September NorthWords includes:
Notes from the Board Room
It’s been a long time since I sent my kids off to school each fall. Longer yet since I waited in anticipation for that first day of school. But I still feel that sense of expectation as Labor Day rolls around, and a fresh year begins with the promise of new beginnings and endless possibilities. For Lake Superior Writers, that is especially true.
While we took the summer off from holding events, your Board members have been busy preparing for this new season of programming. In mid-August we held a Board Retreat – a time-out from our usual heavy agenda of business tasks and to-do lists – and focused on the future of our organization. What would best benefit our members and other community writers? Are there new directions we should be pursuing? How do we broaden our reach?
For starters, we feel good about the workshops we offer to help writers of all levels improve their craft and learn about the business of writing. We want to continue to bring writers together with our Virtual Café, Open Mic sessions and Book Club offerings. We will still offer our Writing Contest and the NEMBA awards. We have a full line-up of events to support these goals, and we hope to hold more of them in person this year.
But in response to our questioning, we have added a new twist. We aim to enhance the diversity of our programs, seeking out authors and presenters who represent the variety of cultures and lifestyles in our midst. We want to serve new audiences, be it young writers, those who are disadvantaged, or hidden pockets of needs. Do you know of areas where we might reach out with our pens and creative side? We would love to hear your ideas at writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org.
I’m excited to explore these ideas and act upon them to strengthen LSW. This will be a work in progress through the upcoming year and beyond. Keep your eye on the Events page on our website as we continue to fill out the upcoming year with new classes and program offerings. And be prepared to celebrate these new beginnings with your fellow writers!
Molly Hoeg
Board Chair
Lake Superior Writer Events
Virtual Writers’ Café
September 10, 2022 9:30 am to 11 am on Zoom
Registration required. Open to all. Free of cost.
Topic: Kickstart Your Writing This Fall
Did summer activities interfere with your writing goals? We’ll discuss ideas about how to get back on track with your writing projects, with ideas and tips for getting back in the groove. Writers Café is a casual, fun way to connect with writers at all levels from our region and beyond, and you don’t need to be a member of LSW to participate. If you’d like to join the discussion, send an email to writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org and we’ll send you a link.
Creative Writing Basics Workshop
September 22 and 29, 2022 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Zoom
Registration required. Open to all. $10 for LSW members; $20 for non-members
Join Brian Malloy for the Creative Writing Basics Workshop: Scene, Summary, Flashback, and Narrative Time on September 22 and 29 over Zoom.
Participants will experiment with methods to weave together scene and summary through writing exercises, and practice gracefully integrating flashbacks into their stories through sensory imagery. Perfect for fiction and nonfiction writers who want to learn how to seamlessly move though narrative time. More information and registration can be found on the Lake Superior Writers workshop page. Want to save money on this and other events? Become a Lake Superior Writers member today!
Literary events
William Kent Krueger Presents Fox Creek
September 2, 2022 7 pm at Zenith Bookstore – 318 N Central Ave, Duluth, MN 55807
William Kent Krueger will be at Zenith Bookstore for a live, in-person talk to present Fox Creek, the newest mystery in the beloved Cork O’Connor mystery series. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the wearing of face masks, are required.
The Ski Jumpers: Peter Geye in Conversation with Linda LeGarde Grover
September 10, 2022 7 pm at Zenith Bookstore – 318 N Central Ave, Duluth, MN 55807
A writer and former ski jumper facing a terminal diagnosis takes one more leap—into a past of soaring flights and broken family bonds. Peter Geye is author of the award-winning novels Safe from the Sea, The Lighthouse Road, Wintering (winner of the Minnesota Book Award), and Northernmost. Proof of COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the wearing of face masks, are required.
Book Launch Party: The Net Beneath Us by Carol Dunbar
September 13, 2022 7 pm at Marshall Performing Arts Center – UMD, 1215 Ordean Ct, Duluth, MN 55812
Join us for a community celebration of the arts to promote the book launch of The Net Beneath Us by LSW member Carol Dunbar. In an evening lineup hosted by Dean Youde, enjoy a reading on the mainstage of MPAC, author discussion, audience Q&A, and book signing. Desserts will be served during the reception to follow, featuring live bluegrass from the band Singleton Street. Books available for sale by Zenith Bookstore. All LSW members are cordially invited and please bring a friend—we have a 550-seat theatre to fill!
Book Launch: Margi Preus Presents Windswept
September 15, 2022 7 pm at Zenith Bookstore – 318 N Central Ave, Duluth, MN 55807
Duluth children author Margi Preus’s newest book Windswept, a a gripping middle-grade fantasy about a girl who must save the children of her world from being “windswept.” Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required, as is the wearing of face masks over nose and mouth.
Opportunities
Wisconsin Writers Association Fall Conference 2022
September 30 – October 1, 2022 at Barker’s Island Inn and Conference Center
Lake Superior Writers is pleased to sponsor the Wisconsin Writers Association fall conference! LSW members receive a discount on registration – please email writers@lakesuperiorwriters.org to receive the discount information.
Gather with writers from across Wisconsin and beyond to experience the state’s stunning Northland lakes, forests, history, and culture to see how they can inspire your craft. Learn from an exceptional line up of seventeen award-winning, diverse presenters and panelists in a Northern Wisconsin setting that is beyond compare for beauty and creative spirit. Visit https://wiwrite.org/Fall-Conference-2022 for more information and to register.
Funded in part by the Morgan Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.
Catalyst Content Festival
September 28 – October 1, 2022 at Zeitgeist 222 E Superior St, Duluth, MN 55802
The Catalyst Content Festival is an exciting industry marketplace for independently produced episodic and narrative programming. The Catalyst Story Institute is a year-round educational and professional development institute empowering creators to bring their narrative stories to fruition. LSW is excited to establish a collaboration with Catalyst this year. You can learn more about the festival on our events page.
KUDOS – News about our members
Rebecca Foust‘s new book of poetry, Only, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly in July; official release date is 9/15/22 but it is available now at Four Way Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Cary Griffith‘s book, Cougar Claw, was reviewed by Ginny Greene in the Star Tribune.
Sara Maurer‘s short story “The Warblers” was published in the Dunes Review Issue 26.1, a literary journal published by Michigan Writers. She participated in the Dunes Review 26.1 Launch Reading on August 28 at Traverse Area District Library in Traverse City, MI. More info at: https://www.michwriters.org.
Liz Minette had a poem included in the Green Island Poetry Walk in Wadena, Minnesota. Poetry at Green Island features poems that are included in the anthology Minnesota Voices 2022. 12 small information stations are along the trails on which poems are posted, alternating with educational texts providing information on the purpose and function of Green Island’s new forest.
Sheila Packa has a new book of poems, Surface Displacements (Wildwood River Press). “…Like the old shamans, she has become a shapeshifter, able—through the dreamy trance of poetry—to speak in the voice of a snail, rivers and lakes, an entire landscape and its people.” says Bart Sutter, author of So Surprised to Find You Here.
Victoria Lynn Smith’s essay “The Dummy Never Showed Up” won an honorable mention in the Wisconsin Writers Associations’ 2022 Jade Ring Contest. All the winners in the Jade Ring Contest will be published in the September 1 issue of the Creative Wisconsin Magazine.
Anne Stewart’s poem, “Mutations.” Is included in the forth coming Vol. II Deep Earth Collections, Furrows published by Green Ink Poetry Press (UK). A digital publication available on Amazon.
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 Why I Started Writing by Doug Lewandowski
Lake Superior Writers 