March is National Reading Month so it’s an excellent time to highlight works from local authors that have earned the distinction of a 2025 Michigan Notable Book. Every year the Library of Michigan selects up to twenty of the most notable books. Each is either about, or set in, Michigan, or written by a Michigan author. Selections include a variety of genres, both fiction and nonfiction. This year’s crop of honorees includes eight by Michigan residents. Here is a description of each of these worthy inclusions.
Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.: Citizen Printer by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Detroit-based letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. is celebrated for his type-driven messages of social justice and Black power, emblazoned in rhythmically layered and boldly inked posters made for the masses. Citizen Printer features 800 reproductions representing the breadth of Kennedy’s posters and prints. It highlights Kennedy’s inspiring story and contextualizes his important work―and offers readers tools for lifting their voices, too.
A Cast Away in Montana by Tim Schulz
Upper Peninsula native and passionate angler Tim Schulz uses his first fishing trip to Montana to embark on a profoundly personal exploration of life, loss, and self-discovery. Through humorous, insightful, and reflective storytelling, this compelling narrative resonates with fly-fishing enthusiasts and those seeking a meaningful connection to nature as it weaves together engaging tales of adventure, friendship, regional history, and reflection.
Good Dress by Brittany Rogers
Good Dress documents the extravagant beauty and audacity of Black Detroit, Black womanhood, community, class, luxury, materialism, and matrilineage. A nontraditional coming of age, this collection witnesses a speaker coming into her own autonomy and selfhood as a young adult, reflecting on formative experiences. With care and incandescent energy, the poems engage with memory, time, interiority, and community. They also nudge tenderly toward curiosity: What does it mean to belong to a person, to a city? Can intimacy and romance be found outside the heteronormative confines of partnership? And in what ways can the pursuit of pleasure be an anchor that returns us to ourselves?
The Lady with the Dark Hair by Erin Bartels
Esther’s family has always believed they were descended from a great, though scandalously underappreciated Impressionist-era artist. But when questions arise about her ancestor’s greatest work–The Lady with the Dark Hair–her once-solid family history rests on shaky ground as a search for the truth begins.
Listening to Workers by Daniel J. Clark
Using interviews and archival research, Listening to Workers uncovers the personal and often overlooked lives of Detroit-area autoworkers in the 1950s. The book explores the complexities of their experiences, addressing issues like poverty, divorce, workplace dangers, and personal struggles, challenging the notion of the 1950s as a time of widespread prosperity. Offering a humanizing perspective, it presents workers as multidimensional individuals, with rich, personal stories that go beyond traditional labor history.
Old Time Hawkey’s Recipes from the Cedar Swamp by Old Time Hawkey
Old Time Hawkey’s Recipes from the Cedar Swamp invites readers into the cozy world of comfort, with over 100 recipes inspired by Northern Michigan. The book features a mix of indoor, campfire, and companion recipes, including dishes like Pumpkin Pancakes and Dutch Oven Nachos, all evoking warmth and nostalgia. Through these recipes and stories, Old Time Hawkey, aka Fritz and his dogs Donnybrook and Kris Draper, brings you on an adventure inspired by three generations of campfires, deer camps, and family gatherings spent in Northern Michigan.
Searching for Van Gogh by Donald Lystra
Searching for Van Gogh follows Nate, a young man who abandons his future in science to pursue painting, driven by the grief of his brother’s death. He meets Audrey Brubaker, a fiercely independent woman ostracized by her community, who becomes an unexpected mentor, guiding him through a journey of self-discovery and helping him confront the complexities of life. Together, they embark on a road trip to reclaim his brother’s body from a military cemetery in northern Michigan, uncovering deep emotional truths, only for Audrey to ultimately seek Nate’s emotional insight in a heartbreaking turn, forcing him to confront his deepest fears and learn the power of empathy and courage.
True Gretch by Gretchen Whitmer
From Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer comes a personal and humorous account of her life and career, full of insights that guided her through a global pandemic, showdowns with high-profile opponents, and even a kidnapping and assassination plot.
The Waters by Bonnie Jo Campbell
In the Great Massasauga Swamp near Whiteheart, Michigan, the eccentric herbalist Hermine “Herself” Zook has long been a healer, inspiring both awe and fear in the local community and her three estranged daughters. Her youngest daughter, Rose Thorn, abandons her eleven-year-old daughter, Dorothy “Donkey” Zook, who grows up isolated and searching for answers in nature and her math books. As tensions rise in the divided community, family secrets and violent men disrupt Donkey’s childhood, with Rose Thorn acting as the only bridge between the two sides.
We Live Here by Jeffrey Wilson and Bambi Kramer
We Live Here! is a graphic novel biography of the members of the local activist group Detroit Eviction Defense combatting–and beating–calls for their eviction. By illustrating the stories of families struggling against evictions, the book gives a voice to those who have remained in Detroit, showing the larger complexities at work in a beleaguered city. These are everyday people fighting back, organizing with others, going into the streets, and winning their homes back. What will Detroit look like in the future?
What Can the Matter Be? by Keith Taylor
Keith Taylor’s What Can the Matter Be? is a collection that explores themes of aging, death, and place, offering reflections on both personal and global scales. Through poems and prose, Taylor showcases his keen observational skills and deep appreciation for nature, while balancing serious themes with moments of humor and joy. The work invites empathy and contemplation, urging readers to reflect on life’s fleeting nature and the interconnectedness of all things.
When Detroit Played the Numbers by Felicia B. George
Felicia B. George’s account examines how numbers gambling, once an illegal activity, became a vital community resource and symbol of solidarity in Detroit’s Black neighborhoods during times of racial and economic struggle. The book explores the lives of Detroit’s numbers operators, who, despite facing poverty, racism, and exploitation, provided employment and financial support for their communities. Through vivid storytelling, George links this underground gambling scene to key moments in local history, shedding light on the complex relationship between race, politics, and community resilience in Detroit.
Other books by non-Michigan residents selected this year include The Black Utopians, Funny Story, I Cheerfully Refuse, The Lions Finally Roar, The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry, MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band, My Black Country, and Sail, Steam, and Diesel.
The 2025 Michigan Notable Books and authors will be honored at the annual Night for Notables reception on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at the Library of Michigan. Past Michigan Notable Book recipient Curtis Chin will be the keynote speaker. Tickets are $75 each, and may be purchased through the Library of Michigan Foundation.
For more information or questions about the Michigan Notable Book program, contact the Library of Michigan at 517-335-1477, visit www.Michigan.gov/NotableBooks, or email Librarian@Michigan.gov.
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