U.P. Reader, Volume 9: Bringing Upper Michigan Literature to the World

By: Mikel B Classen, Deborah K. Frontiera

Narrated by: Brandy Thomas

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is blessed with a treasure trove of storytellers, poets, and historians, all seeking to capture a sense of Yooper Life from settler's days to the far-flung future. Since 2017, the U.P. Reader has offered a rich collection of their voices that embraces the U.P.'s natural beauty and way of life, along with a few surprises.

The seventy plus short works in this 9th annual volume take listeners around the U.P. from the Keweenaw to the Soo and from Menominee to Ironwood. Every minute is rich with descriptions of the characters and culture that make the Upper Peninsula worth living in and writing about. U.P. writers span genres from humor to history and from mystery to poetry. This issue also includes imaginative fiction from the Dandelion Cottage Short Story Contest winners, honoring the amazing young writers enrolled in all of the U.P.'s schools.

The U.P. Reader is sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA) a non-profit corporation. A portion of proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the UPPAA

©2025 Mikel B. Classen and Deborah K. Frontiera (P)2025 Mikel B. Classen and Deborah K. Frontiera

Critic reviews

"Funny, wise, or speculative, the essays, memoirs, and poems found in the pages of these profusely illustrated annuals are windows to the history, soul, and spirit of both the exceptional land and people found in Michigan's remarkable U.P. If you seek some great writing about the northernmost of the state's two peninsulas look around for copies of the U.P. Reader. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books

"U.P. Reader offers a wonderful mix of storytelling, poetry, and Yooper culture. Here's to many future volumes!" --Sonny Longtine, author of Murder in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

"As readers embark upon this storied landscape, they learn that the people of Michigan's Upper Peninsula offer a unique voice, a tribute to a timeless place too long silent." --Sue Harrison, international bestselling author of Mother Earth Father Sky