Kerrytown BookFest 2016

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [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*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I was honored to be a featured author at this year's Kerrytown BookFest in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 There were panel discussions, author events, book-related vendors, and a bookish good time for all.

The Quest for Identity panel discussion with writers Kelly Fordon (Garden of the Blind), Desiree Cooper (Know the Mother), and Andrew Mozina (Contrary Motion)

The crowd enjoys the exhibitors

I spoke at the Concert House about the ISLANDS of the Great Lakes with author Maureen Dunphy

Save the date for next year's BookFest:

September 10, 2017
And like their Facebook page HERE.

14th Annual 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/

Next Sunday (September 11), the 14th annual Kerrytown BookFest will take place in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This year's schedule is full of author presentations and discussions and many exhibitors will be there, too.

This festival's goal is: 

"The Kerrytown Bookfest is an annual free event celebrating those who create books and those who read them. The primary goal is to highlight our area’s rich heritage in the book and printing arts while showcasing our local and regional individuals, businesses, and organizations."

I will co-present with author Maureen Dunphy at the festival:

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

Find the full festival schedule HERE.

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.

Post Viewed Most in 2015

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [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*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

Thank you all for reading my blog! It has now surpassed 150,000 page views!

Here is the most viewed post from 2015:

I've been on "Stateside" several times, interviewed by Cynthia Canty. 

It's always an incisive and enjoyable conversation.

This time, I remembered to get a photo at the studio:

In studio with the host of "Stateside"

A big thank you to Cynthia and her staff at 
Michigan Radio!

Stream the interview HERE.

"Stateside" with Cynthia Canty

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [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*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I've been on "Stateside" several times, interviewed by Cynthia Canty. 

It's always an incisive and enjoyable conversation.

This time, I remembered to get a photo at the studio:

In studio with the host of "Stateside"

A big thank you to Cynthia and her staff at 
Michigan Radio!

Stream the interview HERE.

First Book Tour Events for my Great Lakes ISLANDS Book

My newest book hit the shelves of select indie bookstores on May 1, and my book tour took off!

My first event was a book signing at the 

Nature Connection of Kalamazoo 

during May's Art Hop.

What fun talking to everyone who stopped by my table! 

Then I headed to Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor to give my dynamic presentation about the islands of the Great Lakes.

A nice group came out on this rainy evening 

to my presentation.

Signing books after my talk 

And a lovely dinner afterward

 My tour then took me to the city of Northville to speak at the community center there (event organized by the Northville District Library)

The audience filters in to hear about the islands of the Great Lakes

My book tour stretches into October... 

Find the full schedule HERE.

Annual Lake Michigan Bottom Survey

That's me on board the SS Grayling

I was thrilled to be invited to come aboard the vessel used for the USGS annual bottom survey of the Great Lakes!

This year, the scientists used an underwater camera

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell of the Great Lakes Science Center

The boat is outfitted with specialized machinery for the trawl

Yellow perch

USGS logo on the Grayling

Alewives

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell assesses the catch

Quagga mussel

A deep water species, the slimy scalpin

Check out the video from this day out on the lake below. This experience will be part of my newest book, 
A 1,000-MILE GREAT LAKE 
ISLAND ADVENTURE, 
which will be released in 2015.

Welcome to Ann Arbor!

On the corner of 
E. Washington and 
S. Fourth in Ann Arbor, a new bookstore has recently opened its doors.

Literati Bookstore, 124 E. Washington

Literati Bookstore has opened in the vacant footprint of Borders Books. Yes, Borders started in Ann Arbor, and when they vanished downtown Ann Arbor no longer had a general bookstore. The indie bookstores are filling this void and doing it with style! 

The green bookstore on the corner

Stop in at the green building on the corner and check out their great selection.

Literati Bookstore

Great Lakes Science Center

This week I traveled to Ann Arbor to visit one of the labs doing research on the Great Lakes. I met up with Dr. Madenjian first and we talked about alewives and the salmon fishery. 

Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell with some of the fish collected from Lake Michigan  

Then, Dr. Bunnell (in photo above) gave me a tour of the facility and we had a long talk about his work to understand the food web in the lakes. 

The Great Lakes Science Center has been doing an annual bottom trawl survey on Lake Michigan since 1973. They have seen tremendous change in the lake over the decades. 

The most dramatic change is the colonization of the lake by invasive mussels. While zebra mussels are known to beach walkers, the quagga mussel has taken over the deeper parts of the lake and has blanketed the floor of Lake Michigan. 

The video below is from a recent survey of 

Lake Michigan.