Welcome to the MWC!
 It's
spring again, and that means it Birdies for
Charity pledge season!
Please
consider supporting MWC (#1370) through the
Birdies for Charity program. Click the
Birdies logo for more information about how
you can make your charitable contribution to
the MWC go further with Birdies for Charity
at the John Deere Classic. Thanks!
 Applications
for the Young Emerging
Writers Summer Internship Program are now
being accepted!
Deadline for
applications is May15
Follow this
link for more information
about YEW and
application form.
Copies of The Atlas
Vol. 7 are now available!
Get your copy
of the annual literary magazine produced by
the YEW interns!
~
Writing
Your Family History and Memoir Workshop
Instructor:
Joyce Godwin Grubbs
Saturday, May 18, 2013 1-3 p.m. 3rd Floor
Conference Room
Bucktown Center for the
Arts, 225 E. 2nd St., Davenport, IA
"We must continue throughout our lives to do
what we conceive to be good” Chief Black
Hawk
(Taken from the Rock Island County Genealogy
website introducing genealogical groups in
our area.)
It is no longer enough ‘to continue to do
what we conceive to be good’, but rather we
must preserve it. It is in the process of
writing memoirs we make that possible. In
this two hour workshop we will move our
works beyond preserving the past in memoirs.
We will explore how to forge our
genealogical findings and formatted
materials into a state of readiness for
publication. We will also embrace the basics
of 21st century memoir variations which are
emerging. Ours will be a comprehensive
exploration of the resources available to
us, as well as ways to be published in print
and online. We will examine the ways to
avoid the “pitfalls and snake oil sales”
that would ensnare us. Indeed the full 120
minutes of our time will demonstrate that it
is possible to motivate the novice, move the
“writer’s block” to fruition, and show you
which publishing route is best for your
memoirs should you choose to formalize your
formatted work.
Door prizes and light refreshments will be
available.
Workshop is $10 for
members of MWC or RICIGS and $15 for all
others
Make check payable to Midwest Writing
Center, and send to MWC, 225 E. 2nd St.,
Suite 303, Davenport, IA 52801. You
may also call 563-324-1410 to register with
a credit card. Office hours are Wed-Fri 11-6
and Sat 11-4. Register with PayPal via the
link below.
~
 MWC
reached our
endowment goal!
MWC received a $5,000 match from the Community
Foundation of the Great River Bend!
Thanks so much to everyone who
contributed to the endowment challenge:
Anonymous Donor | Leah Christensen | Susan &
Ryan Collins | Pat Crozier
Mr.
& Mrs. Mark Davidsaver | Craig Dahms | Shea
Doyle & Hannah Morrell
Exotic Imports | Mary Foster | Carol Gloor |
James & Carol Horstmann
Mr.
& Mrs. Steven Lackey | Mary Lewis | Mr. &
Mrs. Thomas McKay
Mr.
& Mrs. Gerald Meehan | Steve & Barb
Melbourne
Mr.
& Mrs. Richard Miller | Max Molleston |
Rochelle Murray | Dr. Trisha Nelson
Mr.
& Mrs. Mark Petersen | Larry Riney | Thomas
Spitzfaden | Jodie Toohey
Jane VanVooren Rogers |
Lindsey Wheeler | Jill &
Dale Whiteside
~
Congratulations to Dr. Robin Throne--
winner of the 2013 David R. Collins Literary
Achievement Award
Dr. Robin Throne
has made many significant contributions to
writers in the Quad Cities area and the
Midwest Writing Center in addition to her
talents as a writer,
an editor and an
educator. In her nomination letter, Dr.
Nancy Schaefer had this to say about Dr.
Throne:
"Dr. Throne is a founding
member of the LeClaire writing group in
Iowa...She is a published author in her own
right, producing a chapbook of poetry, two
novels and an academic monograph, among
other things...beyond her own work she
generously mentors and supports local
writers and poets; she started and operates
her own small independent press, 918studio,
publishing and showcasing the writing of
others.
 Moreover, Dr. Throne has been a steadfast
supporter of the Center...Over the years,
she has continued to contribute to the life
of the Center in various ways, serving on
the Program and Advancement Committees, and
briefly on the Board. She started the
Mississippi Valley Chapbook contest, the
Great River Writers' Retreat, the Collins'
Poetry Residency, and served as a past
mentor for the residency. She started up
online classes, formatted a poetry book and
The Atlas,
and for a time even blogged for MWC too. In
September 2012, she served as the docent for
the first day retreat.
Her
influence and support extends beyond the
Quad Cities as well. A working academic, she
advises dissertations for North Central
University in Arizona and also acts as the
faculty advisor this semester for the Scott
Community College student newspaper."
Follow the
link to read more about Dr. Throne in
the Moline Dispatch
Congratulations
Dr. Throne! The MWC & the QC writing
community are grateful for all you do!
Thanks
to all of our sponsors of the 2013 Literary
Awards Banquet:
The
Dispatch-Argus
Exotic
Imports
Scott
County Regional Authority
~
SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITY
Submissions for the 40th Annual
Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest now being
accepted
MVPC deadline extended until May15!
~
SPECTRA
POETRY
READING SERIES|SPRING 2013
Saturday, April 27th
B.J. BEST | MATT MAUCH | SHANE McCRAE
SUBMIT TO SPECTRA!
SPECTRA Poetry Reading Series is looking
for poets to open for featured readers at our events April 5 and April 27. Please send no more than 3 of your best
poems (previously published poems are accepted) in a single file
attachment (.doc, .docx, .pdf, .rtf, .otd) to
mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org
with the phrase “SPECTRA Readers” in the subject line.
Click here for more information
SPECTRA was
named one of the 2012 "Top 10 Reading Series in the Midwest"
See the complete
list
here. Many thanks to the good people at LitBridge!
~
Announcing the winner of the
2012 Chapbook Contest!
Our esteemed
judge, Shane McCrae, has selected Apple Season
by Cindy Hunter Morgan
as the winner of the 2012 Chapbook Contest
(see Cindy’s full bio below).
We had a
terrific group of manuscripts to read and it
was wonderfully difficult to select a group
of finalists to send to our judge. Here is
the list of finalists:
The Future is a Faint Song,
Jaime Brunton and Russell Evatt
Opera on TV,
Jaime Brunton
Sudden Geography,
Diane LeBlanc
Scotch Tape World,
Tom Hunley
Victory Tattoo,
Richard Boada
 The tentative
release date for Apple Season is
early April 2013. Copies will be available for
purchase at the MWC and on their website at
that time.
The MWC will
be renaming the contest starting in 2013 to
the Susan K. Collins Chapbook Contest, in
honor of the hard work and dedication of our
long-time Board of Directors President here
at the MWC. Susan continues to devote much
of her time and energy to the success of the
MWC and its many programs, and we are deeply
grateful for her many contributions over the
last 10+ years.
Cindy Hunter
Morgan lives in East Lansing, Michigan and
teaches creative writing at Michigan State
University. She has another chapbook, The
Sultan, The Skater, The Bicycle Maker,
which won The Ledge Press 2011 Poetry
Chapbook Award. Her poetry has appeared in a
variety of journals, including A cappella
Zoo, Bateau,
The Christian Science Monitor,
Sugar House Review, and
West Branch.
She graduated from Albion College and also
studied at the University of Stirling in
Scotland.
Purchase a
copy of Apple Season using the PayPal link
below:
~
Join us for
Out Loud Open Mic Nights at their new
location:
Downtown
Central Perk (approx. 5 block from the MWC)
We are taking submissions for
the next Out Loud Anthology now -- find
details on how to submit
here.
~
The
5th Annual
QC Iron Pen
Contest
Award Ceremony: February 23, 2pm @ the MWC
Here are the winners of the
2013 Iron Pen Contest by category:
Adult Fiction
Adult Nonfiction
Adult Poetry
1. Mary Davidsaver
1. Frank Claudy
1. Mike Bayles
2. Ashley Allen
2. Tom Miller
2. Bill Hudson
3. Daniel Horne
3. C. Bruce Moore
3. Steve "Lanny" Biehler
Hon. Mention – Connie Wilson
Hon. Mention – Steve Robinson
Youth Poetry -- 1. Brooke Wiese
Youth Fiction -- 1. Andy Pavey
Congratulations to all of our winners &
thanks to all who participated!
~
Memorials for Timothy J. Curry, creator of
the Young Emerging Writers Program
Timothy J.
Curry, master teacher and creator of the
Young Emerging Writers Internship program,
passed away at his home in Evanston, IL on
October 10, 2012. We are deeply
saddened by the loss of our friend, who
inspired a love for literature and writing
in so thousands of young people over nearly
four decades. We are honored to
continue his legacy with the Young Emerging
Writers program for many years to come.
Read more
about Mr. Curry's impact on his students in
this wonderful
tribute written by Felicia Schneiderhan.
Memorials for Timothy J. Curry can be made
to the Young Emerging Writers Internship
Program c/o the Midwest Writing Center.
Our dearest gratitude to his family for
including Young Emerging Writers in his
memorial.
~
We now
offer Creative Writing Basics Online Courses all year round!
Click here for more details
New Releases from MWC Press:
(click on the
titles below for more information on how to buy one of the
chapbooks)
The
Canopy
by Sandra Marchetti
Regional Winner of the 2011
Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Contest.
Call it A Window
by Monica Wendel National Winner of the 2011 Mississippi Valley
Chapbook Contest.
Black as Caviar
by Menno Wigman, translated from the Dutch by
Dr. Stephen Frech.
Click on the titles for more information and to purchase.
MWC needs
YOU!
Please
consider volunteering! It only takes as much
time as you can give; you choose your
schedule and your job.
Click here for more information!
Want to help
but not sure how?
How about sponsoring a workshop? All it
takes to put on a two hour workshop is $100.
You can help decide what kind of workshop it
will be and have your name associated
with it. It can be a free workshop or MWC
can charge and keep the proceeds,
potentially doubling (or more) the impact of
your donation. Interested? Email us at
mwc@midwestwritingcenter.org.
Bix
Beiderbecke: Jazz Age Genius Now for Sale
Online!
A brand new, republished
edition of Bix
Beiderbecke: Jazz Age Genius by
David R. Collins is now for sale on the MWC
bookstore!
Check it out!
Midwest Writing Center's
Premise Statement
The Midwest Writing Center's goal is to
help writers develop their craft, find
audiences and establish a writing community
where they can learn and grow in a
supportive environment. Through public
readings, workshops, critique groups,
contests, publications and partnerships, the
Center enriches the community with its
emphasis on literary arts and education.
In the past two years
we have worked with a consultant provided by
the Iowa Cultural Trust Sustainability Grant
to develop a new funding and marketing
plans. In the course of this work we
developed a premise statement which is
the ultimate vision of the Midwest Writing
Center.
**On September 8, 2011 the Midwest
Writing Center Board of Directors adopted the
Iowa Principles
and Practices for Charitable Non Profit Excellence.
|
The creation
and design of this website was made
possible by a grant from the
Riverboat Development Authority.
All programs
are partially supported by a grant
from the Illinois Arts Council, a
state agency. |
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