Mikel B. Classen has been writing and photographing northern Michigan in newspapers and magazines for over thirty-five years, creating feature articles about the life and culture of Michigan's north country. A journalist, historian, photographer and author with a fascination of the world around him, he enjoys researching and writing about lost stories from the past. He is the founder of the U.P. Reader and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association. In 2020, Mikel won the Historical Society of Michigan's, George Follo Award for Upper Peninsula History. Classen makes his home in the oldest city in Michigan, historic Sault Ste. Marie. He is also a collector of out-of-print history books, and historical photographs and prints of Upper Michigan. At Northern Michigan University, he studied English, history, journalism and photography. He spent several years living in Grand Marais, MI. While there, he worked at the Lake Superior Brewing Company where he became acquainted with the brewing process of beer. The LSBC was in its early stages and Mikel was able to witness not only its growing process, but that of the beginning of the revival of Upper Peninsula brewing. Learning the ins and outs of stouts, browns, ambers, ESBs, pale ales, and wheats has made Classen perfect for a book like Yooper Ale Trails. He enjoys drinking the stuff too.Mikel's other books include a short story fiction called Lake Superior Tales, which won the 2020 U.P. Notable Book Award. Points North is a non-fiction travel book published in 2019 that received the Historical Society of Michigan's, "Outstanding Michigan History Publication," along with the 2021 U.P. Notable Book Award. Since then, he has released, True Tales, the Forgotten History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and the newest release is Faces, Places, & Days Gone By, a Pictorial History of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, published by Modern History Press. To learn more about Mikel B. Classen and to see more of his work, go to his website at mikelbclassen.com
