Michigan Writers News & Events

End-of-Summer Selfcare, August 2026

SPECIAL NOTE of APPRECIATION

Daniel Stewart has served on the Michigan Writers board since 2012, the longest-standing continuous board member in the history of the organization. He served as president from 2014 until Susan Odgers took the helm, and as secretary since 2019. He developed the first website for the organization and has been co-editor and technical manager of the MW Newsletter since 2022. He has seen the organization through our continuous efforts to grow and change, and has been tech expert for many of those invisible and essential apparatus that have kept our e-accounts, zoom accounts, and social media maintained. Dan is a lover of ideas and can be counted on to seek and try new practices to build writing community. He guided the MW Open Window write-ins during the pandemic. He was co-editor behind the collaborative project, “Transformational: Northern Michigan Arts & Culture,” a project that showcased many MW members from throughout the state. He spearheaded the Listening Party, based on the IPR recordings of participants in that project. His enduring interest in cultivating the practice of writing led him to host various gatherings, including the “Shut Up and Write” write-ins. He has written many of the opening essays for the newsletter, always exploring aspects of history and reading—and has garnered a fan base among MW members who are literary history buffs. Most of all, he has been a stalwart friend to all of us. We are grateful for all of these deeply committed and important contributions. We will miss his insights and wish him the very best of luck in all his literary endeavors.

Michigan Writers Event Calendar

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“Copy the Constitution” Continues!

This important community gesture in honor of the U.S.’s 250th birthday carries on through the year. The next “Copy the Constitution” event, September 14, Elberta Heritage Center. If you know an organization that would like to participate in learning the curriculum/protocol that Michigan Writers has developed, please contact Anne-Marie at ooomenam@gmail.com.

“Talk Back to the Constitution” Poetry Contest has winners!

Thanks to judge Phillip Sterling! Thanks to all members who submitted. And here are the winners who will be published in the fall issue of Dunes Review.

First Place: “Dove,” Jani Mordenski
Second Place: “Making Amends,” James Maskell
Third Place (tie):
“Silenced America,” Susan Felder
“This House,” Lisa Madden

Congratulations to these writers.

Member-Provided Services

We’ve created this section to connect members who offer services to the literary community. If you offer services as part of your professional work as a writer, let us know.

Miranda Keskes is a fiction book coach for writers balancing classrooms, kids, and careers. Through group and 1:1 coaching, she provides the tools, accountability, and mindset you need to transform your vision into a finished novel. Her services include guidance on planning, drafting, revising, and pitching. Learn more and book a discovery call on her website at keskesink.com.

Julia Mariouw runs Wellspring Writing Workshops, which offers online and in-person writing workshops that tap into metaphor, the body & the senses, and the power of nature to inspire and increase creativity.

Lisa Rabey is Nerd Girl Industries, a Michigan based small business that empowers people to manage their online presence via consultation, tools, workshops, and personalized instruction. As a writer, Lisa understands the challenges and demands of juggling her writing and keeping up with her audience. Mention this ad and get 20% off your first bill! (The discount applies only to new clients and cannot be combined with other offers.)

Are you in need of an energetic, encouraging partner on your writing journey? Natalie Tomlin is committed to helping writers hone their voices and promote their work. She offers coaching, developmental editing, copyediting, and self-publishing services. Reach out for a free chat.

Nancy Squires, copy editing/proofreading services
Nancy Squires has over fifteen years of experience freelance copy editing and proofreading both fiction and non-fiction manuscripts. If your book, chapbook, article or other work needs a little “cleaning and polishing” contact her at nannsquires@yahoo.com. (Note: you can view her profile on LinkedIn.)

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Member Substacks

Many writers are forming communities through Substack. We invite all members to share their Substacks by writing to us at newsletter@michwriters.org.

Rhonda Sider Edgington: Some Words About All Kinds of Music: assorted musings on music-making, live concert going, music -related travels and musicians I know and love.
Jamie Greenberg: Conversations with the universe. Thoughts on play, process, spirit, and the dialogue between creation and inspiration. Featuring original creative writing–– with words (flash fiction, poetry) and light (photography: self-portraiture, storytelling, experimental).
Ann Hosler: Ann Hosler Author. New subscribers to her free Substack receive a link to download her October 2025 Halloween sci-fi short story for free!
Nancy Houser-Bluhm: Minderings: a place for the wanderings of your mind.
Miranda Keskes: The Teachers’ Lounge. Writing advice with an educational slant.
Jennifer Patino: A Star Chaser’s Journey. Poetry and personal essays.
Dirk Ruff: Substack: Headwaters A weekly post of essays, short stories, poems, and general thoughts on the Upper Midwest, Northern Michigan, and what it means to call these places home.
Mary Ann Samyn: Cake & Poetry.
Jen Sperry Steinorth: O is for Octopus Insights, hacks & rah rah from a teaching poet-scholar-artist– erstwhile dancer, erstwhile architect– navigating inner & outer worlds w/disability & wonder
Ellen Stone: Ellen’s Substack.
Donna M. Zolkowski: donnazolkowski.substack.com “My stories revolve around a slightly unfiltered Saginaw household featuring me, my husband Jerry, my very honest father, and five pets who believe they are in charge.”
Helen Raica-Klotz reviews current books every month at https://substack.com/@hellyrk

Submission Opportunities

Submissions are now open for the inaugural issue of the Faith in Detroit Journal, a collaboration between the Oakland University Center for Public Humanities and the Faith in Detroit storytelling initiative. Our Fall 2026 online issue is organized around the theme of Renewal — and we’re looking for flash nonfiction (true personal essays of 750 words or fewer) that bear witness to the faith of and faith in Metro Detroit: its history, its present, and its future as both a place and an idea.
These are stories of personal growth and development. Stories of hope restored when hope seemed lost. Of second chances given and received. Of a faith in yourself — or someone else’s faith in you — that pushed you not to give up. Of losing faith in something, and finding it restored.

New and established writers are equally welcome. We pay $180 for each of the 12 accepted pieces. Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2026. The Journal’s mission is to use the power of storytelling to inspire deeper reflection and foster meaningful connections across diverse backgrounds, faiths, and traditions. Detroit — its resilience, its complexity, its stubborn belief in itself — is the right home for these stories. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Bluesky. Click here for submission details and instructions. Send questions to faithindetroit@oakland.edu

OPPORTUNITIES AT LARGE

UPPAA NEWS!!!

Grab a cup of your favorite cold beverage and find a comfy chair. It’s time to catch up on all of the UPPAA news. Here are a few highlights of the Summer 2026 issue of The Written Word