Thursday, August 15, 5:30 and 8 p.m.
Rock Island Public Library – Downtown Branch, 401 19th Street, Rock Island IL
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
Two venues in downtown Rock Island will co-host one exciting literary event when the Midwest Writing Center presents readings and a release party for the annual literary magazine The ATLAS, the latest volume of which will, on August 15, be showcased in a late-afternoon event at the Rock Island Public Library and an evening celebration at the neighboring Rozz-Tox.
The ATLAS is composed of literary entries by participants in the Midwest Writing Center's Young Emerging Writers (YEW) Summer Internship Program, which is currently celebrating its 14th year and the 14th release of its magazine. The YEW Summer Internship Program is composed of students ages 15 to 19 who applied, and were interviewed, to take part in this selective paid internship program, and this summer, 17 teens from the Quad Cities and surrounding areas participated – the most interns that the program has ever hired. YEW provides writing instruction in a variety of writing styles and processes, and develops professional skills in areas such as editing, collaborative project management, and magazine design.
Over roughly 50 hours of meetings held over seven weeks, the interns went from an initial meet-and-greet to producing a high-quality literary magazine, with this year's contributors including: Sophia Best, Emily Lloyd Brown, Mallory Day, Joe deBlois, Allison Gustafson, McKenzie Guyton, Charly Heber-Spates, Alexander Koch, Janey Locander, Olivia Manternach, Lars Meseke-Wren, Ava Miller, Emily Mooney, Nicole Schaedig, Hailey Schmacht, Wyntir White, and Olivia Ziegler.
This year's ATLAS celebration event will start at 5 p.m. with a Family & Friends Reception at the Rock Island Public Library Community Room, where interns will give brief readings from their work and one of the YEW participants will receive the Tim Curry Outstanding Intern Award. Then, at 8 p.m., the party will move down the street to Rozz-Tox, where the interns will read different selections from the magazine, giving audiences an opportunity to hear more entries from the magazine in a more intimate setting. Copies of new and back issues will be available for purchase at both locations, with the The ATLAS: Volume 14 available for $10 and all back issues available for $5. After the launch, the magazine will be sold at Exotic Imports in Moline, at the Midwest Writing Center, and through the organization's Web site.
Admission to both ATLAS events is free with a $5 suggested donation, and more information is available by contacting the Midwest Writing Center at (309)732-7330 or visiting MWCQC.org.
