About...

Jon Hassler was born in Minneapolis in 1933 and has lived in Minnesota all his life. He attended St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota (B.A. 1955), and the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks (M.A., 1961). He started writing at the age of 37 and collected 85 rejection slips in the process of publishing his first six short stories. His first novel, Staggerford, was published in 1977 and quickly became a kind of cult book among English teachers. He has since written twelve more novels, two story collections, and two books of nonfiction.

For 42 years, Hassler was an English instructor at various Minnesota high schools and colleges, retiring as Professor Emeritus from his alma mater, St. John's, in 1997. He and his wife, Gretchen, live in Minneapolis.

Novelist Jon Hassler died on March 20, 2008 in Minneapolis.

Hassler, 74, had suffered from Parkinson disease, leaving behind a fine body of work and thousands of fans and friends. He is best known for his New York Times bestseller STAGGERFORD and a string of novels that brilliantly examined the intricacies of life in small Minnesota towns.

Awards and Special Recognition...

THE NEW WOMAN
Minneapolis Star Tribune Best of 2005 Regional and Minnesota Authors