North Star Writers Group

North Star Writers Group was a newspaper syndicate and editorial services firm launched in December 2005. It was based in Byron Center, MI. The syndicate's material was carried by more than 50 newspapers across the United States. It was utilized by some community papers that could not afford opinion writers or cartoonists of their own. On March 7, 2012, its website stated that it had ceased syndicated operations.

North Star Writers Group was owned and operated by editor in chief Dan Calabrese and editor relations director Angie Calabrese. The syndicate was a successor company to a now-defunct public relations firm called North Star Public Relations, which Calabrese launched in 1999. Although North Star Public Relations enjoyed some early success, it foundered as the company struggled to maintain financial stability.

Calabrese began his career as a journalist and opinion writer in various Michigan. By early 2006 Calabrese decided to retire the public relations practice (a move that was completed at the conclusion of 2006) and focus their efforts on the syndication.

Calabrese began recruiting columnists in September 2005 in anticipation of a December 2005 site launch. His initial efforts focused on recently graduated college writers who showed skill but would likely be overlooked by more established syndicates. This effort helped North Star recruit Lucia Bill of Arizona State University, Nathaniel Shockey of Seattle Pacific University and Paul Ibrahim of Cornell University. When the syndicate launched, it featured 11 columnists.

Soon after the launch, a variety of other writers learned of the syndicate and began offering their services, including Dayton Daily News feature editor Bob Batz, Mt. Pleasant Daily Sun reporter Eric Baerren, author and freelance writer Candace Talmadge and author/humor writer Mike Ball.

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