. Maierhofer says he pared down and refined the e-book version of the novel to create the hot-off-the-presses edition, which can be purchased at the publisher’s website, TheOpenEnd.com. Maierhofer, a UW-Eau Claire student, published a poetry chapbook, Ode to a Vincent Gallo Nightingale, earlier this year, and his writing also has appeared in Split Lip Magazine, Gesture, Brawler Lit, We Feel Pretty, and NOTA. He also writes online for HTMLGIANT and Delphian Inc.