Alumni Authors
Discover the latest books written by fellow graduates of the University of North Dakota.
Did you publish a book? If you are an author and would like to be included on this page, let us know! The following works have been recently published by UND alumni. The listing is organized according to the graduating year of the alumni.
1950s
Robert Hale, ’53, and his daughter, Beth Hale Lindsey, ’78,have published eight books so far. Listed in chronological order are "Jesus and His Friends," "Honeymoon Parish," "Grampa Hale's Tales," "Imagine That!," "Creation and Re-Creation," "Glen Meadows Book of Memories," "Babykins, the Littlest Elf," and "The Babykins-Elf the Twelfth Coloring Book." Robert is working on a memoir of his first 21 years.
1960s
Niomi Rohn Phillips, ’61, ’80, published “The Writer and the Engineer.” Niomi is a former lecturer in the UND English Department and Assistant to the Dean of the Graduate School.
Gary Eller, ’65, published “True North,” a novel set in North Dakota’s Turtle Mountains, which tells the stories of three clashing farm families as they struggle to survive in a changing world. “True North” is a Bronze Medal Winner for Midwest Best Regional Fiction: 2022 IPPY Awards.
Steve Berg, ’68, published “Lost Colony: The Hennepin Island Murder.” Berg’s book, inspired by true events, takes place 30 years after the never-solved 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme in Stockholm. After two gruesome murders at Swedish American church in Minneapolis, a has-been reporter and a female pastor try to crack the case.
William “Bill” Kirk, ’69, published “A Whale of a Tale,” a rhyming story about a boy and whale.
1970s
Harvey Dahl, ’70, published “The Assistant Coaches: A Story about Baseball,” the sixth book in the George Grant Series. Dahl has written nine novels under the pen name Jay Henry Peterson.
Ron Baesler, ’71, published “Francisca’s Destiny: A Brazilian Story.” The book is based on Ron’s encounter with a remarkable person while working in Brazil.
Connie Ness, ’72, published “Just Keep Pedaling: A Peace Corps Volunteer in Uruguay.” The first North American to live in tiny Baltasar Brum in Uruguay, Ness writes about the culture clash and the influences of her time there.
Bruce Gjovig, ’74, released “Innovators from North Dakota: The Change Agents!” The book profiles 40 men and women with North Dakota ties who have made an impact on a national level. It is the third in a series about exceptional business professionals in North Dakota.
Gladys (Sondag) “Sunny” Wells, ’74, published “Widows Gone Wild: Our Journey from Loss to Resilience,” recounting how she and her friends, all widowed at a young age, overcame grief and cultivated lifelong friendships.
Rod Jahner, ’75, published “Never Do Anything Just Right,” a humorous memoir chronicling his travels and life.
Ted Kissel, ’76, published “Betrayal in the Casbah.” Col. Mitch Ross risks his life and the lives of others to rescue a downed American pilot being held by terrorists in Algiers.
Jamie Stoudt, ’77, published “The Man Under the Moon,” the story of the first colony on the moon set in 2033.
Arlen Faris, ’78, published “The Way We Were Raised – Poems and Thoughts About Values” and “Twin Buttes – Life and Death on the Dakota Plains.”
James (Bob) Hagerty, ’78, published “Yours Truly: An Obituary Writer’s Guide to Telling Your Story.” The Washington Post named it one of 10 noteworthy books published in December 2022.
Denise Lajimodiere, ’78; ’96, ’06, has published five books over the years, including four books of Poetry: “His Feathers Were Chains” (2020), “Thunderbird” (2017), “Bitter Tears” (2016), and “Dragonfly Dance” (2010). In 2019, she published “Stringing Rosaries: The History, the Unforgivable, and the Healing of Northern Plains American Indian Boarding School Survivors.” Lajimodiere is the North Dakota Poet Laureate.
1980s
Robert Primeaux, ’80, wrote “Will Chase: The Sioux Lands.” Written with the input of six elders from three different Sioux reservations, the story follows Will’s effort to save the lands for the Sioux.
1990s
Juliet (Rehrig) Cutler, ’96, published “Among the Maasai.” Based on her experiences teaching at the first school for Maasai girls in East Africa, Cutler’s award-winning book explores the life-changing impact of education on her students. Proceeds from the sale of this book support education and safety for at-risk Maasai girls.
Jack Riedel, ’97, published “The Roaming Rebels,” the story of Zade Theraman’s adventures crossing the solar system in the fifth Millennium with help from the Roaming Rebels.
Anthony Viola, ’98, published “The Law of Devil’s Land.” A 17-year-old outcast unsure of their identity competes in the Annual Imperial Events in a post-apocalyptic society.
2000s
Mark Dusenbury, ’02, ’12, ’16, published three books of aeronautical knowledge. They include: “The Pilot’s Manual: Multi-Engine Flying” (2015), coauthored by Shaye Daku, ’01, ’14, ’21, and Robert Laux, ’01, ’14; “The Pilot’s Manual: Airline Transport Pilot” (2019), coauthored by Daku; and “Aerodynamics for Aviators” (2016), coauthored by Gary Ullrich and Shelby Balogh, ’06. Dusenbury, Daku, and Ullrich are Associate Professors. Laux and Balogh were both lecturers at UND’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences. Laux is now an aviation safety inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration. Balogh is a data and analytics scientist at GE Aviation.
Brent W. Chisholm, ’04, published “O-Dark Thirty, A Literary Journal.” Chisholm’s fiction was featured in the Veteran’s Writing Project Literary Journal, and both his fiction and nonfiction have been featured in Pacific Northwest outdoor magazines. Chisholm currently writes under a pen name for a popular online satire news outlet.
Melvin Marsh, ’07, published “Leaving Bacon Behind: A How-to Guide to Jewish Conversion” that focuses on questions prospective Jews by choice might have. The book won the Silver Award in Religion in Nonfiction Book Awards in December 2023.
2010s
Joe Field, ’10, published “Buffalo-Man: The Making of a Chokecherry Legend.” National Park Ranger Casey Clay wants to get out of Chokecherry, N.D., but an unexpected opportunity may keep him there.
Charles McCrary, ’11, published “Sincerely Held: American Secularism and Its Believers,” a novel that explores the relationship between sincerity, religious freedom, and the secular in the United States.
Cory Volk, ’14, published “Win the Line, Win the Edge: A Blueprint for Coaching Football’s Offensive Line.” Volk’s book explains the concepts of teaching and instructional design, and is applicable to any position and any sport.
Chioma Onwumelu, ’17, and Moones Alamooti, ’19, researchers with the UND College of Engineering & Mines, have co-authored a children’s book. Titled “Rock Adventures: A Global Journey of Three Friends,” their story takes young readers on a journey through the fascinating world of rocks and geology.