Critiques Available at 2013 Conference

We are thrilled to offer critique sessions with the faculty of this year's 2013 David R. Collins Writers' Conference. Participants can submit up to ten pages of their manuscripts to the faculty member of their choice for $35 and then schedule a meeting time to discuss the work for 30 minutes during the conference.

Any writer can find someone suited to critique their specific genre; critiques are available from novelists, poets, MFA graduates, creative nonfiction writers, journalists, freelancers, and Senior Literary Agent at Andrea Hurst Literary Management, Gordon Warnock.

If you wish to purchase a critique session, you must register and submit your ten pages by June 12th so that the faculty has sufficient time to read your work and form a quality critique. Click here to sign up now.

The 2013 David R. Collins Writer's Conference will be held June 27th through 29th at New Hall at St. Ambrose University located at 518 W. Locust Street in Davenport, Iowa. The conference also features three day writing workshops on a variety of topics including novels, creative non-fiction, reading as writers, speculative fiction, freelancing, poetry, and literary collage; critique sessions; luncheons; and free events. Discounts are offered for MWC member and early bird (before June 15^th) registrants. Click here for more details. The conference is made possible by our generous sponsors: Modern Woodman of America, St. Ambrose University English Department, Illinois Arts Council, and Genesis Health Systems.

Take note: Collins Conference faculty Erin Bertram has two forthcoming chapbooks in 2013

Erin Bertram

Faculty member for the 2013 David R. Collins Writers' Conference, Erin M. Bertram, is the author of nine chapbooks. Inland Sea, won the Robin Becker Chapbook Prize, and two are forthcoming in 2013: from The Vanishing of Camille Claudel (Seven Kitchens Press, forthcoming 2013) and Memento Mori (Dancing Girl Press, forthcoming in 2013). 

 

She holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from Washington University in St. Louis, and has led writing workshops for a variety of organizations, including St. Patrick Center and the Midwest Writing Center.  She is an Instructor and Faculty Tutor at Augustana College, where she co-coordinates the campus Safe Zone program. 

READ LOCAL: Salvatore Marici to perform poems June 5 at Bettendorf Library

Salvatore Marici will perform poems from his book Mortals, Nature, and Their Spirits (Ice Cube

Ice Cube Press (2012)

Press), at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, at the Bettendorf Public Library, a Read Local event. Via an enchanting array of rhythmic encounters, sensual visions, perceptive reflections of mysteries and magic, he and the audience will dance, drum, mingle with spirits, talk and laugh with deities.

Marici served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and is a civil servant retiree who worked for the Army, mainly with the job title of agronomist. At both jobs, he managed natural resources.
His poetry has appeared in several publications including Off Channel, Slow Trains, Descant, Sweet Lemons 2: International Writings with a Sicilian Accent, and Toasted Cheese. He was the 2010 MWC poet-in-residence and is a featured poet in the Bucktown Revue.

Gordon Warnock joins the faculty for David R. Collins Writers' Conference

The Midwest Writing Center is excited to have Gordon Warnock join the faculty for its 2013 David

Gordon Warnock

R. Collins Writers' Conference taking place June 27-29 in New Hall at St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport.

Warnock is a Founding Partner with Foreword Literary Management and he will be taking pitches for potential representation for publication during the conference. His client list includes Midwestern authors Tanya Chernov, Nan DeMars, and Pat Sinclair; he is currently looking to represent memoir, cookbooks, political and current events, humor, career, self-help, pets, commercial fiction and contemporary realistic young adult fiction.

In addition to the pitches, Warnock will be leading a free workshop on Thursday, June 27 starting at 7 p.m. at MWC on the 3rd floor of the Bucktown Center for the Arts at 225 E. 2nd St., Davenport. The workshop is open to conference attendees and non-attendees alike. It is entitled "Finding Your Way in the Modern Publishing Environment" and will discuss the different types of publishing options available today, teach participants how to pitch to agents, and end with a question and answer session. Those who plan to attend a pitch session with Warnock at the conference are strongly encouraged to attend this workshop.

Along with the pitch sessions, the 2013 conference features three-day writing workshops on a variety of topics including novels, creative non-fiction, reading as writers, speculative fiction, freelancing, poetry, and literary collage; critique sessions; luncheons; and a free faculty reading. Discounts are offered for MWC member and early bird (before June 15) registrants. More information, including a brochure, is available at www.midwestwritingcenter.org via the conference link under the "Events & Opportunities" drop-down menu. Of course, information can be obtained and registration made by calling 563-324-1410 or emailing mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org

Now accepting submissions for the 2013 Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook Competition

The Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook contest (formerly the Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Competition) annually invites submissions for a chapbook collection of poetry to be published by the MWC Press. Submissions must be postmarked between May 1 and August 31. Past winners have included Stephen Frech (2008, went on to win the 2011 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize from the New England Poetry Club), Meghan Brinson (2009), Ryan Walsh (2010), Sandra Marchetti (Regional 2011), Monica Wendel (National 2011), and
Cindy Hunter Morgan (2012).

Stephen Frech's chapbook 
The Dark Villages of Childhood

went on to win the
2011 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize
from the New England Poetry Club.

Contest Rules
Submit between 16 to 24 pages of poetry; manuscripts should be paginated and secured with a binder clip (no staples). No names should appear on the poems. Enclose two cover pages: first includes chapbook title, author’s name, address, phone, and email address. The second includes only the chapbook title to allow for blind review.

No cover letter is required; however, if poems have been previously published, an acknowledgment page should be included. Poems may be more than one page in length, but only one poem per page. Winners will be posted online in late November or early December.

Midwest Writing Center will publish and make the winning chapbook available for sale. No manuscripts will be returned. Submissions that arrive ‘postage due’ will be returned unopened.

Contact/Submission Information
Submissions should be sent directly to Midwest Writing Center. If you wish to receive written notification of the contest results please include a self-addressed , stamped envelope. All entries that also include (optional) a 6x9 self- addressed envelope with $2.50 in postage will receive a complimentary copy of the winning chapbook. Contact the contest administrators with any questions by emailing mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org with the word “chapbook:” in the subject line. 

Prizes
The winners of the Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Contest will receive $100 prize money, have their manuscripts published by Midwest Writing Center, and receive 15 free copies of the finished chapbook.

Reading Fee
There is a $15 reading fee per chapbook entry (multiple submissions accepted). If paying reading fee by check, make check payable to MWC and include payment with the manuscript submission to:

Midwest Writing Center
Susan K. Collins Poetry Chapbook Contest
225 E. 2^nd St., Suite 303
Davenport, IA  52801

Pay via PayPal on the contest’s web page and MasterCard and Visa are also accepted. Please send your name as it appears on the card, the card number, expiration date, and v-code along with your manuscript.

Restrictions
As a member of the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses and CLMP's community of independent literary publishers, Midwest Writing Center believes that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, friends, relatives, and/or past or current students of judges have been deemed ineligible to enter this contest, as have past and current board members and employees of the Midwest Writing Center.



Chip In For MWC

The John Deere Classic Birdies for Charity fundraising drive is currently underway. Pledge a one-time donation or a certain amount per birdie made at the classic and the Birdies foundation will give us a 5% bonus. You can also enter to win a 2013 Chevy Equinox or one of other several prizes. Pledge cards can be picked up at MWC or if you would like one mailed to you, call us at 563-324-1410 or email us with your name and mailing address.

 

Pledge cards are due to Birdies for Charity by July 12, 2013. Thanks in advance for your help!

Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest deadline extended to May 15



2012 Off Channel

Submissions for the 40^th annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest will be accepted through May 15, 2013. This year’s judges are Laura Madelyn Wiseman for the Regional Contest and Lisa Zimmerman for the National Contest.

 

Special Upper Mississippi River Valley theme category judged by former QC Poet Laureate, Dick Stahl.  Visit MWC MVPC for submission guidelines.