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middlewestpress.bsky.social
Middle West Press
@middlewestpress.bsky.social
1.3K followers 570 following 230 posts
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
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middlewestpress.bsky.social
Meet “Charlie Sherpa” @fobhaiku.bsky.social, the GWOT mil-blogger who originated the “Sherpatudes”!

Part lessons-learned guy & unit historian, part war poet, part “brigade staff jester”! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry—you just might learn something to boot!

FIND ALL HIS BOOKS:
amzn.to/3Kd6kUU
Book covers for the following books appear on a photo background depicting sparklers at night: - "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire" depicts pencil drawing of a modern armored truck - "So Frag & So Bold: Short Poems, Aphorisms & Other Wartime Fun" depicts a red heart grenade - "Twelve O'Clock Haiku: Leadership Lessons from Old War Movies & New Poems" depicts a bird's-eye-view of a B-17 bomber during a WW2 mission - "Good Morning, First Sergeant: 10 war poems about coffee" depicts U.S. soldiers roping down from a Huey helicopter at sunrise
November 25, 2025 at 2:28 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Military Families—we see you! @lisasticepoet.bsky.social is a poet, editor, literary activist, mother, military spouse, and the author of multiple full-length poetry collections!

FIND ALL HER BOOKS HERE:
amzn.to/48gYrpu
November 24, 2025 at 6:09 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Congratulations to U.S. Navy & Air Force veteran Ron Riekki, for his first-place poem “I counseled survivors of torture” in "Proud to Be" Vol. 14!

Where to buy:
thelaurelreview.submittable.com/submit/29787...

& here's Riekki’s 2022 collection “Blood / Not Blood … Then the Gates”:
amzn.to/3fxE6oi
Graphic depicts 2 book covers, along with 2 blocks of text, each pointing to a book cover. Block 1: "Congratulations to U.S. Navy & Air Force veteran Ron Riekki on his first-palce poem in "Proud to Be" Volume 14! Book cover 1: "Proud to Be" Volume 14 cover depicts modern military pilot in woodland camoflauge checking cockpit gauges. Block 2: "Check out more of the poet's work in his 2002 poetry collection from Middle West Press!" Cover 2: Cover of "Blood / Not Blood ... Then the Gates" depicts abstract design; left vertical two-thirds of cover suggests interior of blood-red circulatory system; right one-third of cover suggests crusty gray-brown fieldstone wall or path.
November 19, 2025 at 5:12 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Thanks to the @sfpoetry.bsky.social(SFPA) for notice of the “Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn” anthology launch, as part of its monthly member-activities round-up!

Catch-up on speculative-poet members and market happenings here at this link:
sfpoetry.org/wp/2025/11/0...
November 19, 2025 at 12:09 AM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Check out these new books from Middle West Press LLC and other members of @clmporg.bsky.social—the Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP)! Full list here:
www.clmp.org/news/books-l...

Includes “Our Best War Stories, Vol. 2”!
- Print: amzn.to/47kS45q
- Kindle: amzn.to/4gh34n7
Collage of assorted covers of newly released books, including Middle West Press' "Our Best War Stories, Vol. 2". The text reads, "Featured on CLMP's list of new releases!" Text elsewhere reads, "Books launching in November." Book cover of “Our Best War Stories, Vol. 2”: As a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 “Sea Knight” helicopter departs, U.S. Army soldiers with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division set up a security perimeter after landing in the desert to perform counterinsurgency operations with Iraqi security forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
November 14, 2025 at 2:47 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Congratulations to U.S. Army veteran, war poet, and Twin Cities psychiatric nurse practitioner Jessi M. Atherton on her Veterans Day reading at Iowa’s University of Dubuque!

“The Time War Takes: Poems”
- Kindle: amzn.to/3E4pUfI
- Print: amzn.to/40Mx69s

#warpoet #veteransday #middlewestpress
Photo of poet and Iraq War veteran Jessi M. Attherton speaking at Veterans Day 2025 reading at University of Dubuque, Iowa. Text reads: "Congratulations, Jessi!" Image is overburned with cover of Atherton's 2023 collection, "The Time War Takes," which depicts a carved pink elephant against a background of digital foliage and desert sands.
November 12, 2025 at 5:55 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
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
Text reads: "Hit 'em with ... both volumes !!!" Book covers of "Our Best War Stories: Prize-winning Poetry & Prose from the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards" appear over a notional modern battlefield scene. The image includes jet fighters flying overhead, with ground troops and armored wheeled vehicles below on a desert landscape.
November 11, 2025 at 4:12 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
“It’s not the Deer XING that’ll get ya!”

The book "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" collects more than 70 short poems and 300-word narratives of mythic beasts that illuminate, celebrate, or challenge stereotypes of Midwestern identity.

Buy it here:
- Print: amzn.to/47buzvn
- Kindle: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0
Photo of humorous-but-real yellow-diamond "Bigfoot XING" sign is paired with a book cover shot of "Cyptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters". Text reads "Midwest Traffic Safety Advisory."
November 10, 2025 at 9:48 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Now No. 9 on Amazon's "Top 10 Hot New Releases" in the e-book poetry anthologies category!

"More than 60 prize-winning works of 21st century war poetry, fiction & non-fiction! From the lit-journal 'Line of Advance' & the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Writing Awards!"

More info: amzn.to/4gh34n7
Image: Screenshots of book cover of "Our Best War Stories, Vol. 2" listed at No. 9 on Amazon's "Top 10 Hot New Releases" in the e-book poetry anthologies category
November 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
The best new & established voices from modern war eras! More than 60 prize-winning works of 21st century war poetry, fiction, and non-fiction!

PLUS: 60+ writing prompts & prize-winner perspectives
- Print: amzn.to/47kS45q
- Kindle: amzn.to/4gh34n7

Info:
www.middlewestpress.com/2025/11/now-...
Book cover of “Our Best War Stories, Vol. 2”: As a U.S. Marine Corps CH-46 “Sea Knight” helicopter departs, U.S. Army soldiers with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division set up a security perimeter after landing in the desert to perform counterinsurgency operations with Iraqi security forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
November 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Happy Godzilla Day to all those who celebrate !!!

#godzilladay2025 #kaiju #cryptids #middlewestpress

"Crypids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology:
- Print: amzn.to/47buzvn
- Kindle: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0
Image: A toothy plastic knock-off "Oddzilla" giant-lizard toy "photobombs" into frame, looking at viewer. Behind Oddzilla is a book cover of Middle West Press' recently launched anthology "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn." Book cover of "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest. Additional text on this post reads: "Happy Godzilla Day to all who celebrate !!!"
November 3, 2025 at 11:05 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
We had a great time this past Sat., Oct. 25, 2025 visiting with readers and artists at the Des Moines, Iowa metro's Mayhem Comics and Games’ "Mayhempalooza 2025" !!!

We debuted our new trade paperback "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn"! amzn.to/47buzvn

Missed the Mayhem? Visit:
linktr.ee/middlewestpress
"Oddzilla" pushes a toy shopping cart with stickers that read "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn". The book cover of the anthology "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters" features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest. Editor-Publisher Randy "Sherpa" Brown wears an "Oddzilla" shirt that incorporates elements of Hokusai's famous print "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa," but also the boat "Orca" from the 1975 movie "Jaws"! The Middle West Press LLC table displays stickers, books, T-shirts, and other merch.
October 27, 2025 at 6:28 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
VENDOR POP-UP this Sat., Oct. 25, 2025!!! Mayhempalooza 2025 at Mayhem Comics and Games, Des Moines!

"Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn"!

Plus ... new sticker designs featuring Big-hearted Bigfoots ("Bigfeet"?), Zombies of the Corn, and Hog-abducting Aliens!!!

Check us out at:
linktr.ee/middlewestpress
October 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
VENDOR POP-UP Sat., Oct. 25, 2025!!! Looking forward to seeing y'all in the Des Moines, Iowa metro at Mayhem Comics and Games' "Mayhempalooza 2025"!

Plus stickers, postcards, and other Middle West Press swag!
Check us out: linktr.ee/middlewestpress

Event website: sites.google.com/view/mayhemp...
Slide text reads: Middle West Press is vending at Mayhempalooza Sat. Oct. 25, 2025! - Mayhem Collectibles, 7500 University Ave., Clive, Iowa - FREE to public!!! - 18+ Artists, Authors & Creators! - 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Images: Book cover of "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest Photo of Randy "Sherpa" Brown standing in front of Mayhem Game Room signage
October 21, 2025 at 8:10 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Check out these new books from Middle West Press LLC and other members of Community of Literary Magazines & Presses (CLMP)!
www.clmp.org/news/books-l...

Includes “Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters”!
- Print: amzn.to/47buzvn
- Kindle: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0
Text: "Now featured on [Community of Literary Magazines and Presses (CLMP)] list of October releases!" Image: Book cover of Middle West Press "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest; superimposed on partial images of other CLMP member book covers.
October 15, 2025 at 3:32 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
“You’ll find no pumpkin-spice lattes here. It’s monster season!’””
—Brett Allen, author of the Midwest cryptids novel “Sly Fox Hollow”& the GWOT service comedy “Kilroy Was Here”

Info on the anthology:
- Print: amzn.to/47buzvn
- Kindle: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0

And find Brett's books here! amzn.to/497e6cW
Image: Book cover of "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest Text: “[T]he perfect book for the cryptid-curious reader who doesn’t mind losing a little sleep! You’ll find no pumpkin-spice lattes here. It’s monster season!’”” —Brett Allen, author of the Midwest cryptids novel “Sly Fox Hollow”& the GWOT service comedy “Kilroy Was Here”
October 13, 2025 at 2:25 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
“A collection that haunts, challenges, and frames anew a region that should perhaps be renamed ‘the dark heartland of America!’”
— @travisklempan.bsky.social, author of the supernaturally tinged post-GWOT novels "Have Snakes, Need Birds"and "Hills Hide Mountains"

More info: amzn.to/47buzvn
IMAGE: Book cover of "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest TEXT: "New Poetry & Flash!" ... “A collection that haunts, challenges, and frames anew a region that should perhaps be renamed ‘the dark heartland of America!’” —Travis Klempan, author of the supernaturally tinged post-GWOT novels "Have Snakes, Need Birds"and "Hills Hide Mountains"
October 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Praise for “CRYPTIDS, KAIJU & CORN"!

“[T]he visceral heartbeats of grit, horror, and rural life come together to linger provocatively on the reader’s mind!”
— Sirrah Medieros, editor of “Don’t Ask, Ghosts Tell: An LGBTQ+ Horror Anthology” @tundraswanpress.bsky.social

More info: amzn.to/47buzvn
October 8, 2025 at 1:55 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
NEW! HAUNTING VISIONS OF 'FLYOVER COUNTRY!'

“Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters”
- Print: amzn.to/47buzvn
- Kindle e-book: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0

Short poems & 300-word narratives that illuminate, celebrate, or challenge stereotypes of Midwestern identity!
Book cover of "Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn" anthology features a giant, shambling creature towering over a lone humanoid figure walking through a flowery forest. Text reads: "NOW ON SALE! More than 50 fresh visions and explorations regarding the ‘forgotten’ terrain and deep recesses of the American Midwest!"
October 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
"Something Pumpkin-Spicy This Way Comes?"

“Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters” launches in print and Kindle Oct. 7, 2025!

More info: amzn.to/3ZSvQn0
September 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Along with co-sponsor Collateral Journal, we are pleased to reveal another 2025 War Poetry Postcard Project design! More info: linktr.ee/warpoets

Congratulations to NY poet @pam-hart.bsky.social, for her poem "Mothers Over Nangarhar"!
Image consists of two elements author photo of Pamela Hart on right; her poem "Mothers Over Nangarhar" on left. The poem is superimposed on a satellite photo of Eastern Afghanistan, including the Nangarhar Province region. The poem reads: "Powered by search engines and history mothers navigate Google Earth, view the flashing lights of MRAPs as the cursors flag river or range The mothers leap across time zones check their satellite feed sprint from screen to field where you lie split calling their name The mothers fly from Fallujah Wanat, Khe Sanh to Marathon Hastings, Vicksburg Their hands are epic their bodies large pouring into and out of you"
July 15, 2025 at 12:27 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Got to hear Iowa Poet Laureate, Sci-Fi poet & U.S. Army veteran Vince Gotera read from his latest, “Dragons & Rayguns,” at a new indie bookstore: Nos Books 1163 24th St, Des Moines, IA 50311! Open Wed-Sun 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., they build community around authors of color & other marginalized voices!
Nos Books is located in an historic fire station in the Drake University business district, 1163 24th St, Des Moines, IA 50311 The book cover of poet Vince Gotera's "Dragons & Rayguns" is designed in the form of a comic book cover, complete with a purple dragon holding a laser pistol in its tail! Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera wears a red-dragon shirt. Behind him, the "nos books" logo is a white flower superimposed on a slate-blue circle.
July 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
Along with co-sponsor Collateral Journal, we are pleased to reveal another 2025 War Poetry Postcard Project design! More info: linktr.ee/warpoets

Congratulations to poet and U.S. Army veteran @dagray.bsky.social , for "A.M. radio"!

More info: www.middlewestpress.com/2025/07/texa...
Left image: Central Texas poet and U.S. Army veteran D.A. Gray wears a "Good Trouble / Better South" T-shirt and American flag button. Right image: D.A. Gray's WPPP-finalist poem "A.M. radio" is superimposed on a cloudy sky over the yellow-dashed centerline of a Texas highway. The poem reads: "You drive together in an unremarkable sedan, the a.m. radio station comes in and out of tune. You’d forgotten in the desert how hills could churn the contents of your last lunch, pin them to your ribs, or make you eat it again. Still flying upward a split second after the road’s fallen from your wheels. Atop the next hill the signal comes through. A man’s voice speaks of those people, then the signal cuts out. Between the static you piece it together. The caller wants those people to go back. You begin to picture faces: the translator who risked everything feeding you dolma and tea so sweet sugar settled in the glass; your soldier, who volunteers every job by day, studies for his citizenship test by night. You look over; he’s staring off to the side. You’re more American than some who never left their hometown. you say, and both laugh uneasily, and turn the radio off — when you turn back to the road, cresting a blind hill, you nearly meet a pickup truck coming the other way. Both vehicles swerve from the center."
July 8, 2025 at 1:06 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
With co-sponsor Collateral Journal, we are pleased to announce the 2025 War Poetry Postcard Project results! linktr.ee/warpoets

1st Prize: @janemuschenetz.bsky.social, "Every poem is political—"!

Finalists:
@dagray.bsky.social, "A.M. radio"!
@pam-hart.bsky.social, "Mothers Over Nangarhar"
Image on right: Poet Jane Muschenetz Image on left: A vertical postcard presentation of Jane Muschenetz's poem, "Every poem is political—" Superimposed over a blue sky and bordered by a yellow sunflower, he poem continues: "in the sense that everything is political even sunflowers this blue sky, stands in opposition to the air sirens above my birth city this deep ocean shelters undocumented oil fields the great mountains in the distance are unapologetically arresting … everywhere you look is a reason to protest everywhere you look is so beautiful never forget every tongue is a borderland every heart, a homeland worth longing for"
July 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM
middlewestpress.bsky.social
From "U.S. Dept. of Arts and Culture" website:

"In the absence of a 'real' federal department of Arts and Culture, we are 'performing' the state, supporting the communities and work we'd want to see that agency support. [...]"

"WTF Can Artists Do During a Fascist Takeover?" at link:
usdac.carrd.co
Comic strip panel excerpted from "WTF Can Artists Do During a Fascist Takeover?" depicts a bearded human asking two questions of another human, who is wearing glasses: "So ask ourselves: who does my art practice put me in contact with? [...] Ask what we can build together that none of us could alone?"
June 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM