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Middle West Press

@middlewestpress.bsky.social

1.3K followers 550 following 210 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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Middle West Press @middlewestpress.bsky.social · 8d

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!"

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Mathraptor @mathraptor.bsky.social · Dec 11

A new terror emerges to maybe end Godzilla's reign forever!

Coming in 1976!

"SPACEGODZILLA! THE COSMIC DEATH!"

(6"x9" ink and watercolor on watercolor paper)

A Showa Era inspired design for Spacegodzilla. It kicks up dust as lighting crashes behind it. It's colors are bright, inspired by the Trendmasters toys. The idea is an older Godzilla suit with a bunch of add-ons. The skin on the arms and legs is reused from King Ghidorah, mimicking Gigan's design. Gold peaks through the blue. It has two tails, Ghidorah hair and chin-bits, and a turtle-like shell mounted on the back with plates going over the neck.

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Babe&Oak @babeandoak.bsky.social · 1d

Hi #PortfolioDay

I’m Élle • Freelance illustrator & surface pattern designer

Specializing in detail heavy B&W work & passionate about occult history, horror & symbolism

Open for work in publishing, book covers, TTRPGs, private & commercial commissions

✉️ [email protected]
🎨 babeandoak.carrd.co

Altar prayer card for the goddess Diana. A rectangular card has a black border with parts of the Orphic hymn for Diana surrounding it as a border in white text. In the bottom right are twin arrows over a crescent moon representing her and Apollo. In the bottom left and top right are white outlined 8 point stars. Inside the border is a marble shockwave black and grey pattern with white outlining that forms an arch at the top with lining to look like columns on both sides. In the middle is a stag skull with painted antlers of a diamond and star pattern. Behind the skull are smaller 8 point stars and cloud ripples. Above the skull is a scraggly branch of queen Anne’s lace with small dots above. In the top corners are two constellations for Sirius as her hunting dogs and Roman numerals for 13 and 8 for the date of the Nemoralia festival.

Victorian Ward - Black and white illustration of a Victorian wall with a scarab ward framed. The border of the whole piece is a torn paper. Inside is Victorian black and white striped wallpaper with damask type filigree in the black and smaller stripes and speckles in the white with small vertical black stripes on either side. In the damask pattern are slightly abstract symbols of infinity, an hourglass and other resurrection symbols. In the middle is an ornate rectangular frame framing a large scarab beetle with its wings out. On its wings are celestial symbols like Jupiter, stars and the moon. Around the scarab are peony flowers and branches of a tree branching towards the top left with a vine white line swooping in an out and around the frame in the same direction. The scarabs body is engraved like metal with filigree. Behind the scarab in the frame is grain shading grey over black.

Dark Vibrations - Inktober 2022 black and white ink illustration. Plain rolling hills lead to the door of a building with a large central spire and a small covered porch. To the left side of the building is a three facet bay windows and the other windows have ornate stained glass. On top of the central spire is a lighting conductor in the shape of a 5 point star. In the highest window of the spire is stain glass in the shape of an eye. Converging at the start is a large vortex spiraling and expanding through the whole sky. The vortex is pulling party’s of the building up towards it and cracking parts of the wood and foundation. The vortex is casting light and highlights on the building and the tress behind it. Converging towards the building is a circle of 12 white bird silhouettes.

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Alison Birch @irishali13.bsky.social · 1d

For your Tuesday
We Lived Happily During the War
~ ILYA KAMINSKY
—And when they bombed other people's houses, we protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not enough.

We Lived Happily During the War
BY ILYA KAMINSKY
And when they bombed other people's houses, we
protested
but not enough, we opposed them but not
enough. I was
in my bed, around my bed America
was falling: invisible house by invisible house by invisible house.
I took a chair outside and watched the sun.
In the sixth month
of a disastrous reign in the house of money
in the street of money in the city of money in the country of money, our great country of money, we (forgive us)
lived happily during the war.

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DuendeonSpooko @duendeonfuego.bsky.social · 23h

This is worth talking about.

Cities across the country are trying to cancel this weekend's protests because... they apparently don't meet "special event" policies which require insurance. And insurance companies won't cover them because of the current threat environment.

DuendeonSpooko @duendeonfuego.bsky.social · 1d

just watched the city attorney argue that this weekend's protests are a "special event" and could not be permitted without insurance while the police chief defended our "constitutional rights" and honestly I have never been so confused in my life

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DuendeonSpooko @duendeonfuego.bsky.social · 23h

We have moved from Manufacturing Consent to Manufacturing Content

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 1d

You need to see this:

“The show of force is the point. They want these images to be out…The Department of Homeland Security is walking around Chicago with a film crew.” @jacobsoboroff.bsky.social

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My Bloody Valentine Nolan @vallescurarule.bsky.social · 23h

Two volumes of the writing guide series *Spec Fic for Newbies* standing on a desk in a library. Books are red/black and blue/black. Behind them a black cat is watching. Cat's head is outlined in a green line to draw attention.

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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 1d

A couple of parking signs for anyone who wants to print them out for this coming Saturday.

Parking Signs

If you want to print out a poster for October 18th, here are two; fully-guaranteed countrywide but maybe especially suitable for in and around New York. No King Anytime sign ...

kieranhealy.org

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 1d

I’m not in Chicago and you probably aren’t either, but maybe as it does for me this from the folks on the frontline of ICE resistance will make you happy. So bright and colorful!

✨pb✨ gag on it @pbthankyou.bsky.social · 1d

Free whistles on Clark just north of Lawrence out front of the funeral care by Village Discount

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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 1d

A fight between President Trump, Illinois Gov. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson has often played out in a quiet suburb that is home to an ICE processing facility where most of those detained in “Operation Midway Blitz” are initially taken.

How a small Chicago suburb became a flash point in ICE’s crackdown

Broadview is home to an ICE facility that is at the center of the ongoing feud between Trump and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Residents are ready for it to be over.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Chicago Sun-Times @chicago.suntimes.com · 1d

A majority of Chicago residents don’t believe deploying the National Guard is a solution to crime in the city, and oppose the military and National Guard being used to help in deportations, according to findings from a recent survey.

Most Chicagoans think using the National Guard for policing is 'unacceptable,' poll finds

A survey conducted in September reveals that a majority of Chicago residents oppose the National Guard intervening in local policing and deportation efforts.

trib.al

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Middle West Press @middlewestpress.bsky.social · 1d

“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”

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Andrea Kaston Tange @aktange.bsky.social · 1d

"A liberal arts education encompasses the arts, the humanities, the social sciences and STEM. It rejects the notion that some branches of knowledge are more important than others. Instead, it emphasizes that tackling the big questions of our current moment requires cross-disciplinary approaches."

Andrea Kaston Tange @aktange.bsky.social · 2d

My latest: "Numerous studies show that majors in the humanities—typically, in departments of English, history, philosophy, religious studies, classics and languages—lead students to employment and life satisfaction outcomes as positive as those for majors traditionally championed as 'practical.'”

Counterpoint | Minnesota humanities graduates thrive in meaningful careers

"The stereotype of the underemployed history major is simply not true," professor Andrea Kaston Tange writes.

www.startribune.com

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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 5d

I bet no one told you that the Missouri Farm Bureau endorsed the Republican politicians who support Trump’s tariffs and trade war…the two things decimating Missouri soybean farmers.

Did you know that the Farm Bureau sends out a list of “farmer-friendly” politicians to each Farm Bureau member?

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Gene HA!unt @geneha.com · 5d

Why is Chicago a GREAT town for comics creators? Concordia University (IL) student reporter Eric Perry asked me and (separately) Jazz musician Joe Clark, who’s done some comics writing on the side. A great tribute to our community in this time of travail.

spectator.cuchicago.edu/7046/showcas...

What Pulls Comics Writers and Artists to Chicago?

Chicago’s best-known nickname is The Second City. The moniker was coined by A.J. Liebling, a writer for The New Yorker magazine, who used the nickname to put down Chicago. However, if there is one are...

spectator.cuchicago.edu

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The Deadlands @thedeadlands.com · 5d

did you know THE DEADLANDS is doing a fundraiser

raising FUNDS to keep publishing GOOD STUFF (about death)??

please by a coin and help FUNGUS we mean FUND US

psychopomp.com/the-deadland...

A meme image based on Nickelback’s “Look at this photograph” scene. The lead singer is holding up a framed picture, but instead of a photo, the frame shows a custom coin design featuring a skull with mushrooms, plants, and the words “Admit One.” Below the image, the meme text says: “look at this coin” with the word “coin” in red replacing “photograph.”

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Josh Gondelman @joshgondelman.bsky.social · 5d

Whenever anyone says how much of the U.S. economy is tied to AI right now, I'm like...damn, what if a single rich person had any idea other than "try to zero out labor costs through theft."

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Banned Books Week @bannedbooksweek.bsky.social · 5d

TODAY: Don't miss an afternoon of programs with our friends at Booklist, including a panel with @ashleyhopeperez.bsky.social @kellyyang.bsky.social @jarrettdapier.bsky.social 😍

Booklist Publications @ala-booklist.bsky.social · 6d

📆Registration is free! Join us & @oif.bsky.social tomorrow (10/9) for a multi-session workshop with resources to help libraries prepare for and combat book challenges. Stay tuned for our author panel feat. @jarrettdapier.bsky.social, @kellyyang.bsky.social, & #AshleyHopePérez! RSVP: bit.ly/3KlmknK

Promotional graphic for upcoming Booklist and OIF workshop: READ ON: TOOLS TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR AND RESPOND TO BOOK CHALLENGES happening Thursday, October 9 at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET.

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Middle West Press @middlewestpress.bsky.social · 5d

“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

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Ray E. Boomhower @rboomhower.bsky.social · 6d

Here's to one of this country's original antifa activists, Mary Donovan Hapgood, the first woman to run for governor in Massachusetts (1928) and Indiana (1940), both times as the candidate of the Socialist Party.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 5d

This pretty much captures the contradictions of the politics of Kirk and Turning Point: Of course we oppose doxxing and violence, but we will absolutely use inflammatory language, false claims, and enemies list that fuels threats and intimidation.

Several days after publishing the petition calling for Dr. Bray’s dismissal from Rutgers, the Turning Point USA chapter added an update saying that it did not support harassment or the doxxing of him or anyone else.

“I think that all death threats and doxxing are unjustified and not how political disputes should be resolved in civilized society,” Ava Kwan, a Turning Point USA chapter member, said in an email on Wednesday.
But she defended the broader point of the petition, saying, “I think Dr. Antifa, who believes in violence as a political tool, should be fired, of course. Taxpayer money should not fund the salaries of terrorists.”

For years, Turning Point USA has maintained a watch-list of hundreds of professors whom the group accuses of advancing leftist propaganda in the classroom. Dr. Bray is on the list.

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Ray E. Boomhower @rboomhower.bsky.social · 5d

I will be part of a panel talking about Hoosier author Booth Tarkington this Saturday as part of the @indianahumanities.bsky.social's Proof Midwest Literary Fest.
indianahumanities.org/event/the-le...

The Legacies of Booth Tarkington - Indiana Humanities

Booth Tarkington is one of just four authors to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction twice, putting him in a category with William Faulkner, John Updike, and Colson Whitehead. However,...

indianahumanities.org

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Middle West Press @middlewestpress.bsky.social · 6d

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

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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 6d

this is wonky stuff and is also really important

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 7d

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

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Keith W. Dickinson @keithwdickinson.bsky.social · 7d

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

The Verge @theverge.com · May 26

Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry

Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.

buff.ly

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Apex Magazine (is funding for 2026!) 🎉 @apexmag.bsky.social · 7d

WE'RE 30% FUNDED!! 🎉🎉🎉 Apex will be open to nonfiction pitches FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! ✨

Want to unlock the next chapter of Apex? Please consider backing our Kickstarter and help us keep publishing the strange, surreal, shocking, beautiful stories you love!

www.kickstarter.com/.../apexpu.....

30% UNLOCKED!

For the first time, Apex will open to nonfiction pitches. We are expanding our nonfiction editorial team! ZZ Claybourne has been our nonfiction editor for the past couple of years, and is doing a fantastic job. His editorial eye has elevated Apex’s nonfiction and has helped us discover many new voices. Rodney Carlstrom will be joining the Apex team as an associate nonfiction editor to help ZZ manage submitted nonfiction pitches.

cow floating in space with some astronauts next to the current Kickstarter number, "$6,000!"

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