Tyler R. Tichelaar has a Ph.D. in Literature from Western Michigan University and Bachelor and Master’s Degrees in English from Northern Michigan University. He is the owner of Marquette Fiction, his own publishing company; Superior Book Productions, a professional editing, proofreading, book layout, and website design and maintenance service; and the current president of the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association. He is also considered a local expert on Marquette history and is proud to be a seventh generation Marquette resident. Tyler began writing his first novel at age sixteen in 1987. In 2006, he published his first novel, Iron Pioneers: The Marquette Trilogy, Book One. Fifteen more books have followed. In 2008, Tyler won first place in the historical fiction category in the Reader Views Literary Awards for his novel Narrow Lives (2008). He has since sponsored that contest, offering the Tyler R. Tichelaar Award for Historical Fiction. In 2011, Tyler was awarded the Marquette County Outstanding Writer Award, and the same year, he received the Barb Kelly Award for Historical Preservation for his efforts to promote Marquette history. Tyler also writes on such diverse topics as nineteenth century Gothic fiction (www.GothicWanderer.com) and historical fantasies about King Arthur (www.ChildrenofArthur.com). Tyler remains engrossed in writing about Marquette and Upper Michigan as microcosms for the greater American story.

Ph.D. in English
President of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association
Winner of the 2009 Reader Views Literary Award for Best Historical Fiction for "Narrow Lives: A Novel"
2011 Marquette County Outstanding Writer Award