Kerrytown Bookfest

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and dynamic speaker. 

She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has authored three books about these adventures: 

A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach  [A Heartland Indie Bestseller]

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk   [Winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award] 

A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure  [Long-listed for the Chautauqua Prize]

 

To learn more about her work, or to engage her as a speaker, go to http://www.laketrek.com/great-lakes-speaker/

The theme of this year's Kerrytown BookFest is "Travels with Books."

I'm honored to be a presenter this year, paired with another Great Lakes author, Maureen Dunphy.

While I was hiking, biking, and kayaking to explore many islands in the Great Lakes Basin, Maureen was on a similar journey. Her goal, she says on her website:

"I made a total of 27 trips to 136 Great Lakes Basin islands. These were all of the islands I could find, accessible by ferry or bridge, in the Basin–which includes the connecting rivers/straits as well as the five Great Lakes themselves. "

That's right, Maureen traveled to every island she could find that was accessible by ferry or bridge!

Here's her book (published by Wayne State University Press and released this year):

The book is filled with essential guidebook information about each island ("How to Get There" "What to Expect" "Paths to Adventure" "Cultural Attractions" and "Special Island Events" and more). It's also filled with colorful maps and photos.

Pages from Dunphy's book

Maureen also took the time to gather information to put under the heading "How You Can Support the Island." The museums, conservancy organizations, cultural foundations, and much more listed here are fantastic ways for the island traveler to connect in a deeper way with their favorite islands.

This book goes beyond the standard guidebook in many ways, but my favorite was the inclusion of excerpts from Maureen's personal notes from her traveling journal.

I'm looking forward to presenting our island adventures at the Kerrytown BookFest. We will show photos and videos from our journeys and share some special places to visit on the islands of the Great Lakes.

When:  Sunday, September 11, 2016

(*our presentation will be at 2:45 at the Kerrytown Concert House, 415 N. 4th Ave.)

Where:  Kerrytown in Ann Arbor, MI

Who:  Great Lakes Authors, Maureen Dunphy & Loreen Niewenhuis

Learn more about the full schedule of events here: Kerrytown Bookfest.