Hessel School House

06/13/2026

The 3rd annual Upper Peninsula Writers Symposium was today at the Hessel School House. Thank you to our presenters Karen Dionne, Joseph D Haske, Ellen Lord, Julie Covert, and Helen Raica-Klotz for an amazing day of learning and inspiration. This years event was dedicated to Bonnie Mikkleson.

06/09/2026

Summer Bingo is on Thursday!
Note: Doors open at 5:00 PM, Games Start at 6:00 PM

06/09/2026

Jam Session today at 2:00 PM! Come and join us!

06/08/2026

Join us on Saturday, June 13 for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writers Symposium featuring keynote speaker Karen Dionne and break out sessions by Joseph D Haske, Ellen Lord, Daniel Mendoza, Helen Raica-Klotz, and Julie Covert. Tickets include lunch and a full day of instruction from award winning author and educators. All writers are welcome! For details, visit https://www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=30530

06/07/2026

Only a few days left to register for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writers Symposium featuring keynote speaker Karen Dionne and break out sessions by Joseph D Haske, Ellen Lord, Daniel Mendoza, Helen Raica-Klotz, and Julie Covert. Tickets include lunch and a full day of instruction from award winning author and educators. All writers are welcome! For details, visit

June 07, 2026 - The Upper Peninsula Writer’s Symposium is designed to provide a platform for writers of all skill levels to learn, grow, and connect with fellow wordsmiths.

06/03/2026

Join fellow writers for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writer’s Symposium on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the historic Hessel School House in Hessel. This inspiring day of creativity, craft, and community features a keynote address by renowned author Karen Dionne, along with your choice of three breakout sessions designed to help writers strengthen their voice, expand their storytelling skills, and gain practical tools for the writing life.

Julie Covert, book coach and editor, was the editor and publisher of the acclaimed Drummond Island Digest, a monthly newspaper for the Eastern Upper Peninsula, for over 11 years. She is also a traditionally published and self-published author, and a member of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA). She will be hosting a breakout session entitled "Success Signals for Writers: Know Your Writing-Style Color and Make It Help You Write Better"

Participants will also enjoy interactive workshops on topics such as narrative possibility, poetry, writing style, image and tone, book cover design, and place-based storytelling.

Whether you write fiction, memoir, poetry, or nonfiction, this symposium offers a welcoming space to learn, connect, and leave with renewed creative energy.

$75 per person.

TO REGISTER: Call 906-484-1333 or register online at https://www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=30530

Registration closes on Tuesday, June 9. Reserve your seat today!

06/03/2026

Join fellow writers for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writer’s Symposium on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the historic Hessel School House in Hessel. This inspiring day of creativity, craft, and community features a keynote address by renowned author Karen Dionne, along with your choice of three breakout sessions designed to help writers strengthen their voice, expand their storytelling skills, and gain practical tools for the writing life.

Helen Raica-Klotz is the winner of the 2025 Michigan Writers Cooperative Press Chapbook contest for Superior Stories, a collection of short fiction, which was a Upper Peninsula (UPPA) Publishers and Authors 2025 Notable Book. Her creative writing has appeared in over 30 publications, including The MacGuffin, The Great Lakes Review, and The Midwest Review; two of her nonfiction essays were nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Helen teaches composition and general education courses at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan. She’s also taught writing at a regional prison, a homeless shelter, an alternative high school, and other places where she finds people with stories to tell.

Participants of the symposium will enjoy interactive workshops on topics such as narrative possibility, poetry, writing style, image and tone, book cover design, and place-based storytelling. Whether you write fiction, memoir, poetry, or nonfiction, this symposium offers a welcoming space to learn, connect, and leave with renewed creative energy.

$75 per person.

TO REGISTER: Call 906-484-1333 or register online at https://www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=30530

Registration closes on Tuesday, June 9. Reserve your seat today!

06/03/2026

Join fellow writers for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writer’s Symposium on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the historic Hessel School House in Hessel. This inspiring day of creativity, craft, and community features a keynote address by renowned author Karen Dionne, along with your choice of three breakout sessions designed to help writers strengthen their voice, expand their storytelling skills, and gain practical tools for the writing life.

Ellen Lord began writing as a kid, first stirred to poetry by Edgar Allen Poe’s raven and various morbid nursery rhymes. She is inspired by forays in nature, along with feasts and foibles of the human condition. She was raised in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula and often returns to her ancestral home. She is a behavioral health therapist, specializing in addiction and trauma. Recent publications include Relative Sanity and Vigil.

Participants will enjoy interactive workshops on topics such as narrative possibility, poetry, writing style, image and tone, book cover design, and place-based storytelling. The ticket includes the keynote address, three breakout sessions, a catered lunch, and refreshments.

Whether you write fiction, memoir, poetry, or nonfiction, this symposium offers a welcoming space to learn, connect, and leave with renewed creative energy.

$75 per person.

TO REGISTER: Call 906-484-1333 or register online at https://www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=30530

Registration closes on Tuesday, June 9. Reserve your seat today!

06/02/2026

Join fellow writers for the 3rd Annual Upper Peninsula Writer’s Symposium on Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the historic Hessel School House in Hessel, Michigan. This inspiring day of creativity, craft, and community features a keynote address by renowned author Karen Dionne, along with your choice of three breakout sessions designed to help writers strengthen their voice, expand their storytelling skills, and gain practical tools for the writing life.

Joseph D. Haske is a writer, critic and scholar, whose debut novel, North Dixie Highway, was released in October 2013. His fiction appears in journals such as Boulevard, Fiction International, the Texas Review, the Four-Way Review, Pleiades, and in the Chicago Tribune's literary supplement, Printers Row. His poetry and fiction are also featured in various anthologies as well as in French, Romanian and Canadian publications. Haske edits various literary venues, including Sleipnir and American Book Review.

Whether you write fiction, memoir, poetry, or nonfiction, this symposium offers a welcoming space to learn, connect, and leave with renewed creative energy.

$75 per person. Includes keynote address, 3 of 6 breakout sessions, lunch, and snacks throughout the day to ensure you can focus and stay energized during this highly informative day for writers of all skill levels.

TO REGISTER: Call 906-484-1333 or register online at https://www.eventeny.com/events/ticket/?id=30530