Welcome to Lake Superior Writers’ NorthWords — return here each month for news, events, calls for submissions and much more.
Superior Shares –
Open Mic Night
Held on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from 6-7 pm. Upcoming dates:
- December 8
- January 12
- February 9
Are you eager to share your latest piece of writing? Yearning to read it to an audience of readers and writers? Lake Superior Writers presents Superior Shares, our virtual open mic for local writers to share their work in progress, and for anyone else who appreciates the creative writing process.
This event is free to participants and audience, and membership is not required.
Readers are asked to please limit adult content and language. Graphic content that is violent or sexual in nature is prohibited. Attendees will be encouraged to use the Chat function to share feedback.
There will be 10 five-minute slots available on a first come first served basis, with priority given to Lake Superior Writer members. Time limits will be strictly enforced. Participants will be notified ahead of time if they have been selected to read.
To register, email writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org. Please indicate if you would like to read. A Zoom link will be sent out the day of the event.
Virtual Writers’ Café
Do you miss our Saturday morning informal writers’ gatherings? Then we have the solution for you! We’re kicking off a virtual version of our monthly Writers’ Café for LSW members and friends in early December!
Pour a cup of coffee or tea and join us at 9:30 am for a meetup with fellow writers the first Saturday of each month (except for the January meeting which will occur on the second Saturday, Jan. 8). Hosted by long-time LSW member Gail Trowbridge, we’ll chat about our current writing projects, learn about upcoming events and opportunities for writers, and share the ups and downs of our writing lives. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or a newbie, we’d love to have you join us.
For the December meeting, bring a title of a book (any genre) that particularly inspires you to write.
Held on the first Saturday of each month from 9:30-11:00am. Upcoming Dates:
- December 4
- January 8 (note this is a week later due to New Years)
- February 5
This event is free and membership is not required.
- Register for each event by emailing writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org
- You will receive an email with a Zoom link close to the event.
Registration Deadline for the next gathering: Friday, December 3, 2021
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Book Club for Writers
Ever wish you could include a book’s author in your book club discussions? Now you can!
In this new Book Club for Writers series, we bring the author to the table to talk about craft, what it took to write the book, or life as a writer for 30 minutes. Then we allow 60 minutes for a Q&A and book discussion.
You do not need to be a member to attend.
- Register for each event by emailing writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org
- You will receive an email with a Zoom link close to the event.
We will be recording each event and making it available to those who register for one month afterwards. So even if you cannot attend, you can watch the session later!
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022
We encourage you to support your local independent bookstores, who may have these books in stock or would be happy to order them for you.
- Fitgers Bookstore – Duluth
- Zenith Bookstore – Duluth
- Honest Dog Books – Bayfield
T. Marie Bertineau – The Mason House
February 3 – 6:30-8:00 pm by Zoom
Born amidst the copper mining ruins of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, T. Marie Bertineau is of Anishinaabe-Ojibwe and French Canadian/Cornish descent. She is a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community on the L’Anse Reservation, migizi odoodeman. Her work has appeared online with Minnesota’s Carver County Arts Consortium; in Mino Miikana, a publication of the Native Justice Coalition and Waub Ajijaak Press; in the annual journal U.P. Reader; and is anthologized with the Chanhassen Writers Group of Minnesota. Married and the mother of two, she makes her home in the Great Lakes Region.
After her father’s untimely death, Theresa faced a rocky and unstable childhood. But there was one place she felt safe: her grandmother’s house in Mason, a depressed former copper mining town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Gram’s passing leaves Theresa once again at the mercy of the lasting, sometimes destructive grief of her Ojibwe mother and white stepfather. As the family travels back and forth across the country in search of a better life, one thing becomes clear: if they want to find peace, they will need to return to their roots.
Danielle Sosin – The Long-Shining Waters
Linda LeGarde Grover – In the Night of Memory
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Literary Events in our Region
Duluth author and LSW member Mark Munger will be selling and signing copies of his new memoir, Duck and Cover: Things Learned Waiting for the Bomb, at the following locations in December:
Get It Local Arts and Crafts Fair 12/4/2021 at Peace Church (1111N. 11th Ave. E., Duluth) from 10am-3pm, Neighbor Made Arts and Crafts Fair 12/11/2021 at Peace Church (1111 N. 11th Ave. E., Duluth) from 10am-3pm
Opportunities
Ink Slingers Looking for new members to join our weekly writing group. Please reply by email at tigershadow96@gmail.com. Next meeting Dec 2 (Thurs) 10 am – 12 pm via Zoom/teleconference.
Call for Submissions
he Thunderbird Review seeks high-quality creative work for its next anthology from November 1 until December 15. Based out of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in Cloquet, Minnesota, we are an inclusive journal looking for work that speaks to the human condition and that fulfills our College’s goal to create a union of cultures. Please submit up to three poems or prose of no more than 5k words to anthology@fdltcc.edu along with a short bio, your name, address, and phone number. Submitters must reside in or have a strong connection to the Twin Ports area and the counties and tribal nations that surround it or be a current student at FDLTCC, UWS, UMD, CSS, or LSC. Any questions can be directed to Darci Schummer at dschummer@fdltcc.edu.
Call for Submissions
Book Prize, Conversations Anthology and Editors’ Prize
We invite writers to submit to the Unleash Press 2022 Book Prize which is accepting submissions until January 5, 2022.
Submissions are also being accepted for Unleash Press Anthology, Conversations. Essays, fiction, drama, art, and poetry interpretations of the theme will be accepted. Entries will be accepted July 15 – January 15, 2022. Submissions should have a total word count of no more than 5,000 words. All authors chosen for the anthology will receive an e-copy and a paperback copy of the book. Submissions are $10. The Editors’ Prize is $75 and includes a custom illustration inspired by the writing. Submission guidelines can be found here.
3rd Annual Short Short Story Contest
- Contest Sponsor: Ethos Literacy – a nonprofit literacy program.
- Proceeds from the contest support literacy programs for teens and adults.
- 100 word limit on one of four topics: chewing gum, horror movies, skyscrapers, tubas.
- Cash Prizes:
- Best in Contest: $250;
- Best Youth Prize (14 years or younger): $100;
- 4 Best of Category: $100;
- People’s Choice $100.
- Publication in a digital magazine + webcast of winners reading their stories.
- Submission fee: $10.
- Submission deadline: Jan. 31, 2022
Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets 13th Annual Chapbook
The contest is now open! We welcome submissions of chapbooks by Wisconsin residents, published in 2021. Submission deadline is February 1, 2022. Entry fee is $15 (or $7 for WFOP members). Prizes are $200, $100 and $50. Winners will be announced in April. The contest judge is Margaret Hasse from St. Paul, MN. Please contact contest coordinator naomicochran@outlook.com with any questions. Visit www.wfop.org/annual-contests for complete details and entry form.
KUDOS – News About Our Members
Joe Field has just published the final book of his Arrowhead Legends superhero series. Arrowhead Legends: A superhero book series for adults and mature YA audiences. Enforcer Crew is the fifth and final book in the series. Already on the brink of war with Finnska, Arrowhead Nation is suddenly rocked by a series of deadly attacks by mysterious masked operatives wielding poisonous gas. The newly minted Enforcer Crew—led by Gabby Oaks—scrambles to prevent future civilian casualties while trying to prepare the country for battle against Shawkon’s mighty Finnska Fighters. In the epic conclusion to the Arrowhead Legends series, Axel Holt, Dakota Briggs, Gabby Oaks, Roscoe Boone, Mack Sawyer and company will band together to see if they have what it takes to prevent the ultimate destruction of Arrowhead. Clutch your favorite weapon and get your battle cries ready, because here we go! Buy here.
- Glenn Maloney will have two poems (“Dreams of Wolves” and “The Office Window Salon”) published in The Roaring Muse, the returning UMD lit journal.
- Alice Mark’s first mystery novel Missing is available now on Amazon for Kindles . Alice enjoyed working with her narrator, Neal Oskerka.
- Molly Milroy had an essay on motorcycling that was published in the November edition of BMW Owners Magazine. https://www.bmwmoa.org/page/newsbmwon
- Liz Minette has recent poetry published in Abbey and Nerve Cowboy.
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: https://lakesuperiorwriters.org/blog/blog-submission-guidelines/
Our blog currently features Diving Deep: How to Write About Difficult Topics by Zomi Bloom https://lakesuperiorwriters.org/blog
Lake Superior Writers 