Regional Writing Ambassadors
Michigan Writers is thrilled to announce a new initiative: our regional ambassador program. This is a program designed to help writers find and support each other on the local level. Ambassador-organized events offer a way to find peers in your region, to inspire each other, and to garner literary news in your community.
Are you interested in getting more involved with Michigan Writers and helping it grow? We are seeking volunteers to lead our ambassador program in regions as yet unrepresented, particularly Northwest Lower Michigan (Traverse City/Petoskey area). If you would like to help, please email membership@michwriters.org.
We’d like to thank the following members who have stepped forward to help launch this new initiative.
Upper Peninsula
Sara Maurer is the author of A Good Animal (Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press, February 2026). She lives in Sault Ste. Marie and is looking forward to helping more Yoopers connect with Michigan Writers. Reach her at membership@michwriters.org.
Northwest Lower
We are actively seeking an ambassador for this region. Consider joining the ambassador team!
Northeast Lower
Kathleen Dunckel lives in Harrisville, MI. It was the former Alcona Writers Group that recommended Michigan Writers and their newsletter. She has had a poem or two published, but has spent the past year writing Letters to the Editor of her local paper. Reach her at kathleendunckel@gmail.com.
West
Rhonda Sider Edgington has written with incarcerated women in the Allegan County jail, curated a poetry column with local authors, begun a series featuring regional poets and musicians at the Holland Area Arts Council, and writes regular columns on music for her town’s newspapers. She is also a professional musician who has performed on the pipe organs in cathedrals and universities around the country, lived in Germany for seven years, originally as a Fulbright scholar studying 17th-century pipe organs, and is now Organist and Music Director at Hope Church in Holland, while teaching lessons at Calvin University and Aquinas College. Reach her at RhondaBSE@gmail.com.
Julie Bonner Williams is a writer and former English/Writing professor whose work appears in Michigan BLUE magazine and HOUR Detroit magazine. Her first book, Haunted Houses of Grand Rapids, will be released in August 2026. She resides on southwest Michigan’s “Art Coast” with her husband and 3 dogs. Reach her at julie_williams@zoho.com.
Central
We are actively seeking an ambassador for this region. Consider joining the ambassador team!
East Thumb
We are actively seeking an ambassador for this region. Consider joining the ambassador team!
Southwest
Julie Stotz-Ghosh is the Director of the Visiting Writers Series at Kalamazoo Valley Community College where she teaches creative writing and literature. She writes poetry, creative nonfiction, and flash fiction. She lives in Portage.
South Central
Elyse Ribbons is an American playwright, essayist and author who splits her time between China and the US. You can often find her reading a good book in a cozy corner, doing tea kung fu (it’s a thing!) at her teahouse in Lansing, Michigan, acting in Chinese film/tv or watching Star Trek and trying to build a better future. Reach her at membership@michwriters.org.
Miranda Keskes is a fiction book coach, author, and educator. Her fiction has been nominated for Best Microfiction and Best Small Fictions. She teaches creative writing for the Traverse City National Writers Series and writes a weekly newsletter called Yes, You Can Write a Novel. Reach her at miranda@keskesink.com.
Southeast
Lynne Golodner is an award-winning author, writing coach and retreat leader, with 12 books published and a novel launching in the fall. A former Michigan Writers board member, Lynne is excited to bring MW activities to the metro Detroit area. Learn more at lynnegolodner.com. Reach her at lynne@yourppl.com.
Jessica Richmond is an Expressive Arts Therapist, author, and artist. Her writing experience is as a copywriter/editor for an online arts organization, and she has recently published her debut fiction novel, Chasing Sanctuary. She has lived in the AA/Ypsilanti area with her family for twelve years. Reach her at jtrichmond781@gmail.com.