“Caller reports there is a bear in their house. Caller is outside in the car.” Unguarded literary moments from police reports in Northern Wisconsin, this NEWLY-PUBLISHED book is easy reading, small and portable. Open to any page and read a police report "zinger" or read to friends for a good... Continue reading

Book Debut: StageNorth, Washburn, WI, May 14, 7-9 p.m. Word on the street is that Northern Wisconsin had more snow in April than since the dawn of time. I believe it. When it was time to deliver the first copy of Anne's book, for her approval, she and I were... Continue reading

"Penokees Read" LIVE at StageNorth! March 14th, 2013 ~ Thursday, 7:30 Join us at StageNorth, March 14 for a night of writers reading their stories and poems about the Penokee Hills. Starting at 7:30 p.m., the reading will be broadcast live on WPR stations 90.9 WUWS in Ashland and 91.3... Continue reading

What is YOUR Penokee Hills story? Is it about courage, despair, love of the land, fear, joy, worry, children, animals, fishing, finances, gratitude, exploring? Is it about a turtle, an eagle, a cold river? A warm day? Stories of "place" sometimes occur far from the place, sometimes only in imagination,... Continue reading

LIVE! at StageNorth
: March 14th, 2013 ~ Thursday, 7:30 Submissions are being accepted now through March 4, 2013 Over the past two years, the possibility of iron ore mining in the Penokee Range (Northern Wisconsin) has spotlighted these hills and inspired many expressions of concern around issues of the watershed,... Continue reading

Writers Read 2013 has come and come and it was a smashing success. There were TOO many authors to review, so let me just quote from a personal (nonfiction) favorite by Elizabeth Madsen-Genszler called "Scattering The Elements." Elizabeth's reading on Friday night "brought down the house." The author writes about... Continue reading

Gwen's book has arrived and is available on Amazon! Gwendolynn Smith Patterson lives on Madeline Island in a 86 square foot home in the woods where she practices simplicity, humility and gratitude. "In 2001 I was in a car accident, which left me with a head injury that affected my... Continue reading

When I write poetry, it's pretty hard to keep the word "tree" from showing up. Recently, when revising an earlier poem, I found that I had unwittingly created two poems, now conjoined and dissimilar, requiring a difficult surgery that I had no energy for. So, I put it aside for... Continue reading

It's good to pat yourself on the back now and then isn't it? I've been working hard on layout and formatting for our WritersRead book. VERY soon, I'll receive the juried selections for 2013 and will add these to the book in order to have it published by the event... Continue reading

With generous co-sponsorship from Apostle Islands Booksellers and Julie Buckles, Little Big Bay will be publishing "WritersRead 2012 & 2013." It will contain poems and stories which survive juried selection for the annual reading event at Stagenorth in Washburn, Wisconsin. This year, writers will interpret the theme: "In the Elements."... Continue reading

This entertaining description of a revolutionary reading device was sent to me by Apostle Island Booksellers in Bayfield, Wisconsin. http://www.apostleislandsbooksellers.com/ Apostle Island Booksellers is the kind of cozy, bright, welcoming bookstore that everyone wishes for their community. "In our ongoing effort to raise the literary and technological awareness of the... Continue reading

This morning, an email from the Academy of American Poets arrived and a phrase from poet Mark Doty, commenting on seasonal rhythms, made me smile. "…I still found myself unable to resist buying a new book bag, and a new pair of shoes." Do the cool nights and plants turning... Continue reading

When I was a kid, I recall listening to the car radio on a long trip and it seemed that there were many terrible accidents where the ”body was recovered” after a grueling search. Puzzled, I finally asked my parents, “Why didn’t they find the legs and arms and head... Continue reading

I am usually caught by surprise when a word changes status and becomes a DIRTY WORD. These shifts occur spontaneously – even before social media existed to accomplish rapid, group think. One day, you're having coffee with friends and say, for example, "actress" and it becomes clear to you that... Continue reading

Like the rest of the nation, we have had hot weather for the past few days in Northern Wisconsin – excepting a belt of lower temperatures that ring the shores of Lake Superior. But we got a break yesterday. Cool air finally arrived and some rain fell last night –... Continue reading

My author, Laurie Otis, and I are anxiously awaiting delivery of the proof of her new book: The Cloud Factory. UPS tracking has it moving this way from Ironwood, Michigan, due to arrive by the end of the day. At this stage of book creation, we have only one anxious... Continue reading

February 11, 2012 Last night, I watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" at Stagenorth in Washburn, Wisconsin. Beyond my admiration for the actors, staging, sound and lighting, I had a personal reaction, something shared I am sure, in various ways, by the rest of the audience. I sensed that we... Continue reading

Today I received a box of Beautiful Journals, the companion to Create the Life You Crave, written by Leslie Hamp. It was a joy to publish both of these books, now available on amazon.com (click here). Leslie has not only created a set of books that will help you achieve... Continue reading

For years I've been helping entrepreneurs, creatives, small businesses and authors weave compelling, inspirational visuals and stories to promote their endeavors. I've been inspired by every single one of them. That's why I'm launching a blog... to share stories of women and men making a difference. Enjoy! Roslyn Nelson, Publisher... Continue reading