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Steve Wiegenstein

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.stevewiegenstein.com

Twitter

swiegenstein

Genre

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary

Member Since

April 2012

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Steve Wiegenstein is the author of Land of Joys (2023), Scattered Lights (2020), The Language of Trees (2017), This Old World (2014), and Slant of Light (2012). Scattered Lights was a shortlisted finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in Fiction for 2021. Slant of Light was the runner-up for the Langum Prize in American Historical Fiction, and This Old World was a shortlisted finalist for the M.M. Bennetts Award in Historical Fiction. The Language of Trees received the Walter Williams Major Work Award from the Missouri Writers Guild in 2018. The fifth and final book in his historical novel series, Bring Daybreak, will be published in November 2026.

Steve grew up in the Ozarks, the setting for his books, and worked there as a newspaper reporter ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Steve Wiegenstein I'm currently working on the next novel in this series. In this one, as yet untitled, the children of the main characters of SLANT OF LIGHT and THIS O…moreI'm currently working on the next novel in this series. In this one, as yet untitled, the children of the main characters of SLANT OF LIGHT and THIS OLD WORLD are now the main characters -- there's been a generational shift. Although the adult characters of THIS OLD WORLD are still present, the focus has shifted. I'm very excited about this new book and about dealing with a somewhat later era of history.(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Steve Wiegenstein My most recent book grew out of the previous one, almost seamlessly, and in fact I think of them as two parts of the same story. The book I'm working …moreMy most recent book grew out of the previous one, almost seamlessly, and in fact I think of them as two parts of the same story. The book I'm working on now (more on that later) is a further continuation of the story, only with a new generation of main characters and a whole new set of circumstances. I have a "big picture" view of this series and hope that readers will start to see the emergence of patterns and themes as the books follow and interconnect.(less)

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Steve Wiegenstein’s books

Average rating: 4.15 · 189 ratings · 47 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Slant of Light 4.08 avg rating — 86 ratings — published 2012 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	This Old World 4.52 avg rating — 29 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scattered Lights 3.84 avg rating — 32 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Language of Trees (Volume 3) (The Daybreak Series) 4.08 avg rating — 26 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Land of Joys 4.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gods of Four Mile Creek: Poems, Essays and Photographs by Phillip Howerton by Phillip Howerton, Steve Wiegenstein (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 4.33 avg rating — 6 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Land of Joys (Daybreak Book 4) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The BSP Holiday Fiction Collection by Fred Venturini (Goodreads Author), Anene Tressler, Steve Wiegenstein (Goodreads Author) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Slant of Light 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Slant of Light: A Novel of Utopian Dreams and Civil War (The Daybreak Series Book 1) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Steve Wiegenstein…

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Steve Wiegenstein's Blog

Christmas Elves

Santa’s elves don’t get enough respect. Santa is in all the pictures and songs, but who really does the work of putting together all those toys? The elves, that’s who.

Thus I want to take a moment to thank the people who serve as elves to us novelists: the librarians and historical societies who assemble all that great material for us to draw on. Case in point:

The State Historical Society of Missou

Series by Steve Wiegenstein

Daybreak Series (3 books)
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Steve Wiegenstein (Goodreads Author)

4.17 avg rating — 141 ratings

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Steve’s Recent Updates

Steve Wiegenstein wrote a new blog post Christmas Elves Santa’s elves don’t get enough respect. Santa is in all the pictures and songs, but who really does the work of putting together all those toys? The e Read more of this blog post »
Jan 23, 2026 12:57PM · like