June 1-2, 2024 • Saturday 10am - 7pm • Sunday 11am - 5pm
Palmer Park is between McNichols and Seven Mile Rd along Woodward. Enter at
Merrill Plaisance. Use 600 Merrill Plaisance, Detroit, 48221 For GPS.
100 artists- juried and emerging, individuals and groups
Authors- books, story telling, book readings
Food trucks, beer tent
Music stage, dance
Many hands on art projects.
Authors Tent
The Detroit area has some amazing authors. We're working to introduce them to you at the Palmer Park Art Fair. Most will be doing readings. We also have poets dropping in to entertain us.
Come see a variety of books in many genres. All will be happy to sign their work for you. A sampling of the books to expect is below.
We will also have poetry readings and other entertainment at the tent.
Participating Authors
Readings & Story Tellers
Childrens
A
Kidd
Stars with healing powers are falling from the sky.
Feisty fourth-grader Julia’s best friend in the entire universe is her grandmother. Julia and Grammu share secrets while cooking soup together, stay up late eating junk food and watching scary movies, and go stargazing on Blackberry Hill. They even wish on the same star every night.
But everything changes when Grammu catches the disappearing disease: little by little, she’s turning invisible. If Julia can catch a falling star, then her wish to save Grammu will come true. All Julia needs to do now is find the legendary ladder to the stars…
Childrens
Anita
Pazner
Climb aboard the Topsy-Turvy Bus with Maddy and Jake as it travels around the country teaching communities the importance of taking care of the earth and creating a better, cleaner, healthier world.
Based on a real Topsy-Turvy Bus created by Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in North America.
Childrens
Ann G
Rusky
Our Spirited Little Dog
Let me tell you about our little dog, Windry. She is something else!
From the moment we got her, she challenged and delighted us. She is a beauty from all angles. I wanted to capture her bold personality and stunning looks in a book for my son, but just knew I had to share her with the rest of the world.
I was first drawn to the Shiba Inu because of its fox-like beauty. But after learning about their traits and meeting a neighborhood Shiba Inu, Kai, I knew we had to have one of our own. The Shiba Inu, a Japanese breed, is known for its high intelligence, alertness, playfulness and cat-like behaviors. Shiba Inus are extremely strong willed and have high prey drives. They are dainty, yet bold, and are so entertaining to watch, but be aware - they are equally challenging.
Non-Fiction
Darrin
Peel
Here's a collection of 50 of the funniest true short stories from real working people in all kinds of jobs, in all walks of life. It's just the thing for a quick laugh or a break from everyday stress, no matter what your own job is! Each story is illustrated by a nationally known cartoonist for added fun.
Childrens
Jean
Elster
Beginning during the turbulent post-Reconstruction period and ending in post-World War II Detroit, three successive generations of African American women navigate race relations, miscegenation, sexual assault and class divisions as they stake their claim to the American dream.
Childrens
Katie
Spina
Brave Knight Gigi has lost her armor!
Gigi the groundhog loves two things: digging and her blue sweater with silver buttons. When she puts on the sweater, it becomes the shining armor of the Brave Knight Gigi.
Brave Knight Gigi can face anything.
When Gigi’s favorite sweater goes missing, it makes her heart hurt. Her armor is gone! Gigi digs to get away from the sadness. She digs and digs and digs.
Can Gigi find the strength inside her to face her sadness? Can she be Brave Knight Gigi without her armor?
Childrens
Kim
Bartosch
The Haunting of Hill House meets The Lovely Bones in this evocative and mind-bending psychological thriller following three teen girls solving a treacherous murder.
Nobody believes sixteen-year-old Lila Sadler, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder that her sister is possessed by the ghost of Kate Watkins. As Rose's health worsens each day, the only way to save her is to uncover the awful truth of Katy's death so many years ago.
And nobody knows what happened to Katy on October 31, 1925. Not even Katy. Unaware that she was murdered, Katy has wandered for a hundred years in complete ignorance, until the day she meets Rose and Lila.
Together Lila, Rose, and Katy must confront their demons to escape. But in order to escape they must forgive the unforgivable.
Teens
Kristiana
Sfirlea
Thirteen-year-old Rose Skylar sneezed a magical storm cloud at birth, and it's followed her around ever since. But when Stormy causes too many disasters, Rose is taken to Heartstone Asylum, a place for kids with unstable magic. Its location? A legendary forest where ghosts roam and the trees have mysteriously turned to stone.
Childrens
Naomi
Dunsen-White
Why Am I Here? A Child’s Book About Purpose" is a beautiful, multi-award-winning picture book.
With diverse characters and stunning illustrations and a powerful message, this book teaches children about purpose and exploring their own unique path in life. It encourages children to believe that regardless of their challenges, background or skin color, they each have a purpose and a future that can be bright.
Childrens
Natasha
Davis
I have educational books that teaches alphabets, numbers, and colors in English and ASL.
Fact
Paul
Vachon
Well over a century ago a cadre of self-trained mechanics, machinists, and other tradesmen started tinkering in the small, cramped machine shops near downtown Detroit. Despite their varied technical ideas, professional ambitions, and personal temperaments, they worked towards a common goal: to revolutionize personal transportation by capitalizing on the recently developed internal combustion engine.
The intercession of providence determined that the likes of Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, John and Horace Dodge, and others called the same city home. None of them “invented” the automobile, but their shared imagination, grit, and persistence were responsible for giving birth to an industry arguably responsible for the most profound changes in twentieth century American life.
Childrens
Suzanne
Lipshaw
I Campaigned for Ice Cream is the upbeat, educational, and heartwarming true story of nine-year-old Josh who petitioned his local government to change an outdated law preventing ice cream trucks from driving through his town.
Fiction
Syntell
Smith
A New Adult Contemporary Workplace Drama series about the lives of a diverse, divided staff of a new york city library and the eccentric patrons they deal with.
We feature storytelling and authors readings on our stage adjacent to the Authors Tent.
SATURDAY
11:00 Larry Castleberry - Story Teller
12:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
1:00 Larry Castleberry - Story Teller
2:00 Kristiana Sfirlea - Legend of the Storm Sneezer
3:00 Mattie Oney - Story Teller
4:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
5:00 Mattie Oney - Story Teller
6:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
SUNDAY
12:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
1:00 Gwendolyn Lewis - Story Teller
2:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
3:00 Gwendolyn Lewis - Story Teller
4:00 Reading by Legacy of Literacy
ABOUT OUR STORY TELLERS:
Larry Castleberry
Larry Castleberry is a storyteller and voice actor who uses his experience in both fields to create unique and engaging content. His work revolves around exploring the relationships between people and their stories, and how those stories can be used to create connections and understanding. He has a deep understanding of the human condition and uses his skills to help others reach their potential.
Mattie Oney-
Mattie Oney (Sheryl Pryor) has told stories to youngsters in schools, around campfires, in church, and to adults anywhere there is a need. She has also told stories at family reunions, where she becomes that character. Families have enjoyed this immensely.
She is a member of the Detroit Association of Black Storytellers (DABS), Detroit Storytellers League, National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS), and Ann Arbor Storytelling Guild. Mattie Oney’s mission is to enhance literacy and knowledge of our history of our youth through oral storytelling.
Gwendolyn Lewis
Gwendolyn Lewis, known in the storytelling world as Ms. Gwen and The Ambassador of Family Literacy, received her post- graduate education in library science and elementary school administration.
Her true belief in family literacy addresses the idea that family and community involvement influences and reflects the quality of a child’s learning.
She addresses the illiteracy epidemic by traveling throughout Michigan presenting interactive family literacy workshops and storytelling using the book she authored PLANT A SEED… READ 101 ACTIVITIES TO MOTIVATE CHILDREN TO READ.!! Ms. Gwen also had a radio program titled. “Plant a Seed…Read!”
Legacy of Literacy
Mrs. Alma Greer is the founder of Legacy of Literacy, Inc., a Highland Park-based nonprofit that uses her skills, knowledge and experience to support the students, families and educators of southeastern Michigan. She is a former longtime educator—classroom teacher, Area E administrator, middle school principal—in the Detroit Public Schools and also served as a School Board member and President of the Highland Park School District’s Board of Education. Under her leadership, the Board focused on a range of community literacy activities, including her beloved National Reading Month-related initiatives (such as Real People Read) as well as Literacy in the Park, a day-long event that promotes reading and is focused on fun! She does lots more but the common thread is clear: literacy in the community. And Alma Greer works on it every single day.
