Midwest Writers Room

BIO:

Sloan Sullivan is a Wisconsin author whose picture book The Blueberries of Life was inspired by real Sunday mornings with her granddaughter Brooklyn and Grandpa Tom and the joy of blueberry pancakes shared around the table. Through her “Blueberry Adventures” series, Sloan celebrates family, gratitude, and the simple traditions that make life sweet. She loves connecting with readers at schools, libraries, and community events ac...

BIO:

Julianne Lepp has a background in finance, game design, and massage therapy. She lives with rheumatoid arthritis and supports those living with chronic illness in many capacities. She has served as the parish minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, since 2010 and trained with Meadville Lombard Theological School to become a spiritual director.

SYNOPSIS:

Living with chronic illness has many ch...

BIO:

TK Sheffield, MA, writes stories to laugh and escape, including Nellie’s Island, a children’s horse story set in Mackinac Island available at Island Books. Sheffield’s funny cozy mysteries are The Devil Wears Prada meets a Wisconsin supper club, and they’ve earned an IBPA Humor medal, a Claymore, and an IPPY. She also has a new magical romance series releasing in DECEMBER, THE VALENTINE LINES. She’s on the Wisconsin Writers Ass...

BIO:

Steve is the winner of the Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, the Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction, The Great Midwest Writing Contest, the Jade Ring Award, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters Fiction Contest, and the Midwestern Gothic Summer Flash Contest. His fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, MQR, Whitefish Review, and others.

SYNOPSIS:

Award-winning writer Steve Fox returns with These Are My People, ...

BIO:

Pernille Ipsen was professor of gender and women’s studies and history at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for fifteen years and is now a full-time writer. The Danish-language version of this book, Et åbent øjeblik (An open moment), was published in 2020 and was awarded the Montana Prize for literature, one of Denmark’s top literary prizes. She divides her time between Madison and Copenhagen, Denmark.

SYNOPSIS:

On New Year’s E...

BIO:

Harvey Araton is a longtime sports journalist, a former New York Times columnist and author of 10 books, including Driving Mr. Yogi, a New York Times best-seller, and When The Garden Was Eden, the same title of an ESPN 30for30 documentary, which he co-produced. Araton was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017 for his work in media.

SYNOPSIS:

The Goal of the Game is a middle-grade readers novel that explores t...

BIO:

Sarah Jane Peters is a peace and love teacher in Green Bay, WI, licensed counselor, storyteller, musician, and mother of three. Through her practice, she helps families navigate the digital world with presence, emotional connection, and care. 

SYNOPSIS:

Written with busy caregivers in mind, it offers quick-access tools, age-specific strategies, and reflective prompts that deepen your understanding of how to meet your child’s emot...

BIO: 

Dennis McBride is Mayor of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a master’s degree in public administration from Princeton University, and a law degree from New York University. He practiced law for 35 years for Boston and Milwaukee law firms and the U.S. government.  A two-time marathon champion, he is a member of the UW-Milwaukee and Wauwatosa East High School Athletic...

BIO:

James is a New York City–born Puerto Rican writer now living just across the Mississippi in Winona, Minnesota. He was born with congenital cataracts and has never had sight in his left eye. At age nine, he lost much of his remaining sight in the right eye due to a racial assault. A decade later a medical breakthrough restored the sight to his right eye. Because of his experiences his memoir follows his entry into the early disa...

BIO:

Michael holds a BA in English Literature and an MA and PhD in Communication Science, all from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Michael purchased Orange Hat from founder Shannon Ishizaki in 2024. Before that, he worked in academic research and evaluation positions at the University of Illinois and the Medical College of Wisconsin. When not running Orange Hat, Michael is also an adjunct professor at the Milwaukee School of Eng...

BIO:

Nora is a syndicate author for Thrill Ride eZine and The Butchered Writers. She is an editor for Baynam Books Press and also is a freelance narrator and editor. For the Sake of Brigid, her first novelette, came out on May 24, 2024, from Baynam Books Press, and her first short story collection, Cemetery Tacos on Wednesday and Other Delights, will be published in November of 2025 from JournalStone. Her debut novel, Flesh-Eating T...

BIO:

Thomas Cannon was raised on a small dairy farm in Wisconsin. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. In 2021, he was named the inaugural Poet Laureate of Oshkosh. He has written an eclectic collection of books and has many poems and short stories published in journals. Thomas and his wife have raised three children and have three grandchildren.

SYNOPSIS:

A troubled life ha...

BIO:

Wade Walker is the author of the Code Name: LoneWolf action-horror spy series, blending classic pulp, supernatural suspense, and action thrills. His novels—Bite of the Wolf, Operation Frankenstein, and the newest release, the short story special Night of the Pumpkin Man—mix monsters, espionage, and dark humor in the spirit of Ian Fleming, Hammer Horror, and 1960s Eurospy cinema. He is also the author of the upcoming poetry coll...

BIO:

Maxine Rosaler is the author of the novel-in-stories Queen for a Day (Delphinium Books, 2018), which was nominated for the Kirkus Prize. The Jewish Book Council selected it as one of ten recommended fiction books in 2021. Her work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, Tikkun, The Southern Review, Glimmer Train, Witness, Fifth Wednesday, and other literary journals. Her stories have been cited in Best American Short Stories and Best...

BIO:

Steve is the winner of the Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, the Zona Gale Award for Short Fiction, The Great Midwest Writing Contest, the Jade Ring Award, the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters Fiction Contest, and the Midwestern Gothic Summer Flash Contest. His fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, MQR, Whitefish Review, and others.

His short-story collection, Sometimes Creek, was published by Cornerstone ...

BIO:

Scott Eveloff MD is a pulmonary physician with thirty years’ experience of treating seriously ill patients. He has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, ABC’s 20/20, and Inside Edition. His insider’s knowledge of the many ways to harm patients in today’s hospitals as there are to heal them prompted this debut novel.

Dr. Eveloff is an exercise fanatic, but loves evenings out on the deck with a good whiskey as well. He loves to travel but ...

BIO:

Silvia Acevedo writes stories for kids and adults who want magic and mystery in their world.

She stirred up monster hijinks in her latest title, MAIL-ORDER MONSTERS: CRASH COURSE. And she called up a Wisconsin ghost in the spooky anthology, THE HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA. Before that, she barely escaped the gods’ wrath in her mythological GOD AWFUL series.

Silvia’s worked in New York publishing, led the Wisconsin chapter of the So...

BIO:

Roy Behrens is an Iowa-based writer, designer and artist, who taught for 46 years at art schools and universities throughout the country. The author of eight books, he is known for his writings about about art, design and camouflage, and for his illustrations, including the cover of Jerzy Kosinski’s The Painted Bird, and the short stories of Guy Davenport and other well-known writers. He was art director of the North American R...

BIO:

 Andrew Patrie teaches English language, literature, and creative writing in West Central Wisconsin where he lives with his family. He has self-published two previous collections of poems: Nights, Grace (2006) and Half-Life (2016). His work has appeared most recently in Barstow and Grand, Sky Island Journal, Twig, and on Wisconsin Public Radio. He is a contributor to Volume One magazine and the underground Polish heavy metal ‘z...