Write Michigan judges follow this rubric when evaluating the 10 semifinalist stories in their category.
English Language Judges
Caitlin Horrocks
Caitlin Horrocks is author of the story collections Life Among the Terranauts and This is Not Your City, both New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice titles. Her novel The Vexations was named one of the 10 best books of 2019 by the Wall Street Journal. Her stories and essays appear in The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories, The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, The Pushcart Prize, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. She lives with her family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she teaches at Grand Valley State University.
Janyre Tromp
Janyre Tromp is a veteran book editor by day and writer of mid-20th century historical novels with a healthy dose of intrigue and myth at night. She’s the award-winning and bestselling and award-winning author of Shadows in the Mind’s Eye and co-author of both O Little Town and It’s a Wonderful Christmas. And that all happens from her unfinished basement when she’s not hanging out with her family, two troublesome cats, and slightly eccentric Shetland Sheepdog.
You can find her on social media and her website: www.JanyreTromp.com
Jay Whistler
Jay Whistler (she/her) holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is an author, freelance editor, former acquisitions reader for three literary agencies, an editor for an online short story anthology and a print anthology, and has been a judge for numerous writing contests. She regularly gives presentations on the craft of writing at local, national, and international writing and publishing conferences. Her two current titles, THE GHOSTLY TALES OF SAN ANTONIO and THE GHOSTLY TALES OF PUT-IN-BAY, are nonfiction historical middle-grade books, both using ghost stories to tell history.
You can learn more about her at: www.JayWhistler.com
Jodi McKay
Jodi lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with her husband and son. She is the author of two picture books, WHERE ARE THE WORDS? and PENCIL’S PERFECT PICTURE both published by Albert Whitman & Co. Jodi is the Co-Regional advisor for the Michigan chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and is represented by Linda Epstein of the Emerald City Literary Agency.
Joel Armstrong
Joel Armstrong is a speculative fiction writer whose stories have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction & Fact, Daily Science Fiction, and NewMyths.com. He has also published poetry and literary criticism in SUFI, Clues: A Journal of Detection, and The Hemingway Review. By day, he is a content editor and product developer for an indie book publisher based in West Michigan. In his free time he likes to garden vegetables, enjoy Michigan’s beaches, and take long walks. He lives in the Boston Square neighborhood of Grand Rapids with his doulatog wife and their two naughty cats.
Mike Salisbury
Mike Salisbury’s fiction has appeared in Black Warrior Review, Midwestern Gothic, and Crab Orchard Review, among others. Mike is a graduate of the MFA program at Pacific University. He is the co-creator of the graphic novel The Quarry, forthcoming from Scout Comics in fall 2023. As a literary agent at Yates & Yates, he has worked with several New York Times bestselling authors, including Jen Hatmaker, Jon Acuff, Latasha Morrison, and John Mark Comer. He lives with his wife and daughters along Michigan’s West Coast.
You can learn more about publishing, writing, and working with Mike at Authorcoaching.com. Connect with Mike on Instagram and LinkedIn.
Terri DeBoer
After more than 30 years as a broadcast meteorologist, Terri DeBoer is “changing seasons” and joining the retirement specialists at Jacobs Financial Services as Director of Communications. As a published author, Terri has recently released her third book, “Encore Season; Making The Rest Of Your Life The Best Of Your Life.”.
Trinity McFadden
Trinity McFadden has been a literary agent with The Bindery since 2020, where she represents a diverse group of authors writing compelling practical and narrative nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and children’s literature. Her focus is especially on seeking to promote under-represented voices with growing platforms. Before The Bindery, she worked in traditional publishing for more than 12 years in editorial and public relations roles at various companies, including HarperCollins Christian and Baker Publishing Group. Trinity earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and recently finished her master’s degree in business administration. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband and daughter.
More information on The Bindery can be found at: www.TheBinderyAgency.com
Keynote Author
Gary Schmidt
Gary Schmidt is an award-winning children’s book author. He received a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for his young adult novel Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, as well as a Newbery Honor for The Wednesday Wars.
