Joy to the Word

This December 14 at 7 PM, the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild is continuing its annual tradition of bringing together musicians and writers to charm and delight our region’s citizens with wintery songs and stories. This year’s Sound and Stories “Joy To The Word” event will feature storytellers John Hildebrand, Elan Mccallum, Bonni Knight and Dalton Hessel alongside holiday tunes courtesy of The UKE Klub. Bundle up, settle in, and get into the seasonal spirit among some of our region’s best musicians and storytellers! Hosted by B.J. Hollars. Bios: Dalton Hessel is a second-grade teacher in Hayward, WI. He graduated from UWEC in the winter of 2018. Some of you may recognize him as Buddy the Elf, who appeared on campus during finals week every year. When he’s not teaching, he loves staying busy with photography, videography, podcasting and writing. He has a company called The Northern Nerd and hosts various community events throughout the year. If you ever find yourself in the Hayward area, he’s probably walking the streets or covering an event. He and his wife welcomed their first child, Amelia, into the world this year and he's been enjoying dad life. Elan Mccallum is a Filipina American writer whose work has been published in Barstow & Grand. She has collaborated with E Dance Company and Dotters Books, and she has read her work in the Chippewa Valley's Sound and Stories Series, the Snapshot Series, the River Prairie Cultural Festival, and the River Prairie Festival Celebration of Art. John Hildebrand is the author of several books, most recently Long Way Round: Through the Heartland By River and The Heart of Things: A Midwestern Almanac. His articles and essays have appeared in Harper’s magazine, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Outside, The Best American Sports Writing―1999, and The Missouri Review. He has been awarded a Minnesota Book Award, Banta Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, Bush Fellowship, Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship, and a Friends of American Libraries Award. Bonni Knight is a retired French teacher, speech coach, and storyteller. Her work has been featured in Volume One Magazine; the Volume One Podcast series; Snapshots: Eau Claire Life in Pictures, Stories, and Sounds; the Eau Claire Leader Telegram; as well as in appearances at The Lakely, the Lazy Monk, and the V1 Gallery. BJ Hollars is the author of several books, including Year of Plenty and Wisconsin for Kennedy, both forthcoming this spring. He is a writer, professor, and a burgeoning documentarian. He is the director of the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild and founder of the Midwest Artist Academy.