MICHIANA AUTHORS ALIVE AND GROWING

By Kelly Wiseman 

Founder of Michiana Authors & Creative Supporters 

In 2022, I participated in the Local Author Fair at the Downtown Mishawaka Library. It was my first all-author event as a rookie author since moving to the area.

While setting up my table and arranging my books, I glanced around observing how others had their literary materials set up. It was time for the event to start, and during the lulls, we would chat with one another. As time passed, I thought, "I can't let these authors get away without knowing them." Within a matter of moments, I created a Facebook group called "Michiana Authors". I went around the room asking everyone if they would like to be part of it.

What started that day with around 12 authors has grown to 80 authors and illustrators. Some are writing with the aspiration being published, and others have several publications from traditional to self-published across many genres. Self-publishing opportunities and "print on demand" have changed the industry.

As a first-time author, all of this was completely new to me, and I made some early discoveries with my publisher that made me wonder about other authors' experiences. This experience ultimately became my driving force to have in-person meetings for the group. In January 2024, I sat with three other authors to discuss my ideas and gather interest. We concluded this meeting by scheduling regular meetings for the last Monday of every month at the Downtown Mishawaka Library at 5:30 pm.

Our meetings consist of sharing successes and challenges, discussing marketing ideas, sharing local events, and creating our own events. One great benefit of the group is meeting mentors who can guide you through submitting, publishing, marketing, and finding out about events and sales opportunities.  

We had our first official event before Christmas last year: “GET LIT” at The General Deli & Café in South Bend. We were thrilled to have The General welcome and collaborate with us as local literary artists. We had nine local authors there promoting their books. Each author commented on how different it was to be together in that atmosphere and to welcome those interested in our artistry. As I learned myself from attending events, it brings me joy to find the other authors and invite them to our group. You never know what might inspire you in your creations.

Our next events will include a larger “GET LIT” Local Author Fair in April and an INSPIRE ME Writers Conference in October for National Book Month. You can find these events on Facebook Events soon. "GET LIT" was the name of our holiday shopping event. Many people told us it was exceptionally clever, so we decided to keep it as part of our brand identity and as an inspiration to ignite the creative spark within. As we tap into our local creative authors for our Writers Conference, author Kayla Sweet-Smith offers, "An idea emerged that feels especially timely. I'd love to offer a talk on writing as a vehicle for individual and collective transformation during times of change. Writing lives at a powerful crossroads of creativity, lived experience, and our innate desire to contribute to something larger than ourselves. Given everything unfolding in the world right now, this could be a meaningful way to recenter on local impact and the unique role we each play in shaping the world we want to live in by sharing our stories.”

Working locally brings inspiration to create a Michiana Publishing House, as a group of local creators who offer their talents to work collectively for literary arts right here. We really have all the talent when you meet and converse with others. I am currently looking for someone who would like to lay out books, select eye-appealing text, ensure pages are formatted to fit the print space, bring in the illustrations, and create the beautiful presentation the author always imagined. Do you have that skill and desire?

Like in any other art form, we are creators, but our creativity comes out in words. Authors feel inspired when others connect with their creativity or purpose. I know the feeling I get when I have met the grower of my food, the maker of my art, the creator of things I put in and on my body. They are community members who live here, and if someone needs a suggestion, or I can connect them to another avenue for their creations, I get great satisfaction from helping others be successful.

"Michiana Authors has created something that was quietly missing. Michiana’s artistic scene has always been vibrant, but what about its writers? We didn’t quite have a room of our own. It’s energizing to see writers finally have a place to gather, grow, and feel seen," Cindy Lynn Sawyer, Author.

“Being part of the Michiana Authors community has been profoundly meaningful for me. When I first published my book, I felt excited and proud, but also unsure of how to begin sharing it locally. This community was recommended to me by a fellow author, and it has truly been a source of light and inspiration ever since. The knowledge, support, and opportunities within this group have helped me maintain momentum and continue sharing work that I “poured my heart” into. It’s been an anchor, a catalyst, and a reminder that we aren't in this alone,” Kayla Sweet-Smith, Author.

"The cohesiveness of Michiana Authors is the most important part for me. When I moved back here after being gone for over 20 years, I had no idea how to find other poets or other writers. There was no one place to go to find out about events relating to the writing community, but now Michiana Authors is that place. Personally, I thrive in an environment where I can bounce ideas back and forth with other creatives, and this group provides that. Whether it be in a monthly meeting, or at dinner one-on-one with a member I've met through the group, I can get that spark that only comes from two creative minds feeding off each other,” Amanda V Judd.

If you are a local literary creative, we would be thrilled to have you come to a meeting. We are always discovering and adding new members who would like to illustrate, edit, or give feedback on your work. Our Facebook Group page is a place to discover opportunities, including other local writers' groups, literary events, and writing or book conferences.

Search Michiana Authors and Supporting Creators and connect.

Alchemy of Life, by Kayla M Sweet, is a raw and intimate poetry collection that captures both the magic and the misery of modern life. Through reflections on emotional healing, self-worth, growth, presence, longing, heartbreak, love, and gratitude, Kayla M. Sweet offers language for the moments we struggle to name and the truths we are often afraid to face.

Written through seasons of change, growth, exhaustion, grief, and awakening, these poems stay with life in its most tender places. Sweet does not look away from pain or hurry it toward resolution. Instead, she approaches the raw spots of our human experience with honesty and curiosity, allowing meaning to emerge slowly and truthfully. Each piece becomes an invitation to remain present, to listen, and to trust what unfolds when we do not turn away

Alchemy of Life traces the slow work of becoming through grief, beauty, and truth, showing how transformation unfolds when we stay with what is real long enough to be changed by it. This collection is for anyone on a healing journey, navigating change, carrying quiet sorrow, or learning to live more fully from the inside out.

Internallyguidedleadership.com or bookshop.org/shop/glendorabookshopMI

DADDY – Poems of Remembrance and Reflection, by Amanda Valerie Judd, is a poignant collection full of heartfelt poems about the author’s father that address his dementia and ultimate death. A self-proclaimed “daddy’s girl,” she takes us on a deep drive inside her relationship with her father, both before and after his dementia diagnosis. Filled not only with poems, but also with family photos, this tribute to the poet’s father is so moving it will have you calling your own father to hear his voice.

This book is sure to elicit a few tears, as it moves us through her father’s life, from his favorite food to his love of the horse races, and his love for his cat, Milo, while also showcasing the poet’s emotions from the first special moment lost to his Alzheimer's to the fated call to “hurry home” to the empty family home where she imagines she still hears his voice. These poems depict her journey in coming to terms with her grief and her enduring guilt, and how she is learning to forge a new life among the memories. This book is a must-read for any adult child who has lost a parent, but especially any daughter who has lost her father.

Amandavjudd.com or bookshop.org/shop/glendorabookshopMI