2017 Book Fair!

Our program for our book fair… is complete!

Writers and publishers from Flint and Michigan will host tables with information on their programming, activities, books for sale.

Please take a look at our program below and scroll further for some more information on some of the individuals and programs represented.

The book fair will take place on Saturday July 22nd from 1-5pm in the Main Reading Room on the first floor of the Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley Street.

Brandon James Anderson, K.M. Zahrt / Old Northwest Review
Katrina Bolton / Flint Kids Matter
Jeffery L. Carey, Jr.
East Village Magazine
Gary Flinn
Paul Counelis / Hallow Harvest Books
Gale Glover / Glover Publishing
Nic Custer, Alex Markoff, Jennie Moench / Greater Flint Creative Alliance
Jessyca Mathews
Colleen Nye / Blue Deco Publishing
Randy D. Pearson / Blue Deco Publishing
Tom Powers
Qua Magazine
DeQuindra Renea
Donna Ullrich / Ullrich Ink Publishing
Totem Books
Marianne Waddill Wieland
Kala Wilburn / Fannie Lucille

Brandon James Anderson and K.M. Zahrt join us from Old Northwest Review, a literary journal from The Fly Came Near It that publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction that is of, from, and aligned with the culture and aesthetic of the Great Lakes region and the greater Midwest. The journal takes its name from the former Northwest Territory of the United States (“Northwest” referring to the land northwest of the Ohio River). In this sense, the journal’s namesake is the very region that provides its ethos.
The Fly Came Near It is a publishing house that was founded in 2013 and is run by authors K.M. Zahrt and Brandon James Anderson. The Fly Came Near It focuses on giving voice to authors and artists from Michigan and the greater Midwest region through Michiganders Post (a community blog), FCNI Publications (paperbacks and ebooks), and Old Northwest Review (a literary journal).

East Village Magazine is a community news magazine founded in July 1976 which publishes information about neighborhood preservation and improvement issues for about 15,000 readers in the Flint area. It is published by the Village Information Center, Inc., a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation, on the second Saturday of each month.

Gary Flinn is a product of the Flint Community Schools and a graduate of Mott Community College and Michigan State University who lived in the Flint area most of his life. His earliest writings were for Flint Central High School publications The Tribal Times and The Arrow Head. Besides Broadside, he also contributed articles for the Uncommon Sense, Your Magazine, the Flint Journal and Downtown Flint Revival magazine. He presently lives on Flint’s west side. Gary has published two books, Hidden History of Flint (The History Press 2017) and Remembering Flint, Michigan: Stories from the Vehicle City (The History Press 2010).

Glover Publishing and Community Outsourcing (GPCO) is owned and operated by Author, Publisher, Motivational Teacher, and Life Coach Gale Glover as a way to help others achieve their dreams. The company hires local artists and students and gives back to the Flint community through donations, community service, as well as providing job opportunities. Glover Publishing (GPCO) Turning Dreamers Into Believers.
Gale Glover, a native of Flint, Michigan has become an iconic figure in the Flint community. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Africana Studies and a Master’s in Public Administration, and a post-masters education specialist degree with an administrative certification. Her goal is to also pursue a doctorate in education so that she may help others achieve their educational goals.
Gale is an established author and has written five books with two upcoming books. Her children’s book Learning, Recycling, and Becoming Little Heroes depicts the strength of the Flint children during the water crisis. In addition, her Reach Higher Ed Series helps kids get prepared for higher education. Gale noted the importance of higher education by stating “It’s important to get kids thinking about college earlier so they can successfully complete it in a more affordable manner”. To add to her many accomplishments Gale has started a nonprofit called, Flint Kids Matter which focuses on improving literacy, getting kids prepared for higher education, developing workforce skills, and recovering from the effects of the Flint Water Crisis. Gale has been recognized as ABC News Person of the Week and has also been nominated for the Christ Enrichment Literacy Award. Those are just a few of her many accomplishments, but her passion to empower, educate and enrich the lives of people within her community supersedes her reputation.
Like many kids in Flint, Gale grew up in a single parent household, mother no father, and she is the younger of two siblings. Growing up poor, Gale also struggled with literacy so it is easy for her to relate to kids in similar situations. Gale is a survivor of domestic abuse and has conquered many obstacles in her life. Her passion comes from that pain and compels her to help others reach their goals. Gale has a strong faith and believes that through God, along with persistence and prayer you can achieve anything. Gale went on to start her own publishing company and hires many local artists to work alongside her. Her dedication to the Flint community is unparalleled. Gale Glover, Flint Born! Flint Bred! Flint Educated!
To purchase any of her books please visit Amazon.com, GloverPCO.com, or email Gale directly at GloverPCO@gmail.com

Paul Counelis of Hallow-Harvest Books has written for Rue Morgue, Fright Times, Fear Finder, and Flint Comix, and he is the editor of print book Halloween Machine. He has also authored two young-adult book series’: Kendall Kingsley and Spook Sleuths (Fear Front Publishing). Finally, Paul has written several collections of poetry, horror fiction, a book about horror hosts around the country, and other titles about Halloween and the horror film history.

The Greater Flint Creative Alliance, represented by Nic Custer, Alex Markoff, and Jennie Moench, is an arts organization that promotes local artists of all mediums: visual, musical, literary, comedic, as well as any other form or creative expression. They meet every first Wednesday, 7pm at Churchills. Every 3rd Wednesday, 7pm at the Good Beans Cafe, where they host an open mic. Other Wednesdays at 7pm they have online meetings on Google Hangouts.

A native of Flint, Michigan, Jessyca Mathews has lived a life worth hearing. From hardships to success, Jessyca has used her skills in writing to share her story with audiences in recent years.
After receiving her high school diploma from Carman-Ainsworth High School, she received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint in English, with a minor in History. She also received a specialization in Secondary Education at the University of Michigan-Flint, along with a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College. Along with these degrees, she attended Michigan State University and is a member of the Red Cedar Writing Project.
In 2009, Jessyca was an honorable mention winning writer for the national contest, Great American Classroom Makeover, sponsored by Great American Financial Resources. She was recognized by the institution and received a monetary prize.
In 2013, Jessyca Mathews won a national contest sponsored by MANA Publishing, and was named the 2013 Passion for Poetry writer. After winning this prestigious award, Jessyca was able to publish her first poetry collection, Simply: A Collection of Poetry. In 2015 she published her memoir, 318: A Chubby Chick’s Tale of Weight Loss Surgery and she co-wrote her first play, Appointments in 2017, which features a focus on the Flint Water Crisis.
Along with her writing, Ms. Mathews is a language arts teacher at Carman-Ainsworth High School and an activist against racial and environmental discrimination. This year, Jessyca was named a finalist for the NEA’s Social Justice Activist of the Year for her writing and work on the Flint water crisis. She also has been published writer in Nia Magazine, Pure Haiku, will have a short story featured in an upcoming anthology, and is a contributor to The Mighty Magazine.

Colleen Nye is a Michigan based author that has gone from poetry to content writing, movie reviewing, press releases, short stories and everything in between.
Settling on the art of a full length novel, she published her first in 2012, a romantic comedy entitled When in Maui, Book One in The Unattainable series. Her second novel, a tech thriller named Immersion was released May 2015. Since then, she’s released several books in a variety of genres, including The Long Summer, Letters to Cora, books Two and Three of The Unattainable series as well as written the biography of Alonzo “Chacho” Gomez in his book From Pen To Page. She has also been featured in a number of anthologies.
In September 2015, she opened Blue Deco Publishing and now helps other authors find a home for their books. And, of course, is working on her next project.

As a 7th-grader Tom Powers wrote the first chapter of what he considered an action-packed but authentic novel of WW II. A carefully chosen uncle was his first reader. Somewhere near the end of the first page Tom’s uncle began laughing so hard he nearly fell off his chair and had to repeatedly stop reading so he could wipe away the tears of laughter. This was not the kind of response Tom was expecting and made him re-evaluate a writing career.
The writing bug bit again thirty-some years later when he wrote and found a publisher for Natural Michigan: A Nature Lover’s Guide to 228 Attractions. Over the years, seven more books found their way into print, all of which adhered to the rule he’d discovered when writing Natural Michigan: Write about what you know and love. In Tom’s case it was Michigan. His books currently in print include; Michigan State and National Parks: A Complete Guide, Michigan Rogues Desperados & Cut-throats: A Gallery of 19th Century Miscreants, In the Grip of the Whirlwind: The Armistice Day Storm of 1940, and Stick ’em Up: Michigan Bank Robberies of the 1920s & 1930s, published this spring.

DeQuindra Renea was born and raised in Flint, Michigan in the 90’s. During the time of popular R&B music, boy bands, Nintendo, and MTV, DeQuindra could be found with her nose stuck in a book. It was in middle school that she found her voice as a writer and started penning her own stories. This was the birth of DeQuindra as a writer, although being an author wouldn’t come for many years later.
In high school, DeQuindra always had a notebook in her hands, which contained whichever story she was writing at the time. Receiving feedback from family and friends, she knew it was not only something she truly enjoyed, but that entertained others. Even then, she did not consider a career in writing and when she graduated in 2008, she went to college to pursue a degree in Human Resource Management, a career that matched closest with her outgoing personality. After turning in a short story to an English professor who encouraged her to finish it, she decided writing should be something done more than just for fun.
In 2015, DeQuindra published Blazing Deception, her first novel and it sold well over 1000 copies and counting. She has also recently published a second novel Distrust, as well as co-wrote a play, Appointments: An Account of the Flint Water Crisis, with two other Flint authors that raises awareness about The Flint Water Crisis, a situation that has affected her and her family tremendously. She graduated from the University of Michigan-Flint in December of 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management.
Besides being an author and recent graduate, DeQuindra is a mother to a beautiful 5-year-old little girl, an avid reader, blogger and self-proclaimed karaoke star. She enjoys cooking, eating, listening to music, talking, and traveling.

Your Baby Magazine has praised Donna Ullrich‘s (of Ullrich Ink Publishing) book I Knew You’d Understand, saying: “A bad attitude can backfire on you! The young boy in this book is convinced that the world revolves around him, and then must learn some life lessons the hard way. Perfect for the beginner reader who will enjoy the poetry that gives the serious message a fun twist. The message is about kindness, watching what you say, sharing and having good manners, It is also about love and appreciation and being there for those who care for you.”