Small-Town Wisconsin is Mary Bergin's sixth book and one that feels dear because she has long paid attention to the unique, exceptional and quirky in rural America. Her writing forté is travel, food, heritage and sustainability-especially in the Midwest and particularly in her home state of Wisconsin. The lifelong journalist spent decades working in newsrooms as an editor or reporter for Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma newspapers. She switched to full-time freelance work in 2008 and is a four-time winner of a Lowell Thomas Award, the highest national recognition for travel journalists. Her work has been published widely through online and print media outlets, including Tribune Content Agency and the USA Today Network. Wisconsin Supper Club Cookbook was her fifth book. She is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and Midwest Travel Journalists Association. The Wisconsin native grew up on a small dairy farm in Sheboygan County and has lived in Madison since 1988, sharing a home with her longtime partner Richard and their two adorable cats, Siena and Doolin. Follow her at marybergin.com, roadstraveled.com or smalltownhues.com.

Every time I travel to Wisconsin, I am immediately reminded of what always brings me back -- it's the small towns, the communities and the people who have managed to stay true to themselves and to the promise of the land. Mary Bergin's Small Town Wisconsin is full of surprising discoveries, a great road map to these towns, hamlets and villages -- but most important a way to embrace culture, community and conversation.

--Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News

Growing up in Madison as the daughter of an educational book salesman who loved exploring the Badger State's backroads and byways, I had an early appreciation for its small-town charms. Mary Bergin's engaging tome has reignited that wanderlust, and I'm looking forward to a homecoming with her guide as fresh inspiration.

--Laura Schmalbach Bly, Retired Travel Reporter at USA Today

In this most interesting travel-oriented book, author Mary Bergin takes the reader to places in Wisconsin that are often overlooked. The little towns scattered across the state each with something special, from places like Belgium in southeastern Wisconsin and Spring Green in the southwest, to Bayfield in the northwest and Egg Harbor in the northeast--a total of 50 places to visit and enjoy. She writes, "Consider this a selective look at places to visit for an hour or two, during a specific time of the year, an overnight stay, or a full-blown vacation." Small Town Wisconsin is a traveler's guidebook and much more, as it contains a treasure-trove of fascinating details about these little Wisconsin places.

--Jerry Apps, Author of More than Words: A Memoir of a Writing Life

Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

Pub date: 2023-05-01

Length: 200 pages