2011 Judges

Fiction Judge

Ron Kuka, Faculty Associate and Creative Writing Program Coordinator at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, judged the fiction category for this year’s Hal Grutzmacher’s Writers’ Expose.

Kuka has been the program coordinator of the program in creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1990. He has published several short stories in literary journals such as the Iowa Journal of Literary Studies, Toyon, and Pavement.

Non-fiction Judge

Justin Isherwood, whose humorous and thought-provoking non-fiction essays have graced pages of the Pulse for years, judged this year’s Hal Grutzmachers’ Writers’ Expose non-fiction contest.

Isherwood is an award-winning writer, a Wisconsin farmer, humorist, author and contributor to numerous collections and publications including: Badger CommonTater, Isthmus, and Newsday. He is an essayist for the radio program, BookMarks & Art, airing on a CBS affiliate in central Wisconsin. His books include: Christmas Stones & the Story Chair, Book of Plough, Farm Kid, and most recently, Pulse.

Poetry Judge

Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate, judged this year’s Hal Grutzmachers’ Writers’ Exposé poetry contest.

Dethlefsen is Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate. His collection Breather (Fireweed Press), won an Outstanding Achievement award from the Wisconsin Library Association. He also has two chapbooks, A Decent Reed and Something Near the Dance Floor, and his poems were featured twice on The Writer’s Almanac. He plays bass, harmonica, and drums and performs original music with poetry as Obvious Dog.

To learn more about Dethlefsen and read selections of his poetry, visit http://www.brucedethlefsen.com.

Photography Judges

Peninsula Pulse Staff Photographer Dan Eggert joined with Lucas and Heather Frykman (Frykman Studio Gallery, Sister Bay) and Kim Thiel and Kari Witthuhn-Henning (Kim Thiel Photography, Appleton) to judge the 2011 Photography Jubilee.

Dan Eggert, currently the Photo Editor of the Peninsula Pulse, has also been working with Door County Living from the beginning of its publication history. He is a freelance photographer working with clients ranging from local Door County businesses to artists and musicians. During the off-season, he spends his time up on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

To view samples of Eggert’s work visit http://www.daneggert.zenfolio.com.

Lucas and Heather Frykman (former Pulse Photography Jubilee winners) are Door County nature photographers who show their work at their family-owned gallery, the Frykman Studio Gallery of Sister Bay. The husband/wife team co-owns the gallery with Lucas’s parents, David and Carole. The Frykmans photograph mainly Door County landscapes and waterscapes, but they do take photography trips to other parts of the country like the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, and the lakes of Upper Michigan.

The Frykmans have been showing their work in Door County at their gallery since 2005 when they opened the David Frykman Studio Gallery in Ellison Bay. In 2008 the family moved the gallery to Sister Bay. They both grew up taking photographs as a hobby. Heather worked at a portrait studio for a year and took some classes in college, but they consider themselves to be self-taught photographers. They both use Canon digital SLR cameras and lenses and a Mac as their “digital darkroom.”

Their work has been shown at the Miller Art Musuem, the Hardy Gallery in Ephraim, and published in some local and national publications.

To view samples of the Frykmans’ work visit http://www.door-county-photography.com

With fond memories of childhood summers at their dad’s coffee and ice cream shop in Fish Creek, sisters Kim Thiel and Kari Witthuhn-Henning (a former Pulse Photography Jubilee winner) try to reconnect with Door County whenever possible. Based out of their cozy studio and office space in the historic Edison Center in Appleton, they love shooting outdoors. The dynamic team, which also includes Thiel’s husband Jason as cinematographer, specializes in artistic weddings, fashion-focused senior portraits, and nature-inspired newborns. For them, photography is more than just the click of a shutter – it’s the ability to capture a story and retell it with artistry.

To view samples of Thiel’s and Witthuhn-Henning’s work visit http://www.kimthielphotography.com.