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SPOTLIGHT ON OUR CONTRIBUTORS

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Happy New Year! We are welcoming 2026 in today with updates from our amazing contributors. You can find their work published in our current edition of Walloon Writers Review which is available in independent bookstores throughout the region and many area libraries.

MEET STORM AINSELY

Storm Ainsely is a new contributor to Walloon Writers Review and we are so excited to introduce her exceptional talent to our readers. Her poems, Saturday Morning and 708 Miles are included in Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition. Storm shared with us that she has lived in nine of the United States and will tell you she is from fiction-land. Her work as appeared in Wild Roof Journal, Oakwood, Trace Fossils Review, Exist Otherwise, and West Trade Review, among others.

We caught up with Storm recently…

Since being published in Walloon Writers Review’s Ninth Edition, Storm Ainsely has had work published in Yellow Arrow Journal & Skipjack Review. She has two poems scheduled to come out in October 2025 in Cactifur and Cereal City Review. Other places (not mentioned in her Walloon Writers bio) to find her work include: Sleet Magazine, New Note Poetry, Plumwood Mountain Journal, and Marrow Magazine. Cornerstone Press will be publishing Storm’s first book, a novella, near the end of 2026. Storm can be reached through LinkedIn & links to her publications available online can also be found there. https://www.linkedin.com/in/storm-ainsely-aa513821/details/publications/

Meet MILTON BATES

Milton Bates read his poem Renaming the Pileated Woodpecker published in our Ninth Edition this past summer at the Ishpeming Carnegie Library. He is the author of the book, Stand Still in the Light, and two chapbooks, Always on Fire and As They Were. Milton is a returning contributor and has shared his creative writing and photography with our readers in several editions. We are excited to announce his new book, which has been released!

Much of the poetry in my new collection, Undivided Attention (Kelsay Books, 2025) celebrates my surroundings in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Lately, I’ve also written poems based on entries in Wallace Stevens’s notebooks and have begun submitting them to literary magazines. 

My wife, Elizabeth, and I both turned 80 in 2025, so we’ve officially arrived at elderhood. Fortunately, we still enjoy most of the activities that get us outdoors in all seasons. From these outings come the poems and photos we’ve shared in the pages of Walloon Writers Review.

I live in Marquette, Michigan. My professional profile at Marquette University in Milwaukee, where I taught for many years, serves as my author page: https://www.marquette.edu/english/emeriti-faculty.php.

Meet THOMAS FORD CONLAN

Tom Conlan is a returning contributor to Walloon Writers Review and his poem, Angel Revelry is published in our Ninth Edition. He lives on a small farm in northern Michigan. His prose and poetry have appeared in numerous publications including UP Reader, QU Literary Review, The Avocet, Northwind Treasury, and Michigan Trout Magazine.

I have several projects in the pipeline. My most recent acceptance is inclusion in “The Songs of Summer: Poems about Baseball” from Waters Edge Press. My most recent publication – “Secret Conversation – Reflections in Nature” combines poetry and original artwork.

Tom is writing a weekly column for Charlevoix County News entitled “Readers Corner.” He is also reviewing non-fiction entries for the upcoming 10th Edition of the “UP Reader.”  His new book is available in several bookstores and online.

Find his work at: www.thomasfordconlan.com

Check back again for more about our amazing contributors! For locations on where to by Walloon Writers Review, please click the tab, “Where to Find Walloon Writers Review”. We are honored to share updates from previous and current contributors! Send your headshot, jpeg of your cover if you’ve published, and a brief update to editor@walloonwriters.com

SPOTLIGHT ON OUR CONTRIBUTORS

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Every edition of Walloon Writers Review unveils a fresh collection of creative writing and nature photography celebrating northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. We are so fortunate to introduce readers to exciting writers and photographers, some with recognizable names and some at their first time in print.

After a whirlwind season of live readings by our contributors and display of some of the photography, where audiences had the incredible experience of hearing the writers read their own work in person, we wanted to keep that good feeling going! We caught up with several contributors to find out a little more about them and what they are working on next!

(photos Left to Right: Elizabeth Kerlikowske reads poetry at Crooked Tree District Walloon Lake library; Contributors from Left to Right: Susan Boback, Stephen Hooper, Ellen Lord, Katherine Roth, founder Jennifer Huder, Patty Durell, Lisa Fosmo, Kate Allore, Elizabeth Bates, and Milton J. Bates pose at Ishpeming Public Library reading event; Petoskey’s John Lennon reading at Walloon Lake Library).

In the next few posts, check out “Spotlight On Contributors”, with photos, bios, and a short note from them on what new projects they are working on right now. We hope you will continue to follow these contributors as they publish and present their new works in the future. Sign up for our email list where we share new books or gallery showings by contributors and other events.

We are honored that contributors have selected Walloon Writers Review to share their work and hope you find these updates fun! We will include Ninth Edition and previous edition contributors we’ve heard from recently. Contributors, in case you missed it, please email editor@walloonwriters.com if you have updates to share! Headshots and relevant photographs welcome!

Spotlight On Contributors

Meet Carrie Cantalupo

Carrie Cantalupo is a new contributor to Walloon Writers Review. Her poems blue black night and sumac can be found in our Ninth Edition. From her home in northern Michigan, Carrie shares this update with us:

I have been working on a collection this year and hope to have it ready to 

send out into the world by January. I am also working on illustrating a children’s book!  (A BIG 

first for me!) I am so honored to be in the Walloon Writers Review with so many wonderful writers.

Carrie Cantalupo writes poetry and flash fiction and has been published in Pike’s Peak, Making Waves, You Might Need to Hear This, Poetry Project Matters and Transformation: Stories of Northern Arts and Culture. Carrie lives in Maple City in the Bohemian Wood and loves to hike, travel, and read.

Meet Don Spezia

Don Spezia is a new contributor to Walloon Writers Review. His photography Natural Beauty can be found in our Ninth Edition.

Don’s work can be seen in other places, including art galleries. His photograph titled “Feather Brushed” was published in Decagon Gallery – Beyond the Mirror photo book in 2024. He has also had other honorable mention awards and purchase awards at various galleries. From his hometown in Traverse City, Don writes:

Photograph in the 9th Edition of Walloon Writers Review: “Natural Beauty” is a photograph taken at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore when a Porcupine presented itself for a photo shoot at sunset on May 13, 2023 at 8:15 pm.

My website for photography and music can be found at donspeziasologuitar.bandzoogle.com or donspezia-friznicmusic.com

Don has been interested in photography since acquiring his first 35mm camera. His photographs usually include nature, wildlife, architecture, moments, motion, and landscapes. His favorite photographs are outdoors, influenced by the elements of nature. Formerly an Architect, Don retired in 2017.

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NOTES FROM WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW…OCTOBER, 2025

It’s been an incredibly exciting several months – the release of our largest collection ever with more than sixty contributors, a total of 186 pages of creativity rushing like a waterfall in the UP! Finally, our Facebook page, with photos, events, information about relevant events in the region, is back up!

This summer, I had a treasured opportunity to meet face to face, explore and enjoy our host libraries and their communities, meet readers, hear first hand reading of selections we chose for you to enjoy along with the passion and joy that flows from these contributors.

Walloon Writers Review also had an opportunity to showcase our photography! A huge thanks to contributors like Tom Barrat and Kate Allore for meeting up in random parking lots to exchange precious framed editions for us to travel across Michigan with on our journey. We even got to include Eighth Edition contributors in our readings and displays.

On a fantastic experience of the Good Hart Residency’s Tunnel of Trees Art Trail event , we caught up with Mixed Media Contributor Elizabeth Fergus-Jean and Second Edition Cover Artist/Photographer Neil Ahrens in their galleries. Then, we headed up to Trillium Woods Coffee on M-119, where cover photographer Kate Allore had her stunning creative art work (including this cover!) on display AND bumped into Eighth Edition returning contributors photography artist Moon Seagren and poet Deda Kavanagh!

(Founder/Editor Jennifer Huder and Neil Ahrens at Ahren’s Studio – photo by Steven Huder)

ON THE SHELVES! Remember as the holidays approach that a copy of Walloon Writers Review makes a great gift, a thank you to a host, an introduction to the magical mystical places of our region, or a lasting souvenir of a great time spent together. Our independent booksellers across the state also offer shipping! We can also be found on goodreads.com (helps our indie booksellers) and barnesandnoble.com (convenient)! Visit “Where to Find Walloon Writers Review” tab for information.

Many thanks to Public Radio90 and Host Kurt Hauswirth at WNMU-Marquette for helping share about Walloon Writers Review AND to Interlochen Public Radio 90.1FM in Harbor Springs/Petoskey and Traverse City for letting their listeners know about Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition.

Great news from many! Please watch for an exciting email soon!

– All the best – Jennifer Huder

Falling Into Autumn

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Trillium Woods Coffee low building set in tall pine trees
Trillium Woods Coffee – M119 Tunnel of Trees

As one of our four favorite seasons in northern Michigan gets ready to explode in color, crisp air, an urge to get outside and hike, putter, paddle, cast, explore and breathe in the fresh air washes over us. Aside from the endless vistas along our highways and roads, northern Michigan makes room for imagination. A settling in begins.

This photo was a quick grab from our newest fabulous place to find Walloon Writers Review, Trillium Woods Coffee along the Tunnel of Trees between Harbor Springs and Good Hart. You’ll have to go inside, grab a fall beverage of your choice, and see for yourself. What an exciting addition to our trail of great places to stop in and pick up a copy of the latest edition!

Walloon Writers Review contributors are a very special group of people. This year, as well documented on this site, we were invited to offer readings across the state, in Saginaw, Walloon Lake, and Ishpeming, as well as hearing readings at our launch party in Petoskey. I had more time to visit face to face with contributors than ever before. I’m honored that you are a part of this publication and the circle of friends you included in this journey. Thank you to everyone who helped with set up, read with the passion and clarity that only you, the original author, can bring to a reading, and serve as ambassadors as we expand our reach to writers and readers around Michigan and beyond.

In this season of sunshine, cool mornings, pumpkins, wineries, ciders, delicious apples and food that just tastes so much better, enjoy the glow, get out, and explore someplace new. There are so many adventures to be had here. Fall is a favorite for many of us writers and readers, as the sweater or hoodie comes out and you settle into your walk, reflecting on all of the great memories of a smoky but satisfactory summer. Take note of all of the colors and sounds and smells around you as you explore.

Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition is available at several independent bookstores and many libraries across the state! If you are looking for that collection that brings the feel of northern Michigan home with you, pick up a copy as you explore northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Here are a few places to find us: Between The Covers – Harbor Springs; McLean & Eakin – Petoskey, Horizon Books – Traverse City, Snowbound Books – Marquette, The Bookman – Grand Haven, Parallel 45 Books and Gifts – Alpena, Canterbury Bookstore – Escanaba, Bay Books – Suttons Bay, Brilliant Books – Traverse City, Poetess & Stranger – Petoskey, Jordan River Art Center Gift Shop – East Jordan, and many more.

In the coming posts, we will introduce contributors so that you can learn more about who makes this collection of short stories, poetry, and nature photography so exciting!

*Footnote: Our Facebook and Instagram pages are down due to hacking. The process to reopen them is cumbersome. For now, we will be only using our email and website for social media.

National Independent Booksellers Day is Saturday

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Walloon Writers Review gives a big “Thank You!” to all of the independent booksellers we’ve met during the last ten years. Indepdent bookstores are not just awesome to visit, they actively support local authors and collections like ours of local and regional Michigan writers and photographers. We count our indie bookstores as friends, where we can always find something new and special.

On this site, under the “Where to Find Walloon Writers Review” tab, you’ll find a list of our favorite great independent booksellers here in Michigan who have been very supportive of our contributors and us!

Many have asked how can you support the work we do at Walloon Writers Review? Remind them its a pleasant collection sharing our collective passion for northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula, suitable for general audiences.

  • Stop in to one of these stores and pick up a copy of our newly released Ninth Edition!
  • Call one of them and place a special order to ship a copy to a friend or family member – especially if you’re in it. It’s not “shameless self-promotion”, it’s inviting them along on your journey!
  • Know a vacation property owner up this way looking for something unique to have available at their place? Suggest they include Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition for their guests. Leave it on the reading shelf, the magazine table, on the side table near the fireplace! Local writers and beautiful color photography and Mixed Media, local and regional content, suitable for a general audience – sold locally at indie bookstores!
  • Walloon Writers Review is sold in amazing bookstores throughout Michigan. It’s in your favorite vacation places – stop in and pick up a copy as a souvenir of your adventures in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula this summer!

Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition sells for $24.99 and is our largest collection ever. Thank you, independent bookstores for all of your support of local authors, local photographers, our publication and the community.

Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition is On The Shelves & News About Upcoming Reading Event at Hoyt Library in Saginaw!

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“Up North” means so much to so many people. Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition offers something for everyone to enjoy and features incredible contributors with an eye for creative expression and a touch of familiarity.

Thanks to the wonderful support of Michigan independent booksellers, you can find Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition on the shelves AND available for shipping! We are on the shelves at Between The Covers in Harbor Springs, McLean & Eakin in Petoskey, Horizon Books in Traverse City, The Bookman in Grand Haven, and more and available for order at Between The Covers, McLean & Eakin, and Snowbound Books- Marquette! Adding to your pile of TBR’s? Consider Bookshop.org, BarnesandNoble.com and of course, Amazon.

Big shout out to libraries in Michigan including Hoyt Library in Saginaw (see below for a Walloon Writers Review reading event!), Petoskey Public Library, Walloon Lake Library, Charlevoix Public Library, and Peter White Library in Marquette. These libraries will have Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition on the shelves in April! Check out a copy or stop in to enjoy reading a copy while you’re visiting these great libraries.

Save the date!

April 22 – Walloon Writers Review will be hosted by Hoyt Library in Saginaw from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm for contributor readings, a panel discussion, and refreshments! Copies will be available and can be signed at the event. Come out and experience Walloon Writers Review at this wonderful library!

Other Exciting Events for National Poetry Month

Bards of Northern Michigan at the Charlevoix Public Library will include readings by area poets, a special guest, and a few of our Walloon Writers Review contributors! Watch for more details!

Ninth Edition Updates!

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Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition is in the hands of our design team!

We are so excited to share this news! More steps are ahead before this edition will be available in bookstores, but the first completion step is done. Watch for updates, including sneak peaks at our Contributors list, our cover reveal, which organization benefits from a portion of our Submission fees from this edition, and how you can pre-order copies! In a few weeks, we will share our expected release date.

We are grateful to everyone who sent in submissions for consideration. Walloon Writers Review carefully reviews each submission multiple times before making our final selections. With such an incredible response to our Call For Submissions this year, the process to select as many outstanding pieces as we could possibly accept was tough. Thank you for sharing your work with us.

Thanks goes to Co-Editor Glen Young for all of his dedication and contribution to this publication and to each of you for your support. We are always grateful to all of the amazing independent booksellers in Northern Michigan, the UP, and downstate Michigan for making Walloon Writers Review available for their customers. So many of our readers, visitors, and part-time neighbors travel from all corners of this beautiful state to enjoy Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula and they are a perfect spot to make that connection. Your support of purchasing, gifting, and sharing copies of Walloon Writers Review goes a long way in making this possible. Thank you! – Jennifer Huder