MARQUETTE, MI —On Friday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Peter White Public Library, in association with the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association, will host a U.P. Book Market—the event will be like a farmer’s market, but devoted to the display and selling of books by local authors.
The event is the brainchild of Gretchen Preston, Vice President of the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association, and author of the Valley Cats children’s book series. “We are always looking for ways to get the public more interested in reading and local authors, and we also appreciate the support the Peter White Public Library constantly provides to authors, so we thought we’d have an event at the library and raise some money for it. Every author who participates will be making a donation to the library.”
Heather Steltenpohl, Development Director and fellow coordinator of the U.P. Book Market, added, “This event is a such a great showcase of literary talent in the Upper Peninsula. PWPL is fortunate to have the support of organizations like the UPPAA. Funds raised at this event will benefit the PWPL’s Annual Fund which helps provide materials and programming.”
The list of authors attending will encompasses the entire U.P. literary scene and beyond. They are: Aimée Bisonette, author of North Woods Girl (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Corey LaBissoniere, author of Land of Enchantas (Houghton), Sharon Brunner, author of Shadow Travelers (Sault Sainte Marie), Larry Buege, author of the Chogan Native American Series (Harvey), Mikel Classen, author of Teddy Roosevelt and the Marquette Libel Trial (Sault Sainte Marie), Deborah Frontiera, author of Living on Sisu (Lake Linden), R.E. Kelly, author of The World According to Luke series (Escanaba), Sharon Kennedy, author of Life in a Tin Can (Brimley); Jesse Koenig, author of Brief Perversions (Baraga), L.E. Kimball, author of Seasonal Roads (Newberry), Tim LaJoice, author of Little Whittle: Tale of a White Beaver (St. Ignace), Tamara Lauder, author of Breaking Free Too: Taking a Flight With a Butterfly Toward Self-Discovery (St. Germain, WI), Sonny Longtine, author of Magnficent Mansions and Courtly Cottages (Marquette), Martyn Martello, author of Serial Killer Confessions: Just Friends (Marquette), Paulette Noble, author of the A Virtual Reality series (Escanaba), Rondi Olson, author of All Things Now Living (Munising), Gretchen Preston, author of the Valley Cats series (Chocolay Township), Janeen Pergin Rastall, author of Objects May Appear Closer (Gordon), Richard Smith, author of hunting and wildlife books (Marquette), Tyler Tichelaar, author of The Marquette Trilogy (Marquette), and Lloyd Wescoat, owner of Mudminnow Press (Copper Harbor).
In addition to authors selling their books, several children’s authors will participate in activities for younger readers. “Summer is a fabulous time to encourage children to read,” said Preston, “and, hopefully, this event will get them excited about reading just as the school year is ending.”
The festive event will include additional attractions. Before you can relax with a good book, you may need help relaxing, so Nancy Ring, a massage therapist, will be on site to provide massages. Superior Mobile Koney will be providing mouth-watering delights to book market visitors. Live music will be performed throughout the day, and face-painting will be available for all the young at heart. The musical schedule is: 12:00-1:00pm – Corinne Rockow (musician and storyteller), 1:30-2:30pm – Kerry Yost and Dylan Trost (experimental instrumentals and eccentric, folksy songwriting), and 3:00-4:00pm – Tanya Stanaway (Finnish music).
The event is being held in conjunction with the 19th annual U.P. Publishers and Authors Association Conference, which will take place the following day on Saturday, June 18 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Community Room and Shiras Room of the Peter White Public Library. This year’s conference will host several speakers on writing, publishing, and book marketing, including keynote speaker Judith Briles of Aurora, CO, who is nationally known as The Book Shepherd. Those interested in attending the conference can find more information and register at www.uppaa.org
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