SPECTRA Lives! Finally, an outdoor #SPECTRA reading! Join us at our natural home, Rozz-Tox,  2108 3rd Ave., Rock Island, on May 22 at 7:30pm for a beautiful and much-anticipated live reading! Featured readers Beth Roberts, XH Collins, and KayLee Chie Kuehl! Stay tuned for info on limited open mic spots! Reading followed by a DJ set from Pat Stolley! Rozz-Tox window will be open for all the delicious eats & drinks! *Masks + social distancing in place & masks required to enter to use the bathroom* Free & open | Donations Appreciated Stay tuned for more info! #mwc #mwcqc #midwestwritingcenter... Read More

Journaling for Mental Health, presented by NAMI and the Midwest Writing Center, will be presented Monday, March 15, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. CST Online, via private Zoom meeting Cost is $10 suggested donation (split between NAMI and MWC); free For more information, please visit: http://www.mwcqc.org/nami-mwc-mental-health-journal-workshop/ Maintaining our mental health is as important as taking care of our physical health; this has perhaps never been more true than it has been during the pandemic. Writing, specifically journal writing, is one way to nurture your mental health while expressing yourself.... Read More

Saturday In The Arts offers an in-depth look at a local person, trend or event of interest in the Quad-Cities. It runs weekly on your free local media for arts and entertainment, QuadCities.com. What a difference a president makes. Beyond the relief of seeing President Joe Biden – the polar opposite of Donald Trump in nearly every conceivable way – be sworn in Jan. 20 as our 46th president, the glorious inauguration ceremony and related events before and after got me thinking about the role of the arts on a national level. Music, art, theater, dance, poetry and other art forms truly serve and... Read More

2020 was a difficult, unprecedented year for everyone, and the Midwest Writing Center (MWC) wants area residents to be part of a new anthology documenting it. With a submission deadline of Jan. 31, MWC Press is putting together an anthology of creative works responding to the many disasters that were endured last year. To be titled “These Interesting Times: Surviving 2020 in the QC,” the book will feature historic events like Covid-19, the derecho and other natural disasters, police protests, and the contentious presidential election, but they’re also interested in the smaller, untold stories... Read More

The Virtual Writers Studio hosted by Ryan Collins and the Midwest Writing Center will scribble in online from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Here are the details: Writer’s Studio will be meeting virtually in the private Facebook Group listed below at the regular time (1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month, 11am-1pm). Writer’s Studio regulars or anyone interested in sharing and discussing their work in a constructive space, we’ve started a private group on Facebook for writers to connect while not meeting in-person. Please see the link below to join the group We will also be sharing other writing... 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

Due to coronavirus concerns, for the first time the 15th-annual David R. Collins Writers’ Conference will be held online, Thursday to Saturday, June 25-27. Paid workshops will be held via Zoom; free public events will be available on Zoom and via livestream to the Midwest Writing Center’s YouTube channel . The conference registration fee is $50 for MWC members, $65 for non-members; and $260 for full conference registration (four workshops + master class); $210 for three workshops; $160 for two workshops, and $85 for one workshop. Book pitches are $15 each. Attendees can hone their craft in... Read More

The Midwest Writing Center (MWC) is thrilled to announce that the annual David R. Collins Writers’ Conference will move forward in an all-virtual format June 25-27 for its 15th year. Registration is open now. Attendees will hone their craft in intensive three-day workshops, but will also have the option to participate in book pitches, a faculty reading, and a keynote address featuring author and columnist Lyz Lenz. Lenz will appear at a special livestream event on Thursday, June 25, and will lead a virtual master class on Friday, June 26, both entitled “Writing for Change.” Lyz Lenz’s writing... Read More

Relatively few Quad-Cities artists and arts organizations have received Covid-19 relief funding from Iowa or Illinois, and both states are proceeding in their next round of grant awards. Illinois Humanities recently gave out 24 emergency relief grants (of $2,500 each) – including the Rock Island-based Midwest Writing Center and Bishop Hill Heritage Association. These general operating (non-project) grants aim to help smaller humanities organizations throughout Illinois to weather the current pandemic. “Especially in this moment of duress, Illinois Humanities is proud to support not-for-profit... Read More

What: Young Emerging Writers Studio When: Third Thursdays of each month (Jan. 16, Feb. 20, March 19, April 16, May 21), 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Where: Midwest Writing Center (ground floor of RIPL, 401 19th St. Rock Island, IL 61201) The Midwest Writing Center will host Young Writers Studio for young writers in the Quad Cities at their offices on the ground floor of the Rock Island Public Library Downtown branch on the third Thursday of each month in 2020, beginning January 16, 2020. The Young Emerging Writers (YEW) Studio is a new casual writing workshop/critique group for young writers in and around... Read More