There are over 475,000 stories in the six-county Quad-City region, but just 45 people will have their reflections of 2020 published in a new anthology – edited by the busy author/editor Misty Urban of Muscatine – called “These Interesting Times: Surviving 2020 in the Quad Cities.” It will be released (full disclosure: I’m one contributor) in late September by the Midwest Writing Center Press. Urban, a three-year member of the Rock Island-based MWC board, is an award-winning writer who has two new books out (including her first novel), and is teaching a new MWC series, “Crafting the... Read More

A native of China, Xixuan Collins has lived in Iowa since 1997, but has only written in English since 2015. Her debut novel, “Flowing Water, Falling Flowers” from the Rock Island-based Midwest Writing Center Press, will be released in October. “I’m still not sure I actually have the confidence even now as a writer,” Collins, 52, said recently. “But I have taken a lot of workshops through MWC and have learned a lot about the craft of writing fiction. Through MWC, I also met some amazing writers and writing instructors, and their encouragement and affirmation have helped me greatly. “I... Read More

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to watch the scenes you’ve written come to life? Not through a movie or through a long-awaited play, but through you performing the scenes. On Saturday, March 4 from 2:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m. you will have the opportunity to act out scenes in Midwest Writing Center’s Make A Scene Fiction/Storytelling Workshop. Midwest Writing Center is located at 401 19th Street in Rock Island on the ground floor. The cost is $15 for MWC members and $20 for non-MWC members. You can purchase tickets at this link: http://www.mwcqc.org/make-a-scene-workshop/ and you... Read More

Greet, meet and buy your next best summer read from Iowa Authors Teresa LaBella, Karen Nortman, Misty Urban and Clinton ’s own Dionne Witt at Deanna’s Java Café, 1015 13th Ave N , Clinton , Iowa , on Saturday, July 9th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The authors will take time out from signing books for a round table discussion and Q&A on the writer’s journey from idea to publication at noon. Davenport native Teresa LaBella has authored and published two romance novels “Reservations” and “Heartland,” and an e-book of small town Iowa romance short stories, “Tales from Heartland.” Karen... Read More