Midwest Writers Room

BIO : Jamie is a Wisconsin author, speaker, and community advocate. Her work is mostly non-fiction, focusing on emotional strength and healing. In 2024, she published her memoir Putting Myself Back Together: From Broken to Healed After Abuse, chronicling her journey through domestic violence and turning her life around after. One of her works has been recognized with an Honorable Mention in the Hu...

BIO : After navigating the challenges of independently publishing his own speculative fiction, including The Change Paradox, Alexandria’s Genesis and Digital Landscape , Steven founded Sisyphus Triumphant Publishing to guide fellow writers through the production process. The company offers tailored, honest partnership for those seeking to transform their manuscripts into professionally finished bo...

BIO :  When Julie A. Jacob was a child, she decided she wanted to be a writer, and she’s been writing ever since. Her professional career has focused on health care communications, but through the years she has kept on writing creatively in her spare time. Her creative non-fiction essays have been published in Midwest Prairie Review , On Wisconsin , Open, Under the Sun , and several editions of th...

BIO : Rebecca writes science fiction and fantasy for overthinkers and romantics. She is a Hal Prize winner, member of the Wisconsin Writers Association, and full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.  Rebecca is the CEO of Conquer Books, a book coaching firm for science fiction and fantasy writers. She lives with her family on over an acre of river-adjacent land in her fav...

BIO : Alicia Boemi calls herself a ‘literary dabbler’, she is the author of the children's books, THE MAILBOAT DOG and THE SAFETY PATROL DOG. Alicia has a poetry chapbook called THE LAKE REMAINS coming out summer of 2026. She is also the owner of two businesses, a bookstore in Lake Geneva called Lakeside Books, and a social media storytelling agency called Izzy Works Media. LINKS : @alicia.bo...

BIO : Scott is an Army veteran, former middle school and high teacher, journal editor, and healthcare administrator. He and his wife, Colleen, have four children and two grandchildren. He holds master’s degrees in English and moral theology and an MBA. Scott is a member of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets and the Wisconsin Writers Association and is on the board of directors of the Sheboygan Symp...

BIO : Debra Hall is a Racine poet whose work explores the intersection of love, loss, and the sacred ordinary. She just published her debut chapbook, What the Current Cannot Swallow.  She serves as the current president of the Kenosha/Racine Poet Laureate program and she was Racine Poet Laureate from 2020-2022. Her poems have appeared in Bramble Literary Magazine, Wisconsin Poets Calendar(s), A Wr...

BIO: SYNOPSIS: Waves of Shrapnel: A Soldier’s Journey” is a dark, raunchy, and unfiltered memoir from Jason’s time in the Iraq War. It captures the reality of deployment—the absurdity, the fear, and the dark humor that keeps soldiers going. While it doesn’t hold back, at its core the book is about brotherhood, loss, and honoring the men we lost. It’s not a polished war story—it’s the one that actu...

BIO : Bruce Landay writes near future military political techno-thrillers. As a former US Air Force officer, he brings an authentic vibe to his military characters, their mission focus, and internal motivation to defend their core principles and their country. He consults with multiple military experts on his books to get the facts right. Landay also writes a weekly Substack column, Future Trends...

BIO : Katrina worked as a therapist, professor, and researcher in the field of occupational therapy for over two decades. She started poemwalking after a delightful midlife crisis and ended up hiking the entire 1,200 miles of Wisconsin’s Ice Age National Scenic Trail.  Katrina published a chapbook, First Steps (Brain Mill Press, 2025), that won the Brain Mill Press + Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets...

BIO : Brad H. Hill is the author of No One Is Normal: Breaking Free from Normal , a collection of raw and honest short stories exploring struggle, identity, and the pressure to live up to society’s idea of “normal.” Drawing from personal experience and real life observations, Brad writes about adversity, resilience, addiction, personal growth, and the complicated paths people take to find themselv...

BIO: Laurie spent 15 years as the books editor at the Minneapolis Star Tribune (now called the Minnesota Star Tribune) and is the author of News to Me: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, also published by the University of Minnesota Press and winner of a Minnesota Book Award. She reviews books for the Washington Post and the Boston Globe, and teaches in the MFA in Narrative Nonfiction program...

BIO : Tammy Borden is sought-after speaker and author of Waltraud: A True Story of Growing Up in Nazi Germany, a World War II novel based on her mother’s first-hand accounts as a German girl during one of the darkest chapters in history. As a professional copywriter turned novelist, she also worked in nonprofits for more than 20 years where she helped others tell their stories before pursuing her...

BIO : Geoff grew up in Southwestern Wisconsin playing both football and the cello. He is the author of nine Young Adult novels, a picture book, and a literary novel. He received the Cybils Award for best YA Fiction, the Minnesota Book Award, and the Burr/Worzalla Award from the Wisconsin Library Association.  Geoff’s books have been highlighted by the Junior Library Guild and listed among the year...

Bio:  Jackie Redmer is a family medicine physician who practices geriatrics and palliative care in the Driftless Region of Southwest Wisconsin. She is also the mother of three school-aged daughters.   She started writing poetry during the pandemic to steady herself during the brief pauses of a busy life.  Over the years this has taken on different forms.  Her writing has been published in the Exam...

BIO: Richard is an award-winning writer and longtime morning radio host. He received his Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to that he studied English Literature and Creative Writing at UW-Stevens Point, winning the English Department Award, the Letters and Science Award, and the Ellen Specht Memorial Award, all while graduating summa cum la...

BIO: Kara is an elementary school teacher by day and a literary agent for 3 Seas Literary Agency by mid-afternoon. She is passionate about championing high-interest, accessible stories that celebrate diverse identities and experiences. Having grown up immersed in the publishing world, Kara developed an early appreciation for the journey from manuscript to bookshelf. She is drawn to heartfelt, auth...

BIO : Sarah, who writes under the pen name, Serra Wildheart, is a multi-genre indie author, speaker, and coach. The Legends of Star Junction series invites readers on an entertaining and insightful journey with captivating characters and mystical allies. She is the managing co-founder of Scribe Hive Publishing, which is a cooperative of indie authors.  LINKS : www.serrawildheart.com https://www.sc...

BIO : Angie is a former pediatrician, mother, and a Wisconsinite from birth. Her interests run the gamut from genealogy to the obsessive collecting of perennials, from pilates to creative napping. Voices is her second book, the first was a work of nonfiction genealogical mystery titled The Accidental Archivist. She is a member of AllWriters Workplace & Workshop and a member of the Door County...

BIO : Mike Barden wrote From Reactive to Resilient because he lived it. After his 25-year marriage ended, his career in ministry dissolved, and his belief system shifted, he found himself wondering, "Who am I now?" The book emerged from his journey through identity crisis—discovering that beneath all the roles and labels, something steady remained - the core self. Mike currently works in...

BIO : Matt Cashion’s fourth book, HOW WE DO THINGS HERE (a finalist in the Flannery O’Connor Award for short fiction) is forthcoming February 17 (Cornerstone Press). His story collection, LAST WORDS OF THE HOLY GHOST won the 2015 Katherine Anne Porter Prize, and his novel, OUR 13th DIVORCE, won the Edna Ferber Prize. Other work appears in The Sun, Cincinnati Review, Willow Springs, Carolina Quarte...

BIO: Michael Carr has a background in editing and writing, and represents writers in a variety of genres, with a special emphasis on historical fiction, mystery and suspense, and science fiction and fantasy. Michael works carefully with clients to produce the cleanest, most professional manuscripts and enjoys teaching at workshops and conferences to help develop emerging writers. He speaks Brazili...

BIO : Ken Humphrey is the author of nine novels in the genres of middle grade, teen reader and adult thriller. His most recent release, The Breakfast Jury, spawned from a Kenosha, WI, murder trial. He served as jury foreman for a man accused of murdering his wife with antifreeze. The result of this experience was a murder mystery that's part Breakfast Club and part John Grisham thriller. Ken...

BIO: Erin has spent the last 29 years in middle school. Yes, by choice. She is a cross categorical teacher specializing in reading, writing, math & social thinking, and an experienced mother of two daughters. She has a master’s degree and is twice National Board certified. Writing has been a lifelong project.   Between the Lines (book one of a three-book series) and Seeing Eye to Eye (book two...

BIO : Today we are interviewing Maggie Ginsberg. Maggie Ginsberg is the author of the novel Still True , published by the University of Wisconsin Press and winner of the Wisconsin Library Association’s 2023 Literary Award for Fiction . Still True was the honorable mention selection for the 2022 Edna Ferber Fiction Book Award , and is the 2026 inaugural pick for the new Wisconsin Libraries’ statewi...