Midwest Writers Room

Today, we are speaking with Phil Schomber and Jamie Swenson from the Hedberg Public Library. Located along the Rock River in Janesville, Wisconsin, the Library’s mission is to build community by providing inviting spaces to discover, share, create, and connect. Hedberg Public Library’s third Annual Book Fest is scheduled for Saturday, June 22. The day will feature a variety of free, craft-focused...

Today, we are speaking with Patrick O’Donnell . Patrick O’Donnell is a retired police sergeant with 25 years experience with the city of Milwaukee Police Department. During his police career he worked exclusively on the street in patrol, and he participated and supervised different special units (anti-gang unit, licensed premise unit, violent crime task force, and armed robbery unit). He is now th...

Today, we are speaking with Catherine Young. Catherine is author of the environmental memoir Black Diamonds: A Childhood Colored by Coal and the eco-poetry collection Geosmin (pronounce: Jee’ ohz-min), the Midwest Book Awards Silver Medal winner. Her writing is published in literary anthologies and journals nationally and internationally and her work was solicited for the University of Wisconsin P...

April is National Poetry Month and today we are interviewing former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Max Garland. Max Garland’s newest book of poems is Into the Good World Again (2023). Other books include The Word We Used for It , winner of the Brittingham Poetry Prize, The Postal Confessions , winner of the Juniper Prize, and Hunger Wide as Heaven , winner of the Cleveland State Poetry Prize. He has rece...

Nicholas is a Thai-American poet from Wisconsin. Educated at the University of Montana (BA), the Iowa Writer’s Workshop (MFA), and the University of Denver (PhD), his work has been published over thirty times in various print and on-line journals. The author of two book-length poems, “North of Order” and “Book of Lake” his work has also received numerous national awards. The recipient of the Grist...

Today, we are interviewing Sharon Woodhouse. Sharon was a traditional indie book publisher of presses she founded for over 25 years: Lake Claremont Press and Everything Goes Media. She currently owns Conspire Creative, a book business agency serving small publishers and aspiring and established, self-published and traditionally-published authors.  Conspire Creative provides author business and mil...

Today we are excited to host author Tracey Sheffield, writing under the name TK Sheffield. She writes mysteries and screenplays for readers and viewers who want to laugh and escape. She grew up in Madison, but as a horse-obsessed teen, she bolted to the country as fast as she could. She has degrees from UW-Madison and Mount Mary University, and in addition to writing comic cozy mysteries—whodunnit...

 We have an industry episode today, featuring Bailey Yeager, Senior Manager at IngramSpark.  Bailey started at Ingram in 2014 and quickly transitioned into sales, working with Independent Publishers. She educated and assisted mid-sized publishers on utilizing Ingram's services to maximize revenue. Bailey developed programs and services for Independent publishers and focused on improving commu...

We have a special episode today, featuring my brilliant co-host himself, novelist Ken Humphrey! Joining me as a guest host is Tracey Sheffield. Tracey writes mysteries set in Wisconsin, and she’s the author of the Backyard Model Series . Ken is the author of a middle grade trilogy The Hunts of Raimy Rylan along with an adult thriller trilogy The Killing Arc . He is also the author of Ghoul , a zom...

Today, we are chatting with prize-winning Wisconsin writer, documentary maker, and innovator in the arts, B.J. Hollars. B.J. is the author of several books, including the forthcoming Wisconsin for Kennedy: The Primary That Launched A President and Changed the Course of History (WI Historical Society Press, March 2024) and Year of Plenty: A Family’s Season of Grief (Univ. of Wisconsin Press, May 20...

Today we are interviewing legendary Wisconsin writer Lisa Lickel from Hillsborough, WI. A multi-published novelist, she also writes short stories, radio theater, articles and essays, is an avid book reviewer, editor, and book coach. She loves to encourage authors to put their best work forward. Lisa is the Assistant Director for Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat, Inc., She’s the curre...

Today we are interviewing Wisconsin writer and wanderer, Laurel Landis. Her first collection of short stories, Gunshots in Grudgeville was published in October 2023. Her work has appeared in Wisconsin People & Ideas , Lost in Thought, Rosebud (Mary Shelley contest), and Waverly Press , and is excerpted in Judy Bridges’ Shut Up and Write . She was a 2023 semifinalist in the Wisconsin Academy of...

We get a two-fer today! Kim writes under the pen name E.L. Winters. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband James. They spend their days surrounded by the inhabitants of their imaginations, which they have brought to life through story, pen and ink drawings, and clay. Kim’s debut novel, MythMatched , is the first in a magical realism series. This first volume crafts a world of Witchcraft,...

Today we are interviewing Wisconsin writer and artist Debra Raye King from Solon Springs, Wisconsin. Debbi’s memoir, Gravedigger’s Daughter: Growing Up Rural , is a collection of short stories and essays based on actual events in the 1950-1970s in northern west-central Wisconsin.  Debbi is a retired college dean and university administrator. She and her husband Tom raise registered Icelandic sheep...

Today, we are interviewing award-winning writer Kathleen Waldvogel, from Birchwood, Wisconsin. Kathleen is a former teacher who enjoys writing for children and is fascinated with early American history. After retirement, she merged these two interests and researched little-known women of the American Revolution. The result is her middle-grade book, Spies, Soldiers, Couriers, and Saboteurs: Women o...

Today we are interviewing award-winning writer, Pamela Fullerton, from Athens, Wisconsin. We’ll be reminded that no one rebels like a preacher’s kid rebels, and we’ll learn how Pamela’s story ideas stalk her while she’s walking dogs, riding horses, and sailing. Pamela’s poignant storytelling gives her readers a feast of the triumphs and heartaches, the tragedy and the humor, of rural Wisconsin lif...

Hear our interview with Christy Wopat, author extraordinaire and narrative delight! Christy is a teacher and writer who never wants anyone to feel alone. Her award-winning memoir, Almost a Mother: Love, Loss, and Finding Your People When Your Baby Dies , was published by Orange Hat Publishing in 2018, followed by Always Ours, an illustrated picture book about remembering our loved ones, and After...