This year's 2007 WRWA Fall Writers' Conference at the Voyageur Inn, Reedsburg, WI, is proud to present our current Wisconsin Poet Laureate, Denise Sweet, on Sunday, September 30 at 12:30 PM. She will share her poetic wisdom in her presentation: “Who We Are, What is Ours; The Poetic Tradition Here in the U.S.” Ms. Sweet will also share a special meeting with interested poets after her presentation to bring a memorable conclusion to the conference.

Other guests, appearing on Saturday, September 29, will be John Gardner, Creative Writing Instructor; Deb Baker, Published Novelist; Phil Martin, former Acquisitions Editor; and Michelle Grajkowski, noted Literary Agent from Madison, Wis., who has also graciously offered to conduct pitch sessions with interested writers after her presentation, at no charge.

This year's conference will begin with what has become a new and popular WRWA tradition-the Writers' Roundtable on Friday evening, September 28 (see article on page xx). The Board meeting, starting at 1 p.m. on Friday, is open to all members. Other activities include book fairs on Saturday and Sunday and Saturday evening Activities, including an Open Mic session (open to all), followed by three Activities meetings featuring your choice of Fiction, Non-fiction, or Poetry.

Three meals will be offered at the conference including the coveted Jade Ring Banquet with Jenny Turner hosting this year's event. Attendees will also be treated to readings by the Jade Ring winners before the meal on Sunday and the presentation of the annual Award for Excellence by the Robert E. Gard Foundation. Accommodations will once again be offered within the facility. Opportunities abound at this year's conference including meeting new writers and seeing the familiar faces of good friends. Get ready for an informative program, and join in the fun.

John Gardner is a former newspaper, radio, and TV reporter in Milwaukee, WI, and a graduate of UW-Milwaukee. He holds a BA, L & S in Creative Writing. In January, 2007, Wisconsin People & Ideas published a seven-page article written by Slinger High School teacher, Nate Grimm, highlighting Mr. Gardner's work-in-progress: THE ME in MEDIA, twenty-five years working in the media. He has been published in Free Verse magazine, is a member of Eastside Library Writers' Group in Milwaukee, and is author of the poetry chapbook, The Book of Loves. John has given several presentations at Slinger and Menomonee Falls High Schools on journalism and Creative Writing. He formerly lived in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he was involved in TV and radio, and has also served as an instructor at Broadcast Center, a private school. He is now retired from Broadcasting and living in his hometown, Milwaukee, for the past thirteen years.

Deb Baker is the author of two 2006 debut mystery series. the “Yooper” series features Michigan amateur sleuth Gertie Johnson, who is sixty-six-years-old, has a stun gun in her purse, and a nose for trouble. The first in the series, Murder Passes the Buck, won Best of Show in the Authorlink International First Novel Contest. Murder Grins and Bears It, the second in the series, was released in May. The Dolls to Die For series is published through Berkley Prime Crime and features Gretchen Birch, a doll collector and doll restoration artist. Dolled Up For Murder was on the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestsellers list for two months in a row. Goodbye, Dolly came out this month. Deb lives in North Lake, WI, with her husband, two teenagers, a Border Collie, and two wayward cats.

Philip Martin has broad experience working with both fiction and nonfiction. He is editor of The New Writer's Handbook (July 2007), an annual collection of professional advice on craft and career, and was previous acquisitions editor for The Writer Books, where he produced guides for writers on many topics. He is also author of a book on fantasy fiction, The Writer's Guide to Fantasy Literature (2nd edition, June 2007), along with two other books on regional music and folklore, one of which, Farmhouse Fiddlers, won the Council of Wisconsin Writer's nonfiction book of the year award. He lives in Milwaukee and is director of Great Lakes Literary (www.greatlakeslit.com), which offers editing, marketing, and publishing support services for writers.

From the moment Michelle Grajkowski first opened her doors to the 3 Seas Literary Agency in August of 2000, she has been living her dream. (“What could be better than surrounding yourself with great authors and their exciting and imaginative books?”). Since then, she's successfully sold more than 200 titles to major publishing houses including Harlequin, NAL, Berkley, Dorchester, Kensington, Avon, Pocket, Random House (both here and in the UK), Knopf, Andrews McMeel, Warner, and HarperCollins. Currently, she is looking for fantastic authors with a voice of their own. Michelle focuses on romance, women's fiction, Chick-Lit young adult, and middle grade fiction. On a personal note, Michelle's husband is a captain in the Army National Guard and has recently returned to his family after a fifteen-month tour of duty in the Middle East. Michelle loves watching college sports and is doing her best to 'brainwash' her children into becoming little Wisconsin Badgers-Go Bucky! Michelle is listed in the Who's Who in America for 2007.

Denise Sweet was named Wisconsin's second Poet Laureate by Governor Jim Doyle in 2004. She is an Anishinnaabe poet (White Earth) and an Associate Professor of Humanistic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She teaches creative writing, literature and mythology, as well as a travel seminar involving fieldwork among the Mayan peoples of the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala. She has presented nearly 100 public readings around the United States, in Canada, Mexico and Guatemala. Her workshop and conference presentations include the First Annual Returning the Gift Native Writer's Festival, the National Native Women's Wellness Conference, the Wisconsin Indian Education Conference, and the University of Wisconsin System Colloquium on Race and Ethnicity. She is also the owner of Sweet Associates, a communication consultant group. Denise is the mother of two fine Anishinaabe sons, Damon and Vaughn. Since earning her BA and MA in English from UW-EC, Denise Sweet has had more than 20 years of experience as an innovative educator, award-winning author, widely acclaimed presenter, and creative communications consultant. She has authored five collections of poetry including Songs of Discharming which has earned multiple awards. Governor Doyle had this to say upon choosing Denise as the Wisconsin Poet Laureate for 2004-08: “Denise is well-educated, well-published, and well-admired by the community of poets and educators; she is a skilled teacher and performer and has a proven ability to reach diverse groups: from children to elders, from Native American to Caucasian, from urban to rural, from the barely literate to the well-educated.”