#michiganphotography

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

THANK YOU TO WALLOON LAKE LIBRARY FOR A WONDERFUL EVENT!

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We are honored that Walloon Writers Review is invited to share readings by our contributors at beautiful Walloon Lake Library! Contributors reading at this event include: Kate Allore, Monique Bova, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, Mary Anna Kruch, John Lennon, Kristen Bartley Lenz, Ellen Lord, Skip Renker, DJ and Ralph Savarese, Kirk Small. We are excited to include nature photography by Tom Barrat and Kate Allore at this event!

WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW WILL BE AT ISHPEMING CARNEGIE LIBRARY IN ISHPEMING ON AUGUST 7TH! More to come!

Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition!

WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW EXCITING NEWS…

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WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW NINTH EDITION TO BE RELEASED THIS MONTH!

© Kate Allore O’Neal Lake Speaking To Herself, 2024

Our Contributors Make Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition Exceptional!

We are so honored to share our List of Contributors to Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition!

Storm Ainsely – Winters, California

Kate Allore – Boyne Falls, Michigan

Margaret Anderson – Vancouver, BC Canada

Julie Angeli – Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Pamela Atsoff  – Birmingham, Michigan

Michele Austin – Daytona Beach, Florida

Raegan Badik – Mackinac Island, Michigan

Tom Barrat – Petoskey, Michigan

Elizabeth J. Bates  –  Marquette, Michigan

Milton J. Bates – Marquette, Michigan

Curt A. Benson – Grand Rapids, Michigan

Susan Boback – Ishpeming, Michigan

Jim Bolone – Toledo, Ohio

Monique Bova – Wolverine, Michigan

Carrie Cantalupo – Maple City, Michigan

Nancy Carey – East Jordan, Michigan

Tamar Charney – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Thomas Ford Conlan – Charlevoix, Michigan

Brenna Dean – Saginaw, Michigan

April DeOliveira – Battle Creek, Michigan

Sarah DiViasmeņi – Petoskey, Michigan

Patty Durell – Cheboygan, Michigan

Elizabeth Fergus-Jean – Harbor Springs, Michigan

Katherine Foote – Mt Pleasant, Michigan

Lisa Fosmo – Escanaba, Michigan

Chris Gerst – San Pedro, California

CJ Giroux – Saginaw, Michigan

Sheri Greene – Grand Haven, Michigan

J. L. Hagen – Fennville, Michigan

Nancy Hayes – Lake Leelanau, Michigan

Caroline Helmstadt – Saginaw, Michigan

Betsy Hayhow Hemming – Whitehall, Michigan

Deborah Hochberg – Oak Park, Michigan

Steve Hooper – Negaunee, Michigan

Becky Jensen – Bath, Michigan

Hank Kaufmann – Saginaw, Michigan

Taylor Keiser – Pellston, Michigan

Bridget Klaasen – Suttons Bay, Michigan

Mary Anna Scenga Kruch – Williamston, Michigan

Candace Lee – Traverse City, Michigan

John Lennon – Petoskey, Michigan

Kristin Bartley Lenz – Petoskey, Michigan

Jeanne Blum Lesinski – Saginaw, Michigan

Cassie Lindholm – Petoskey, Michigan

Ellen Lord – Charlevoix, Michigan

Max Old Bear – Traverse City, Michigan

Amy Pendell – Okemos, Michigan

George Perreault – Reno, Nevada

Doug Pfaff – Charlevoix, Michigan

Anne M. Rashid – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Karen Reasoner – Farmington Hills, Michigan

F.W. “Skip” Renker – Petoskey, Michigan

Jennifer Uehlein Reynolds – Charlevoix, Michigan

Katherine Roth – Traverse City, Michigan

David James “DJ” Savarese – Iowa City, Iowa

Ralph James Savarese – Iowa City, Iowa

Gary Schils – Harbor Springs, Michigan

Scot Siegel – Wilsonville, Oregon

Michael Sipkoski – Williamsburg, Michigan

Kirk Small – Bellaire, Michigan

Don Spezia – Traverse City, Michigan

K. Matthew Springfield – Clawson, Michigan

Ellen Schettling Whitehead – Mancelona, Michigan

This edition is edited by Jennifer Huder and Glen Young.

Stop by our page soon for our release date!

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

Call For Submissions for Walloon Writers Review Ninth Edition July 15 – August 30, 2024

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Through the first decade since its founding in 2014, Walloon Writers Review has provided a safe harbor where writers and photographers celebrate the sights and sounds of Northern Michigan. Through fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and photography, contributors continue to highlight the river bends and hilltops, as well as all the places in between, that mark this region as eternal.

As Walloon Writers Review embarks on our second decade, we seek both to build on this strong foundation, while also reimagining how the landscape of Northern Michigan continues to inspire and to influence writers and photographers. – Glen Young, Walloon Writers Review

General Guidelines

Walloon Writers Review is intended for a general audience, to be shared at the cottage, at camp, on the deck, or cabin bookshelf for all to enjoy. Our regional focus is on Northern Michigan, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (and the islands in between).

Submissions are accepted through Submittable.com during the above dates. Please visit our Submittable page for guidelines specific to this edition.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer feedback on submissions. In effort to include as many contributors as possible, only two submissions per person will be accepted for this edition.

Walloon Writers Review charges a reading fee of $6.00 per submission. Funds collected are used to offsets costs of producing this annual print publication and we also make an annual small donation to a regional non-profit organization working to protect the natural beauty of the region.

We include original poetry, short stories, and other creative writing (max: 4,000 words) and nature photography. Nature photography should not include people.

We hope you will share your Northern Michigan and Upper Peninsula inspired original work! Thank you for your support.

Please visit our Submittable page at https://walloonwritersreview.submittable.com/submit to learn more about specific guidelines and to submit your original creative writing and or nature photography for our upcoming edition!
Volume 1 First Edition

INTRODUCING WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW EIGHTH EDITION!

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EXCITING NEWS! Walloon Writers Review Eighth Edition is officially released! Congratulations to all of our 59 ( yes, 59!) awesome Contributors! Be sure to scroll down to see who’s included in this impressive 196-page edition! Be sure to read the opening note by Associate Editor Glen Young when you get your copy. It sets the stage for the delightful collection you are about to experience.

We are still independent and that means upon our official Release, we are reaching out to booksellers and libraries across Michigan to let them know this exciting collection of northern Michigan and Upper Peninsula inspired short stories, poetry and nature photography is ready to order for their stores! Keep an eye out at your favorite bookseller! There’s something for everyone in this exploration of our incredible region.

Look at our tab: Where to Find Walloon Writers Review for updated places, like CANTERBURY BOOK STORE in Escanaba! JORDAN RIVER ARTS CENTER in East Jordan! And, since we goofed their name (cue eyeroll) and are blaming our cat, ADAMS MADAMS in Central Lake!

THE MARKETING COVER: Not shown, ISBN barcode!

Questions? Please email us at editor@walloonwriters.com

Booksellers and Gift Shops – please know that we are available on Ingram right now! Our ISBN bar code is printed right on the back. Email editor@walloonwriters.com for a Sell Sheet with pertinent details!!

Inside Walloon Writers Review Seventh Edition: A Celebration of northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula

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Autumn Palette by Jennifer Uehlein Reynolds Copyright 2021

Inside Walloon Writers Review Seventh Edition, you’ll find a celebration of the amazing experiences only found in this part of the world. Our collection shares the seasons, the adventures, the interactions with nature and with others in a special region from just above the middle of the lower peninsula to the outreaches of the Upper Peninsula.

One of the outstanding photography submissions this edition is by photographer Jennifer Uehlein Reynolds. We are honored to include with amazing photograph that has already been recognized by an area art gallery for its beauty. You’ll find more of Jennifer’s photography interspersed with outstanding short stories, poetry and musings in writing and in even more nature photography.

Walloon Writers Review On The Air at WNMU-FM90 Northern Arts & Culture with Hans Ahlström

https://www.wnmufm.org/northern-arts-culture/2022-08-24/northern-arts-culture-interview-with-poet-and-author-milt-bates

This fall, WNMU-FM 90 included a reading and interview with Milton Bates, one of our returning poetry contributors. His readings are from his poetry included in this edition of Walloon Writers Review. We would like to thank Hans Ahlström, host of Northern Arts & Culture, as well as several other programs on the Marquette-based public radio station for sharing a little bit about the contributors who make Walloon Writers Review special!

WALLOON WRITERS REVIEW edition 6 now available!

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We did something special this year. We are so excited to offer a digital edition of Walloon Writers Review to share with readers at no charge this year!

Walloon Writers Review edition 6 features outstanding poetry, short stories and nature photography inspired by Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. We are honored that GLEN YOUNG served as editor for this edition. Titled “edition 6” which references our first e-edition, the collection serves to share an enjoyable experience.

We are excited to once again include the winning selections from the 18th Annual Crooked Tree Arts Center Juried Young Writers Exposition.

Please follow this link and enjoy this wonderful collection – may you find peace and joy in the holiday season, the beautiful setting of Northern Michigan and the UP, and a joyous New Year.

https://issuu.com/walloonwritersreview/docs/wwr_edition6