Middle West Press

Middle West Press LLC , the Iowa-based business that administers The Aiming Circle community of practice as well as other military-writing projects, recently issued a call for single-author poetry manuscripts centering on or adjacent to issues of war, healing, and military service . If accepted and contracted, publication would occur in 2024 or 2025. Manuscripts should comprise 50 to 100 poems each . The publisher seeks manuscripts that intersect in some way with military experience or service , especially those stemming from the lived experiences of women veterans, poets of color, poets who identify as LGBTQ+, and other marginalized voices. Past and present military service members, family members, and others are invited to submit work. This reading period ends March 4, 2024 or a maximum of 25 submissions, whichever comes first. The publisher’s Submittable page is here at link . The call for submissions is here at link . Submissions will be processed "First-In, First Out....

Three Middle West Press titles now make up something of a non-fiction trilogy for writers and readers of military themes and topics. As such, they make great seasonal and professional gifts for past- and present military service members, veterans, and family. Writes Editor-Publisher Randy Brown: “One principle that drives our military-themed work at Middle West Press, is that not all veterans are American Snipers and Navy SEALs; be proud of who you were, what you did as a job and what you tried to do in your country's name, and who you are now. ” Things We Carry Still: Poems & Micro-Stories about Military Gear playfully explores military life around a single idea—“show and tell” from our closets and footlockers—while offering new inspirations for future writing! Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War helps define a genre/practice of "Military Writing" as a big tent—one that includes veterans, service members, civilians, novelists, poets, scholars, science-ficti...