Grand River and Joy Work available online Other places where my work has appeared Interviews and podcasts Performance piece about literary rejection Others who have supported or awarded my work Some current and former clients Other favorites

Information about my novel Grand River and Joy
University of Michigan Press

Interviews and podcasts

University of Michigan Press Author Podcast Series

The Books for Walls Project
(Even the dog submitted a question.)

College of Dupage: "A Reading and Discussion with Susan Messer.”

Literary work available online

"An Extended Definition of Unclassifiable Knowing," published in the  Baltimore Review, follows my  deepening connection with another family based on confusion between our addresses  over at least 30 years.

“Of Song Sheets and Latkes,” which appears on the Moment magazine website, is my deep dive into Chanukah memories.

“Torah Studies,” published in Killing the Buddha. This essay won second place in the Center for Yiddish Culture’s writing competition.
Killing the Buddha

"Hope: What It Is and What (if Anything) It’s Good For,” an essay that grew out of a conversation among neighbors. It was published in The Typescript. With a reading.

“Best Despair Antidote of 2019: Reading Marcel Proust,” published in The Typescript, describes the experience reading and discussing Proust with friends over many years. Imagine thinking we needed despair antidotes in 2019! Who knew what lay ahead?

“Why Detroit?” published in Triquarterly, is a review essay about the complex forces that have shaped and challenged Detroit.

Writing on environmental topics

Speaking Up for the Rights of Nature
Filmfest.org

Our Children’s Trust (a public interest law firm representing youth in suits again state and federal governments for the right to a clean and livable environment)

• Filmfest.org Filmmaker Q & A
• Filmfest.org Did Government Fuel the Crisis?
• Filmfest.org Win for Young People
• Filmfest.org Protecting the Rights

The Environmental Ravages of War
Filmfest.org

One Significant Source of our Plastic Problem
Filmfest.org

Circular Economy
Filmfest.org

Interview with Katherine Hayhoe, Environmental Scientist Extraordinaire
Filmfest.org

 

Other places where my work has appeared

Another Chicago Magazine
Chicago Public Radio
Chicago Reader
Colorado Review
Creative Nonfiction
Fourth Genre
Glimmer Train
Moment Magazine
North American Review

Others who have supported or awarded my work

Bill Rauhauser (1918-2017)
A master photographer who documented beautiful Detroit for decades. The cover photo on Grand River and Joy comes courtesy of Bill.

Center for Yiddish Culture
Sponsor of an annual writing competition that I won several years ago with my essay “Torah Studies.”

Cindy Trim
Finally, a photographer I feel comfortable with. She took many of the photos that appear on this website. Email her at ctrim_pix@comcast.net or call 312.806.3221.

Colleen Mohyde
My now-retired agent at Doe Coover Agency.

Guild Literary Complex
They “look at literary culture and ask ‘what’s missing?’” My essay, “Dearest Tabitha,” won second place in their prose series.

Hannah Jennings Design
The designer of this website.

HeatingHelp.com
The boiler and steam professionals who kept me entertained while helping me with research for the boiler chapter in my novel.

Illinois Arts Council
Provides financial and technical assistance to artists (including me, twice), arts organizations, and other community organizations that present arts programming.

Janet Desaulniers
An American author and teacher. She was my first writing teacher.

Karma Foundation
Funds the Moment magazine prize for short fiction

Laura Kasischke
An American novelist and poet.

Literary Rejections on Display
The proprietor of this wonderful website published an interview with me about overcoming rejection.

Masha Hamilton
A novelist, writing instructor, and world traveler.

Oak Park Public Library

Patry Francis
A novelist, blogger, and friend. Patry died in 2022—so many hearts broken by her absence. Every summer, we baked blueberry pies for our muses.

Ragdale
An artists’ colony in Lake Forest, Illinois.

Roberta Cantow
A filmmaker and digital storyteller.

Rosellen Brown
An American author.

Russ Gibb (1931-2019)
Former owner of the Grande Ballroom in Detroit, located near Grand River and Joy Road.

University of Michigan Press
The publisher of my novel.

Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs
The largest labor archive in North America. This is where I did archival research for my novel.

S. L. Wisenberg
A/k/a Cancer Bitch and one of my former writing teachers. She taught me about creative nonfiction.

 

Some current and former clients
My career has been as an editor, and I do still take on projects.

American Bar Foundation
Cambridge University Press
MacArthur Foundation
McGraw-Hill
Pearson
Project Exploration
University of Chicago Press
Urban Gateways

 

Other favorites

"Your average literate litter lady"
The Wednesday Journal article about my weekly practice of litter collection.

Chicago Literary Hall of Fame
An organization that honors and preserves Chicago’s great literary heritage.

Grace Paley
American short story writer, poet, and political activist.

One Earth Collective
An organization devoted to building community and inspiring change that promotes environmental sustainability at the family, organizational, and public policy levels. I’ve been writing articles for their newsletter.

Eloisa Cartonera
A publishing collective I discovered while traveling in Argentina.

Compound Yellow
A new artists’ collective in my neighborhood.

Jo Cunningham
Jo’s Freak Family Roadshow is a traveling sculptural art installation. I had the pleasure of meeting Jo when she stopped at Compound Yellow in Oak Park IL in May 2026.

Novelty Automation
A collection of satirical  home-made arcade machines that I discovered in London.