The April NorthWords includes:
Notes from the Board Room
The umbrella of “writer” can be so delightfully broad.
That same word can apply to folks creating marketing content, poetry, novels or screenplays. (Yes, Paul Margulies, author of “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz, Oh what a relief it is” for Alka-Seltzer, is a writer, too, in my book, if I had a book.)
“Writer” also applies to those of us who did (and many who still do) come up with headlines for news stories. Condensing a whole story into a certain number of characters is its own skill, and I appreciated witty headlines as much as I admire great poetry. Both have that splendid efficiency of words.
Other times, I can only chuckle when an obviously harried on-deadline copy editor (aka headline writer) turns in an intentional or unintentional zinger. Rocky River City Schools in Ohio apparently has a fun assignment for their students to look through old newspapers and find those funny examples. Among my favorites I saw posted:
“Man Struck By Lightning; Faces Battery Charge”
“Meeting on Open Meetings Closed”
“Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges”
“City Unsure Why the Sewer Smells”
At the University of Minnesota Journalism School I learned of an infamous headline involving a fatal car crash in Climax, Minn., with a driver from Fertile, Minn. … and you’ll just have to imagine it … unless you graduated from the J School about the time I did, in which case you know what it said.
Another from the Rocky River compilation also points out the potential pain of our errors. Anyone who has done reporting has their own “Oh No” memories of mistakes. They cannot be avoided. It is one reason I will avoid, at all costs – on deadline at least – using the word “public” in a headline. It can go so wrong.
The headline that was the groaner in the school’s compilation read:
“Missippi’s literacy
program shows
improvement.”
No question that copy editor went home feeling pretty good about making a one-column headline fit only to wake up to the next morning thinking about changing careers.
I have a personal favorite headline I wrote during my newspapering career. At least I thought it was witty. I was writing a headline on a story about the city council in Grand Forks, N.D., deciding to spray invading army worms from a helicopter. My headline was “Council Hopes Whirlybird Gets the Worms.” I will accept your thumbs up or thumbs down on that one.
By now, I’m hoping all of you writers reading this have seen the notice that the deadline for our LSW Writing Contest has been extended until April 10. With our theme this year being “North of Normal,” you can count that extension among the not-normal things happening. You can be a writer of poetry, flash fiction, short fiction and non-fiction to enter. Find the rules at LakeSuperiorWriters.org. Winners will be announced at the annual LSW Members Meeting in late May.
April, as many of you know, is National Poetry Month, and I’ve already been getting questions about what has become our free annual Members Poetry Reading in the rotunda of the UMD Library. With the library cutting out its Saturday hours, we’ve scheduled for Sunday afternoon, April 19. Anybody can read a short poem or two. Register in advance at our website.
We celebrate another form of writing this month in our partnership with the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival, April 22-26, at various venues around town. We’ll have LSW tables set up during the Table Read of “Black Apple,” a screenplay by David Anderson at 1 p.m. on April 25. David is Minnesota-born but lives in Los Angeles now. He will be here for the reading. Our own board member, Bick Smith, has been coordinating with the festival, which took up his Table Read idea from last year’s event group reading his comedy screenplay, “Time and Tide” based in Duluth. Drop by the LSW table and say “hi.”
Oh – and I have a favor to ask. If you are on Facebook, please befriend Lake Superior Writers Facebook page here. We plan frequent listings of events, opportunities and activities all around the Northland. (I like to know there are writers out there when I post!)
– Konnie LeMay, chair on the Lake Superior Writers Board
Lake Superior Writers News & Events
North of Normal Writing Contest
Submissions due: April 10
North of Normal? Yes it is, even this year’s deadline. We are extending the deadline for the LSW Writing contest until April 10! Do you have an off-beat family story to tell? How about a poem looking at the changing world or a fiction look at something out of the ordinary? All of them work for this year’s theme, “North of Normal.”
This year’s writing contest theme is “North of Normal.” Writers may interpret this theme as broadly as they wish in the following categories: poetry, flash fiction, short fiction, and creative nonfiction. The first-place winner in each category will receive a prize of $200, publication on the Lake Superior Writers website and an invitation to share a portion of their work at the Lake Superior Writers Annual Meeting in May. The runner-up in each category will receive a prize of $50.
Virtual Writers’ Cafe
Saturday, April 11 at 9:30 a.m. on Zoom
Join a group of local writers to connect about current writing projects, upcoming events, and general discussion.
Annual Members Poetry Reading
Sunday, April 19 at 6 p.m. at the Kathryn A. Martin Library on the University of Minnesota Duluth
Celebrate National Poetry Month with us on April 19 from 6-7:30 at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Kathryn A. Martin Library. Lake Superior Writers members get first shot at the mic, but other regional poets are encouraged to sign up for a five minute reading slot to read their own original work or the work of a poet you love. Everyone is welcome to listen and celebrate poetry!
Writing Circles
Writing Circles are where writers of a particular genre like general fiction, memoir, fantasy, mystery and more can gather together to talk about writing and get feedback on their works-in-progress! We will be announcing new Writing Circles as volunteer leaders organize their groups. If you are interested in starting a Writing Circle — either online or in person in the region — please email writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org.
Literary Events
Arrowhead Regional Library Poetry and Printmaking
April 13, 2026 at 3:30pm at Hibbing Public Library, 2020 5th Ave E, Hibbing, MN
See Dates for 23 additional libraries and times at alslib.info or gettencreative.com/events
Duluth: April 28 & 30th. Two Harbors: April 28
Through the poetry and images from her collection, Of Cows and Crows (Nodin Press 2024) Shelley will highlight the challenges and joys of growing up on a Minnesota farm. Getten will also discuss her creative writing process and how she made the block print illustrations and cover art for the book. This program is one hour long and is appropriate for adults, teens, and children 8 years and up.
All attendees will receive a free bookmark.
This program, sponsored by Arrowhead Library System, was funded in part or in whole with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
One Book Northland: Author Talk with Marcie R. Rendon
April 16, 2026 from 6:30pm to 8pm at Fond Du Lac Tribal And Community College 2101 14th Street Cloquet MN
Award-winning author, poet, and playwright Marcie Rendon will be at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College to discuss her book, Where They Last Saw Her, winner of the 2025 Minnesota Book Award for Fiction. Marcie holds an Honorary Doctorate from Adler University and is a member of the White Earth Nation. Copies of Where They Last Saw Her will be available for purchase and signing.
Learn more about Rendon and her work: https://www.marcierendon.com/
Writers Speak Out: People Have the Power
April 21, 2026 at 6pm at Wussow’s Concert Cafe, 324 N Central Ave, Duluth, MN
Join featured writers and poets on April 21 at 6 pm at Wussow’s Concert Cafe in support of “small d” democracy and civil rights. There will be an open mic. We invite you to bring a short piece of writing or poem of witness, a personal testimony, a call to action, a vision for a better future, a balm for hard times, or a blessing! Hosted by Sheila Packa, Liz Minette, and Zomi Bloom.
Opportunities
Writers’ Monthly Get Together
March 21, 2026 from 10am-11am at Foxes & Fireflies Booksellers, 1401 Tower Ave. Superior, WI
Looking for a place to talk about writing, share writerly advice, and hang out with other writers? Join fellow writers at Foxes & Fireflies Booksellers on the 3rd Saturday of each month from 10-11 a.m. in a spacious conference room, located at the back of the bookstore.
Refreshments aren’t available onsite, but feel free to bring in your own beverages and snacks if you wish. All writers are welcome. There is no fee or requirement to join anything, just a chance to be part of a writing community.
Lakeside Concert Series and Northwoods Art & Book Festival
Concert Series: Fridays 5pm-7pm by Birch Lake in Hackensack, MN
Northwoods Art & Book Festival: Saturday, August 8 from 9am-3pm in Hackensack, MN
It’s never too early to plan your summer activities. Northwoods Arts Council has three planned venues for your enjoyment. A concert series with different bands each week is held every Friday evening, 5-7, through the summer in Hackensack at the park pavilion. The Northwoods Art and Book Festival is on August 8th, 9-3 with 65 artists and 35 authors showcasing their work.
Call for Submissions – Duluth Transit Zine
Deadline: August 5
We are looking for submissions related to bussing & beyond in the northland, due August 5th.
KUDOS – News about our members
Jim Perlman of Holy Cow! Press is pleased to announce the publication of “This Ground Beneath Our Feet.” poems by Emily Bright.
“Emily Bright’s beautiful new book, ‘This Ground Beneath Our Feet,’ is a letter to a world where ‘no one wrote it down.’ No one, that is until Emily —with her wonderfully radiant name— came along to do what poetry does best, which is to make a place to keep the momentary from oblivion, to tell the stories in black ink. What begins as a commission from the past ends in a love song to the world of here and now, ‘just one small integrated / part of everything.’”–Joyce Sutphen, former Minnesota Poet Laureate
Emily Bright is a weekend host for Minnesota Public Radio news, where she also produces “Ask a Bookseller” and “Art Hounds.” She is the author of “Fierce Delight: Poems of Early Motherhood,” which was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” She holds an MFA in poetry from the University of Minnesota and a BA from Williams College. She lives in the Twin Cities with her family.
96 pages, perfect bound, $18.00. Available from local bookstores, BookShop.com, and Amazon.com
Lake Superior Writers Blog
Lake Superior Writers invites members to submit guest posts for possible inclusion on our blog. Please visit our blog information page for more details.
Our blog currently features “You’ll find that you’re much more capable than you think you can be” – An Interview with Shane Semmler by Kevin Beyer
Lake Superior Writers 