Middle West Press
@middlewestpress.bsky.social
Middle West Press is an Iowa-based editor and publisher of non-fiction, fiction, journalism, and poetry books. Our projects are often inspired by the people, places, and history of the American Midwest. Also #veterans. Visit: http://www.middlewestpress.com
Pinned
From "Line of Advance" & the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards: The best new and established voices from modern wars & eras! NOW IN TWO VOLUMES !!
Series link here:
amzn.to/4oZPwPZ
Editor: Christopher Lyke
Covers: @battlefieldgd.bsky.social
Publisher: @middlewestpress.bsky.social
Series link here:
amzn.to/4oZPwPZ
Editor: Christopher Lyke
Covers: @battlefieldgd.bsky.social
Publisher: @middlewestpress.bsky.social
Reposted by Middle West Press
"[...] There was no octopus. There was you—
dark eyes obscured by your glasses
and your military service. You told me
the frames issued by the Army
were nicknamed birth control glasses,
BCGs. I laughed, my world defined
by my desire for your gaze. [...]"
www.collateraljournal.com/poetry/csbla...
dark eyes obscured by your glasses
and your military service. You told me
the frames issued by the Army
were nicknamed birth control glasses,
BCGs. I laughed, my world defined
by my desire for your gaze. [...]"
www.collateraljournal.com/poetry/csbla...
February 11, 2026 at 10:48 PM
"[...] There was no octopus. There was you—
dark eyes obscured by your glasses
and your military service. You told me
the frames issued by the Army
were nicknamed birth control glasses,
BCGs. I laughed, my world defined
by my desire for your gaze. [...]"
www.collateraljournal.com/poetry/csbla...
dark eyes obscured by your glasses
and your military service. You told me
the frames issued by the Army
were nicknamed birth control glasses,
BCGs. I laughed, my world defined
by my desire for your gaze. [...]"
www.collateraljournal.com/poetry/csbla...
Reposted by Middle West Press
It's time for your periodic reminder that we count on subscriptions to keep the lights on.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Thank you.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Thank you.
February 11, 2026 at 3:07 PM
It's time for your periodic reminder that we count on subscriptions to keep the lights on.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Thank you.
clarkesworldmagazine.com/subscribe/
Thank you.
Originally appeared in "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire"
- Print: amzn.to/2n7zOIg
- Kindle: amzn.to/3acccrT
- Print: amzn.to/2n7zOIg
- Kindle: amzn.to/3acccrT
From 2015's amzn.to/2n7zOIg
***
“HERE AND THEIRS”
By Randy “Sherpa” Brown
We quit our homes
to search theirs.
We left our crops
to burn theirs.
We used our guns
to take theirs.
We spent our capital
to build theirs.
And, now returned, we wonder how
we lost our freedoms
and got theirs.
***
“HERE AND THEIRS”
By Randy “Sherpa” Brown
We quit our homes
to search theirs.
We left our crops
to burn theirs.
We used our guns
to take theirs.
We spent our capital
to build theirs.
And, now returned, we wonder how
we lost our freedoms
and got theirs.
February 10, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Originally appeared in "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire"
- Print: amzn.to/2n7zOIg
- Kindle: amzn.to/3acccrT
- Print: amzn.to/2n7zOIg
- Kindle: amzn.to/3acccrT
Reposted by Middle West Press
I can’t believe we have to call our reps about this again, but these assholes are determined to stop women from voting.
As President Trump calls for sweeping changes to election law, Republican lawmakers are planning to vote this week on the SAVE America Act, which would make massive changes to how Americans vote ahead of November’s midterms.
Republicans are pushing to drastically change the way you cast ballots
Explaining the SAVE Act, which Republicans in Congress are voting on this week.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:39 PM
I can’t believe we have to call our reps about this again, but these assholes are determined to stop women from voting.
Reposted by Middle West Press
“The sense of attrition that gave the book its suspense and power—of the inexorable taking of boys we have come to care about—has vanished.”
Enduring The Long Walk: A review by Michael Washburn.
Read the full review now at buff.ly/lWlZMtz
Enduring The Long Walk: A review by Michael Washburn.
Read the full review now at buff.ly/lWlZMtz
February 6, 2026 at 9:01 PM
“The sense of attrition that gave the book its suspense and power—of the inexorable taking of boys we have come to care about—has vanished.”
Enduring The Long Walk: A review by Michael Washburn.
Read the full review now at buff.ly/lWlZMtz
Enduring The Long Walk: A review by Michael Washburn.
Read the full review now at buff.ly/lWlZMtz
Reposted by Middle West Press
"The Post’s editorial decisions have nothing to do with my relationship with Donald Trump, and everything to do with what’s best for America. Namely, the dismantling of our constitutional rights and democratic institutions."
“Democracy Dies in Darkness” Wasn’t a Warning; It Was Our End Goal
“Jeff Bezos, the owner of the Washington Post, announced a major shift to the newspaper’s opinion section on Wednesday, saying it would now advocat...
buff.ly
February 6, 2026 at 2:00 AM
"The Post’s editorial decisions have nothing to do with my relationship with Donald Trump, and everything to do with what’s best for America. Namely, the dismantling of our constitutional rights and democratic institutions."
Reposted by Middle West Press
I wrote about the strangeness of following events in Minneapolis—where I'm from—and watching a citizenship naturalization ceremony in St. Louis, which is my home now. Not sure if anyone wants or needs more words about these things, but here are mine.
jeffmanuel.com/blog-1/2026/...
jeffmanuel.com/blog-1/2026/...
Reflections on Minneapolis While Watching a Citizenship Naturalization Ceremony – Jeff Manuel
jeffmanuel.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:04 PM
I wrote about the strangeness of following events in Minneapolis—where I'm from—and watching a citizenship naturalization ceremony in St. Louis, which is my home now. Not sure if anyone wants or needs more words about these things, but here are mine.
jeffmanuel.com/blog-1/2026/...
jeffmanuel.com/blog-1/2026/...
Reposted by Middle West Press
JOURNALISTS: Today at 3 PM ET, join the second part of our training on how to secure your devices against raids, seizure, and surveillance.
RSVP: Securing Your Devices Against Raids, Seizure, and Surveillance, Part 2
Join us for a live training on how to secure your computers against raids, seizure, and surveillance, brought to you by The Intercept’s Press Freedom Defense Fund. This is the second of two sessions…
interc.pt
February 6, 2026 at 4:13 PM
JOURNALISTS: Today at 3 PM ET, join the second part of our training on how to secure your devices against raids, seizure, and surveillance.
Reposted by Middle West Press
Reposted by Middle West Press
A shout out and thank you to all of the contributors to our upcoming Great Lakes collection, out 3/10!
@cerena.bsky.social
@minnesotabrown.bsky.social
@gabrielbump.bsky.social
@lilacwaabigwan.bsky.social
@callenh.bsky.social
@lkress.bsky.social
@aeheelee.bsky.social
@cerena.bsky.social
@minnesotabrown.bsky.social
@gabrielbump.bsky.social
@lilacwaabigwan.bsky.social
@callenh.bsky.social
@lkress.bsky.social
@aeheelee.bsky.social
February 6, 2026 at 3:56 PM
A shout out and thank you to all of the contributors to our upcoming Great Lakes collection, out 3/10!
@cerena.bsky.social
@minnesotabrown.bsky.social
@gabrielbump.bsky.social
@lilacwaabigwan.bsky.social
@callenh.bsky.social
@lkress.bsky.social
@aeheelee.bsky.social
@cerena.bsky.social
@minnesotabrown.bsky.social
@gabrielbump.bsky.social
@lilacwaabigwan.bsky.social
@callenh.bsky.social
@lkress.bsky.social
@aeheelee.bsky.social
Reposted by Middle West Press
This goes back several decades to a different era in publishing: When the Washington Post Book World put my mother's first novel on the cover, she went from "minor California poet tries out chick-lit" to Pulitzer finalist and bestselling author. So I'm thinking of her, even more than usual.
February 4, 2026 at 8:37 PM
This goes back several decades to a different era in publishing: When the Washington Post Book World put my mother's first novel on the cover, she went from "minor California poet tries out chick-lit" to Pulitzer finalist and bestselling author. So I'm thinking of her, even more than usual.
Reposted by Middle West Press
"Screw the platforms. Ignore the stuff that you think sucks. Find books and art you love. Share them. Review them. Recommend them to friends. Make your own art. Share it. Hope it finds people who love it. What else can we do?" hell yeah @thelincoln.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/counterc...
Why Literature Needs a Punk Rock Mindset
The Washington Post shutting down its books coverage is a reminder that we have to do it ourselves
open.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:49 PM
"Screw the platforms. Ignore the stuff that you think sucks. Find books and art you love. Share them. Review them. Recommend them to friends. Make your own art. Share it. Hope it finds people who love it. What else can we do?" hell yeah @thelincoln.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/counterc...
Reposted by Middle West Press
Starts tomorrow Feb. 6, 2026! Veterans, sign-up for this FREE online poetry & music workshop today! Culminates in a public performance Apr. 11, 2026!
A FREE, veterans-centered arts workshop, inspired by the poetry of U.S. veteran Brian Turner and the music of Kurt Erickson, will focus on themes of trauma and resilience. Meets on-line weekly on Fridays, Feb. 6 to Mar. 27, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
Info: www.patreon.com/posts/150037...
Info: www.patreon.com/posts/150037...
FREE Veterans Music & Poetry Workshop Starts Feb. 6, 2026 | The Aiming Circle
Get more from The Aiming Circle on Patreon
www.patreon.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Starts tomorrow Feb. 6, 2026! Veterans, sign-up for this FREE online poetry & music workshop today! Culminates in a public performance Apr. 11, 2026!
Thanks to @macabrelibrarian.bsky.social (her motto: "Read Dangerously"!) for this insightful Instagram review of our recent "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology!
www.instagram.com/reel/DUWlZ4-...
www.instagram.com/reel/DUWlZ4-...
Nikki Steinbaugh on Instagram: "You never know what lurks amongst the cornstalks in this collection of horror poetry and micro-stories from Middle West Press. 🌽👽
#smallpress #horrorpoetry #bookreview...
14 likes, 2 comments - macabrelibrarian on February 4, 2026: "You never know what lurks amongst the cornstalks in this collection of horror poetry and micro-stories from Middle West Press. 🌽👽
#smallp...
www.instagram.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:59 PM
Thanks to @macabrelibrarian.bsky.social (her motto: "Read Dangerously"!) for this insightful Instagram review of our recent "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology!
www.instagram.com/reel/DUWlZ4-...
www.instagram.com/reel/DUWlZ4-...
Reposted by Middle West Press
New: The Trump admin claimed it sent in hundreds of agents to raid a Chicago apartment building to nab Venezuelan gang members, but new documents confirm in the government’s own words what actually prompted the raid: allegations that immigrants were squatting in the complex.
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “ille...
www.propublica.org
February 4, 2026 at 3:43 PM
New: The Trump admin claimed it sent in hundreds of agents to raid a Chicago apartment building to nab Venezuelan gang members, but new documents confirm in the government’s own words what actually prompted the raid: allegations that immigrants were squatting in the complex.
“This collection ultimately left me with a profound desire to explore my own Midwest experience.”
—Kara Taghon, bookseller at The Atlas Collective
1801 5th Ave, Moline, Ill. atlascollectiveqc.com
Full review in the JAN2026 issue of @littlevillage.bsky.social :
littlevillagemag.com/book-review-...
—Kara Taghon, bookseller at The Atlas Collective
1801 5th Ave, Moline, Ill. atlascollectiveqc.com
Full review in the JAN2026 issue of @littlevillage.bsky.social :
littlevillagemag.com/book-review-...
February 4, 2026 at 3:48 PM
“This collection ultimately left me with a profound desire to explore my own Midwest experience.”
—Kara Taghon, bookseller at The Atlas Collective
1801 5th Ave, Moline, Ill. atlascollectiveqc.com
Full review in the JAN2026 issue of @littlevillage.bsky.social :
littlevillagemag.com/book-review-...
—Kara Taghon, bookseller at The Atlas Collective
1801 5th Ave, Moline, Ill. atlascollectiveqc.com
Full review in the JAN2026 issue of @littlevillage.bsky.social :
littlevillagemag.com/book-review-...
Reposted by Middle West Press
"My dad came to this country undocumented. He worked hard. He was taken advantage of because of his status. The system benefited from his fear and his silence, even after he was documented. And some of you still think he doesn’t deserve to be here.
"That’s the cruelty of ICE logic."
"That’s the cruelty of ICE logic."
Letter to the editor: Like millions of migrants, my dad is indispensable - Little Village
By Anthony Arroyo, Des Moines ICE is a continuation of America’s oldest tradition: state-sanctioned violence against people of color, especially Latinos. It grows out of a history that has always […]
littlevillagemag.com
February 3, 2026 at 8:35 PM
"My dad came to this country undocumented. He worked hard. He was taken advantage of because of his status. The system benefited from his fear and his silence, even after he was documented. And some of you still think he doesn’t deserve to be here.
"That’s the cruelty of ICE logic."
"That’s the cruelty of ICE logic."
Reposted by Middle West Press
"Just minutes ago, a friend witnessed six black ICE SUVs tear through the parking lot of an elementary school outside his living room window," writes David Huckfelt, a musician in Minneapolis.
"When the bottom falls out of your sense of safety here in America, where will you turn for help?"
"When the bottom falls out of your sense of safety here in America, where will you turn for help?"
Thoughts on a terror campaign from an Iowan living in Minneapolis - Little Village
I am no journalist, no reporter, and also not inclined to repackage the uncomplicated and readily evident facts of the last few weeks from my home here in Minneapolis, pretending […]
littlevillagemag.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:51 PM
"Just minutes ago, a friend witnessed six black ICE SUVs tear through the parking lot of an elementary school outside his living room window," writes David Huckfelt, a musician in Minneapolis.
"When the bottom falls out of your sense of safety here in America, where will you turn for help?"
"When the bottom falls out of your sense of safety here in America, where will you turn for help?"
Reposted by Middle West Press
The headline should be, "DHS to keep 2,000 immigration officers in Minnesota."
Instead, it seems the entirety of the traditional media went with, "DHS to withdraw 700 immigration officers from Minnesota."
This presser worked like a charm.
Instead, it seems the entirety of the traditional media went with, "DHS to withdraw 700 immigration officers from Minnesota."
This presser worked like a charm.
Homan in Minneapolis: "Effective immediately, we will draw down 700 people effective today."
February 4, 2026 at 3:43 PM
The headline should be, "DHS to keep 2,000 immigration officers in Minnesota."
Instead, it seems the entirety of the traditional media went with, "DHS to withdraw 700 immigration officers from Minnesota."
This presser worked like a charm.
Instead, it seems the entirety of the traditional media went with, "DHS to withdraw 700 immigration officers from Minnesota."
This presser worked like a charm.
As a veteran-owned business, Middle West Press is proud to administer and underwrite The Aiming Circle—an on-line community of practice that serves writers of themes and topics related to war and military service.
Members include poets and playwrights, scholars and soldiers, essayists and analysts!
Members include poets and playwrights, scholars and soldiers, essayists and analysts!
Here’s our latest salvo of RESOURCES, TIPS, and MARKETS for writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, scholarship, and more!
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
www.aimingcircle.com/2026/01/a-ro...
* Feb. 17: On-Line Colloquy on Vets-Writing Groups
* Jan. 28 Reading to Celebrate 'Proud to Be' Vol. 14
1 of 3
January 30, 2026 at 9:25 PM
As a veteran-owned business, Middle West Press is proud to administer and underwrite The Aiming Circle—an on-line community of practice that serves writers of themes and topics related to war and military service.
Members include poets and playwrights, scholars and soldiers, essayists and analysts!
Members include poets and playwrights, scholars and soldiers, essayists and analysts!
Reposted by Middle West Press
January 30, 2026 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Middle West Press
Congratulations to all these amazing writers!
We are elated to announce the BRAVE NEW WEIRD Award Winners, Class of 2025!
This year's Table of Contents truly has something for everyone...as long as you like it Weird.
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More Vol. Four is out in July.
Congratulations, Weirdos🖤☠️
tinyurl.com/47f6tt48
This year's Table of Contents truly has something for everyone...as long as you like it Weird.
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More Vol. Four is out in July.
Congratulations, Weirdos🖤☠️
tinyurl.com/47f6tt48
BRAVE NEW WEIRD: The Best New Weird Horror + More, Vol. 4, Table of Contents! — tenebrous press
The Weird Fiction scene is as healthy now as it's ever been, and I think this collection—our fourth!—might have the broadest appeal yet. Much as Tenebrous continues to evolve, so has our selections pr...
tenebrouspress.com
January 30, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Congratulations to all these amazing writers!
Reposted by Middle West Press
Dear media, remember: you cannot both sides journalists being arrested for filming a protest. We’re supposed to have a free press, as guaranteed in the First fucking Amendment. Say that shit.
January 30, 2026 at 3:33 PM
Dear media, remember: you cannot both sides journalists being arrested for filming a protest. We’re supposed to have a free press, as guaranteed in the First fucking Amendment. Say that shit.
Reposted by Middle West Press
“Independent” is doing too much work in this first wave. They are arresting journalists and just like everything else they’ve done, they’re testing the limits of our resistance by starting wt vulnerable margins.
January 30, 2026 at 3:45 PM
“Independent” is doing too much work in this first wave. They are arresting journalists and just like everything else they’ve done, they’re testing the limits of our resistance by starting wt vulnerable margins.
Reposted by Middle West Press
Some immigrant parents, fearful of their children facing similar uncertainty if they were to be arrested, detained or deported are taking the extreme step of legally transferring parental authority to teachers, co-workers, fellow parishioners and neighbors.
Fearing ICE, parents make plans for their children’s care
Some families give legal authority to others to make key decisions about a child’s life if a parent is detained and deported.
bit.ly
January 25, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Some immigrant parents, fearful of their children facing similar uncertainty if they were to be arrested, detained or deported are taking the extreme step of legally transferring parental authority to teachers, co-workers, fellow parishioners and neighbors.