Hello all,
Apparently, it’s fall! I’m currently sitting on my back patio, listening to the crickets hum, and drinking a cup of coffee as I write this. It’s lovely and peaceful (well, except for the occasional blue jay argument).
Book News
As I mentioned before, Saving Our Sturgeon was selected as the middle grade book by the Library of the Great Lakes’ Great Lakes, Great Read, a “one community” read for the entire Great Lakes region.
SoS in the wild at Honest Dog Books in Bayfield, Wisconsin.
I’ll be doing a free Zoom book talk with GLGR on October 14, 2026 at 6p central, 7p eastern. Register here and join me to learn a little more about sturgeon in the Great Lakes, writing, and research.
CREATIVE News
Took an urban sketching class with KarKeat Chong in June.
I’ve been working on a couple new projects, but none of them are at a point where I can share publicly about them. Just know that I’ve slowly been putting words and pictures together, and I’m excited about some new possibilities.
As far as my past writings, I’ve been a part of the Author’s Guild copyright lawsuit against the AI company Anthropic, which you may have heard about in the news. Nine of my books were harvested, which is maddening.
Library News
Co-taught a game design class in my library Makerspace in July.
It’s the start of another school year - my 33rd in education overall, with 28 of them in libraries!
One opportunity/challenge that I’m optimistic about is Wisconsin’s new law that limits students’ cell phone use during instructional time. I’m hopeful that students will turn to books and reading more often for their in-school downtime, like they have in other schools where this policy has been in place.
PERSONAL News
Eventually, it’ll be Glacier National Park…
We moved one kid from Milwaukee to LaCrosse this summer; the other from Minneapolis to Milwaukee. I’m proud of their hard work and willingness to embrace new adventures. But also, let’s stay put for a few whiles now.
I returned to an old cross-stitch project this summer. Sewing tiny x’s + audiobooks + backyard patio has been a delightful way to spend my summer.
StuRgeon News
Releasing tagged sturgeon into the Milwaukee Harbor at Sturgeon Fest.
In jaw-dropping news, a team of researchers recently published their findings that lake sturgeon live even longer than we knew - up to 400 years! That is astonishing to me.
If you would like to meet these fish up close and personal, the Genoa Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin is looking for volunteers in September to help tag lake sturgeon before they are released into lakes and rivers.
Reading News
Want to learn more about the culture and history of the Great Lakes? (You know, Lake Ontario has been in the news lately…) I highly recommend the other two 2026 Great Lakes, Great Reads books: The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald and Sport: Ship Dog of the Great Lakes.
Keeping it local, Jacqueline West has a new spooky YA out. Black Point is set along the upper Mississippi in Wisconsin and it’s very murdery.
Happy fall, everyone!
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