Please feel free to recommend these events to your patrons! Any questions? Reply to president@uppaa.org

U.P. Notable Books Club Announces 2023 Meet-the-Author Events

Reading local authors has great informational and educational value and contributes toward cultural enrichment. Continuing into their 4th year of book selections, the U.P. Notable Books Club is hosting a series of discussions with authors of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to engage community members with local authors. All residents of Michigan are invited to participate with no cost or obligation. To date, 25 authors have already appeared in the program and their appearances can be replayed on the http://video.UPPAA.org channel.

>From March 9, 2023 to January 11, 2024 nine new authors will do Zoom talks with readers. These events will reveal new background details as well as answering live reader questions about their work. Readers can buy these nine books, or check them out from their local library in order to discuss with the authors. Many are available in eBook editions at the Great Lakes Digital Library thanks to the efforts of Superiorland Library Co-op. Authors participating in the upcoming fourth year include:

The Big Island; a Story of Isle Royale – Julian May and John Schoenherr
North of Nelson: Stories of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – Hilton Everett Moore
We Kept Our Towns Going: The Gossard Girls of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – Phyllis Michael Wong
Dissecting Anatomy of a Murder – Eugene Milhizer
Shipwrecked and Rescued, Cars and Crew: The City of Bangor – Larry Jorgensen
Dorothy is Moving Mountains, a True Story – Dorothy Paad and Matthew Forgrave
The Biting Cold – Matthew Hellman
Superior Voyage anthology – Marquette Poet's Circle, Ed. by Rick Rastall
Cady and the Birchbark Box: A Cady Whirlwind Thunder Mystery – Ann Dallman

The complete event schedule is available online at www.UPNotable.com, click on the "Join Book Club" button

“What inspires me the most about our club is the positive feedback from local authors and patrons alike,” says Evelyn Gathu, Director of the Crystal Falls District Community Library, who is the creator and organizer of the club. “After every book club meeting we have, I get emails from patrons thanking me for creating the club.” She tells that the library circulation has definitely increased because of the book club, indicating an increased love of reading the works of local authors in the community.

Portraits of Dorothy
Paad, Eugene Milihizer, and Phyllis Michael Wong

UP Notable Books Club 2023 authors: Dorothy Paad, Eugene Milihizer, Phyllis Michael Wong

Why local authors are less read, on the whole, than those widely publicized in mainstream media seems a matter of presumption or prejudgment. And Gathu agrees:

“I think some people do not believe that books written by local authors are as good as those produced nationally, and this book club is really helping to deflate that stigma!”

She tells that she had read in the local paper that the first ever U.P. Notable Books List was created by the editors of the U.P. Reader and UPPAA (Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association) in January 2020. This led her to contact UPPAA President, Victor R. Volkman, and he was thrilled with the idea of local authors interacting with the readers in the community. More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review, and UPPAA can be found at www.UPNotable.com.

About the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA)

Established in 1998 to support authors and publishers who live in or write about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, UPPAA is a Michigan nonprofit association with more than 100 members, many of whose books are featured on the organization’s website at www.uppaa.org. UPPAA welcomes membership and participation from anyone with a UP connection who is interested in writing and publishing books.

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Regards,

Victor R. Volkman, President
L H Press Inc.
www.LHPress.com