OVERVIEW: Midwest Writing Center supports writers and literary projects within the region.
IP TAKE: Grant seekers applying to this funder must live in either Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin. Those with a local or regional connection to their work will likely be the most successful.
PROFILE: Founded in 1979 by Illinois writers David R. Collins and Evelyn Witter, the Midwest Writing Center is located in Rock Island, Illinois and supports writers and poets in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The center seeks to “serve as a place of retreat for writers; a reception place for book signings and workshops; a meeting place for book clubs, writing groups, and readings of both established and emerging writers; a display area for local writing collections; a reference library with reference books and computers available for use; and special project book publication.” It supports writers through a poetry residency, a writing retreat, and a series of writing and poetry contests.
Collins Poetry Residency supports “community-based poetry” and a poet who lives in the six-county Quad City area (Rock Island, Henry, Mercer in IL, and Scott, Clinton, and Muscatine in IA) and who has not yet published his/her/their first full-length poetry collection. The residency runs between September through November. Application requirements include: a cover letter, writing sample, residency proposal, and the applicant’s detailed availability for September through November. Accepted residents receive a $250 stipend and $100 travel reimbursement.
Great River Writers Retreat provides a writer with a one week residency at the Benet House Retreat Center in Rock Island, Illinois. Applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, project description, 10-page writing sample, and proof of IL, AI, MN, or WI residence.
The center also supports the Iron Pen writing contest and The Susan K. Collins/Mississippi Valley Chapbook Contest. The writing contest requires that the applicant’s submission respond to a writing prompt which changes annually. The poetry contest requires applicants to submit 16 to 32 pages of polished work. The Midwest Writing Center publishes the winning manuscripts through its publishing house or e-magazine.
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