Chapbook Series Accepting Submissions

MWC Press, the press imprint of The Midwest Writing Center, is thrilled to announce a new publication series: The Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series, which looks to publish outstanding short collections of poetry, prose (fiction or nonfiction), or hybrid work from poets and writers living in the upper Midwest region (this includes the following states served by Arts Midwest: IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, ND, OH, SD, WI). Submissions for the third year of the series are open now. Submissions accepted through March 1, 2025.

ABOUT THE SERIES

All submitted manuscripts will be reviewed and selected by a group of writers/editors affiliated with MWC. Author of the selected manuscript will receive a publishing contract with MWC Press, a $300 publication fee, 20 copies of the finished chapbook, and an invitation to a reading in the Quad Cities (either in a virtual format, or an in-person reading, if possible, with MWC will covering travel expenses). MWC is committed to publishing at least one chapbook each year, but reserves the right to select more than one manuscript for publication. The series aims to publish at least one chapbook every year.

Submissions will be accepted via email and snail mail. Full submission details can be found below.

SUBMISSION DETAILS & INSTRUCTIONS

• Please submit only one copy of your manuscript.
• Manuscript page length: between 20-30 pages of poetry, prose, or hybrid works (front matter not included in count).
• Poems must be typed.
• Do not include photocopies of poems from magazines or journals. Manuscripts should include no more than one poem per page.
• No illustrations may be included.
• Multiple submissions are accepted.
• Manuscripts with more than one author will not be accepted.
• Translations will not be accepted.

A complete submission should include:

• A title page with contest name (The Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series), your name, address, telephone, email, and any other relevant contact information. Your name should not appear elsewhere in the manuscript.
• An acknowledgments page. Poems included in your manuscript may be previously published, but please include an acknowledgments page listing specific publications.
• A complete Table of Contents.
• Your manuscript.

ENTRY FEES

• Proof of purchase of one of the following MWC Press chapbooks for $10 (includes shipping), while supplies last for each title:
   
• –Hesitation Waltz by Amie Whittemore (2023 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Selection (pre-order: out Spring 2025)
• –Atonality by Joshua Bohnsack (2023 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Editor’s Choice Selection (pre-order: out Spring 2025)
• –My National Parks by Jacob Boyd (2022 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Selection)
• –For a Second, In the Dark by Alec Hershman (2021 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Editor’s Choice Selection)
• –Field Notes Recovered from the Expedition to Devil’s Peak by Laura A. Ring (2020 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Selection)
• –Choir by Aubrey Jane Ryan (2020 Foster-Stahl Chapbook Series Editor’s Choice Selection)
• –Broken Plums on the Sidewalk by Meghan Brinson
• –The Polychrome Clinic by Caroline Crew
• –Meditations in a Helicopter About to Explode Over a Guy Covered in Chum, Surfing of Shark Bay Beach by Jason Bredle
• –Outsiders by Cherise Pollard
• –Get Home Safe by Elliott Sky Case

The contest is named in memory of two important figures in MWC’s history, whose lasting contributions to the Center have made this series possible: Mary Foster (1937-2019), a long-time educator and member of the MWC Board of Directors, as well as a founding member of MWC’s Legacy Society, and Richard “Dick” Stahl (1939-2020), a teacher and poet who published three collections (including Bluffing and Mr. Farnam’s Guests), and served at the inaugural Quad Cities Poet Laureate 2001-2003.