UPPAA Spring 2025 Conference Schedule

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2025 UPPAA Annual Conference, Peter White Public Library, 117 N. Front Street, Marquette, MI

Looking for the workshop for kids? See the  Young Writers Storytelling Workshop.

Please click here to register for the 2025 Annual Conference (Friday & Saturday)

UPPAA A blue house with a lawn chair in front of it. Friday, May 16th 2025 – Pre-Conference Networking & Social Mixer

We will gather from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at The Crib,  a cozy and comfortable coffeehouse with lots of seating located at 401 N. 3rd St. just steps from the Peter White Library. Light appetizers will be served, and a cash bar will be available.  There will be a $12 cover charge when you purchase the Friday Night Event when you register for Spring Conference, or $15 at the door.  Please help us plan the event effectively by registering in advance if you can.  Members may bring up to 2 additional guests (separate cover charge for each).

The cash bar includes: a wide variety of coffee, tea, and other non-alcoholic drinks as well as white wine and a variety of local and imported beers and ciders. 

UPPAA Neon sign advertising "open mic night" featuring a microphone, against a brick wall background. An Open Mic night will be on the 2nd floor from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  Open mics allow poets and storytellers — both seasoned and emerging — to share their work in a safe and welcoming space. Writers may bring something they’ve already published or something they are still working on. We’ll provide a place to stand, a lapel mic and a friendly audience for our members’ best Yooper creativity.  You can sign up for a speaking slot at the door.

Saturday, May 17th, 2025 – Spring Conference Day Schedule

This year, we’re providing both a Marketing track and a Writing track for attendees.  You can choose sessions from either track when you register to attend the conference.  Even though attendance is free for UPPAA members in good standing, we need to know your session choices in advance to right-size the rooms for each presenter.

  • 9:00 – 9:30 – Registration:  complimentary coffee, baked goods, fruit
  • 9:30 – 9:45 – Opening remarks, Victor R. Volkman, UPPAA President
  • 9:45 – 10:45 – Keynote, Michael Carrier, author of the Jack Handler Series, thriller/mysteries
  • 10:45 – 11:00 – Morning Break 
  • 11:00 – 12:00 – Morning Session
    Sharon Brunner –”Addressing the Needs of Native Americans in Literature”
    Tyler Tichelaar – “Self-Publishing 101: Why You Should Self-Publish and How to Do It” 
  • 12:00 – 1:15 – Lunch/Networking Hour
  • 1:15 – 1:45 – UPPAA Town Hall moderated by Victor 
  • 1:45 – 2:45  Afternoon Session #1 
    – Sylvia Hubbard – “21st Century Goals for Success for Writers”
    – Rod Sadler     – “How to Research Your True Crime Nonfiction”
  • 2:45 – 3:00  Afternoon Break
  • 3:00 – 4:00 Afternoon Session #2 
    M. Kelly Peach – “Successfully Submit Your Poetry for Journals and Publications”
    Sue Harrison – “Creating Compelling Characters”
  • 4:00 – 4:15 Door Prize Giveaways/Concluding Remarks by the president
  • 5:00 –   Afterglow at the Crow’s Nest an informal gathering to take place
    (top floor of the Landmark Inn, directly across the street)

Please click here to register for the 2025 Annual Conference (Friday & Saturday)

Session Descriptions

Keynote Speaker – Michael Carrier

UPPAA A man with a gray beard and mustache wearing a black cowboy hat and leather jacket looks to the side. The background is blurred, suggesting an outdoor setting.MICHAEL CARRIER, is the most prolific writer of U.P.-based thrillers. His work has been compared to that of Michael Connelly, James Patterson, and David Baldacci. These novels feature the hard-boiled Jack Handler, a retired Chicago detective, who keeps finding himself in suspenseful situations. These novels include Murder on Sugar Island, Superior Peril, Superior Intrigue, and Sault. Michael has at different times in his life driven trucks throughout the US, hustled pool and gambled poker from Texas to Montana, traveled the country hitchhiking, delivered diamonds in New York’s diamond district (disguised as a down-and-outer), tended bar at a New York nightclub, climbed dozens of water towers throughout the US, panned for gold, skydived, and worked for over two decades in private security. Michael holds a Master of Arts degree from NYU, and has done an additional two years of postgraduate work at the Dropsie College of Hebrew and Cognate Learning in Philadelphia.

Morning / Post-Keynote Speakers

“Addressing the Needs of Native Americans in Literature”

UPPAA A person with long, light-colored hair is smiling at the camera. They are wearing a light-colored, patterned shirt with a necklace. The background is blurred but features abstract shapes and patterns.SHARON BRUNNER is an author who has published five books associated with the history of Native Americans. Her employment consisted of working for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians as an Education/Disabilities Coordinator for the tribal Head Start Program and as an Education Coordinator for the Johnson O’Malley Program. Sharon served as a private consultant for the Department of Health and Human Services as a federal reviewer of tribal Head Start Programs in the U.S. and was a professor for the Bay Mills Community College, a tribal college.  As a member of the aforementioned tribe, she served on the Child Welfare Committee for many years. Sharon has spent a good portion of my life either providing service or writing about Native Americans.

The title of my presentation is “Addressing the Needs of Native Americans in Literature.” It is my belief and the belief of others that Native Americans cannot be written about unless the writer knows about their history. To begin with myths need to be debunked. What did they go through and what was the impact of what they have gone through? The topics that will be discussed will be: Indian boarding schools, reservations and treaties. Some Native American artifacts will be on display.

“Self-Publishing 101: Why You Should Self-Publish and How to Do It”

TYLER TICHELAAR is an author and editor. He has a PhD in Literature from Western Michigan University and Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in English from Northern Michigan University. He is the author of twenty-three books, including historical fiction, fantasy, history, and literary criticism. He began Superior Book Productions in 2008 to help other authors get their books edited and published. He is a former president and vice president of UPPAA. You can learn more about his work at http://www.superiorbookproductions.com/

“Self-Publishing 101” will walk authors through the process of self-publishing a book from writing and self-editing to publication. Attendees will learn the basics of:

  • The Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
  • Best writing practices to prepare your book for publication
  • How to find and work with an editor
  • The layout and cover design process
  • How to get your book printed
  • Different types of publications, including ebooks and audiobooks
  • Book marketing tips
  • Basic tips for running your own publishing business

Afternoon Session #1 Speakers

“21st Century Goals for Success for Writer” 

UPPAA An african-american woman smiling for the camera.SYLVIA HUBBARD, Award-winning Detroit author and founder of Motown Writers,  has independently published over 60 dark romance and intriguing suspense stories in the over 20 years she’s been in the literary business. As an avid blogger, podcaster, social media manager & digital strategist, Sylvia has received literary recognition for her literacy work, plus has had nine #1 Bestsellers. She is also a speaker, literary encouragement doula & busy mompreneur expert. Learn more about her work:  www.SylviaHubbard.com | www.MotownWriters.com

The overall goals for this workshop

  • To learn to build up the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so your work can be found  and purchased online
  • To increase your Return on Investment (ROI), and create a way for you to gain more eyes on your writing and more money for your bank account. 

The workshop will come with a pdf digital download for participants and a Q&A

“How to Research Your True Crime Nonfiction” 

UPPAA A middle-aged man with short gray hair is wearing a light blue collared shirt and a brown jacket. He is indoors with blurred shelves in the background.

ROD SADLER worked as a police officer in Mid-Michigan for thirty years before retiring in 2012.  He began researching his first book after discovering the story of a brutal 1897 murder in Williamston, Michigan, a town where he had spent his childhood.  His great grandfather served as the sheriff at the time of the murder, and he was an integral part of the investigation.

​While obtaining his bachelor’s degree late in his law enforcement career, he discovered his love for writing and decided to write about what he knows best…true crime. He travels across Michigan frequently speaking about his books. His book titled Killing Women: The True Story of Don Miller’s Reign of Terror was the backdrop for three documentaries after it was published. One of his most recent books, Grim Paradise: The Cold Case Search for the Mackinac Island Killer, received the UP Notable Award from the UPPAA.

Rod has published five Michigan-based true crime books, and in those you’ll find an enormous amount of research into the murders he writes about.  His attention to detail allows him to craft intriguing, detailed accounts of a series of Michigan murders. His most recent book, Depraved Obsession: The Gripping True Story of Law Enforcement’s Hunt for a Sadistic Serial Killer, launches on May 6.

Participants in his presentation at the UPPAA Spring Conference will learn about how Rod researches his true crime books. They’ll also learn:

  • The Basics to Research
  • Additional Resources Available
  • Other Research Methods
  • Advanced Methods
  • The Unexpected

Afternoon Session #2 Speakers

UPPAA A person wearing glasses and a green wide-brimmed hat is smiling. They are dressed in a red and black checkered shirt, standing indoors with a window in the background.“Successfully Submit Your Poetry for Journals and Publications”

M. KELLY PEACH was born in Detroit and raised in the west-side suburb of Garden City. He graduated from Lake Superior State College (now a university) with a B.A. in English Language and Literature and a Secondary Teaching Certificate. He taught a variety of classes in traditional and non-traditional schools including Bay Mills Community College, The Winston School, Oscoda High School, Baylor Parkside Lodge, and Hannahville Schools. Married for forty years to his beloved bride Monica, he has four children and five grandchildren. Now a denizen of the wild and beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan, he reads and collects books, bakes, facilitates Ink Society Meetings for a local writing group, and hikes as much as his knees will allow. His work has appeared in fifty-plus venues including: Lumina Journal, MetaStellar, The Heartland Review, Entropy, A Thin Slice of Anxiety, Heroic Fantasy Quarterly (#57), and Moss Puppy Magazine. More words are forthcoming in: Soul Ink, Vol. 2, The MockingOwl Roost, and Ghostlight: The Magazine of Terror.

In this presentation, you will learn….

  • The basics of submissions: What they are and why you should do them
  • Where and how to submit
  • Submission Letter
  • Tracking submissions
  • Suggestions for submitting individual or batches of poetry
  • Types of poetry manuscripts and suggestions for submitting them 
 

“Creating Compelling Characters”

UPPAA An older woman with white hair and glasses smiles at the camera. She is wearing a navy blouse and a matching scarf. Her arms are crossed, and she is sitting against a gray background.

SUE HARRISON was raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and lives in Pickford with her husband Neil, a retired high school principal. Harrison has written six critically acclaimed and bestselling novels set in ancient Alaska. The first, Mother Earth Father Sky, is a Publishers Weekly national bestseller, an Amazon number one bestseller, and was selected as an American Library Association 1991 Best Book for Young Adults. Her other Alaska novels include My Sister the Moon, Brother Wind, Song of the River, Cry of the Wind and Call Down the Stars.

She has also written Sisu, a National Advanced Readers Book, and The Midwife’s Touch, which was selected as a semi-finalist in the Society of Midland Authors’ 2023 national literary awards adult fiction com­petition. It was also an Amazon top ten bestseller and named a 2024 Upper Peninsula Notable Book.  Harrison’s novels have sold more than two million copies and have been published in more than twenty-five countries and in thirteen languages. In 2023, she was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Literary Hall of Fame.

Key takeaways from the workshop include

  • Creating Compelling Characters
  • The novelist who writes the 3rd dimension
  • Stephen King’s secret weapon
  • Pride goeth before a Fall
  • Lazy is your worst enemy
  • “I just couldn’t put that novel down.”–How to get there from here

All attendees will receive a notebook with hints and examples about making their characters come alive.

 

 

 

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