Middle West Press is a Johnston, Iowa-based editor and publisher of non-fiction, fiction, journalism, and poetry. Our projects are often inspired by the people, places, and history of the American Midwest.

As a secondary mission—beyond the American Midwest—we are also motivated to illuminate and complicate modern stereotypes related to military service and veterancy. We want to challenge readers to go beyond Hollywood’s “American Snipers and Navy SEALs” and “TYFYS.” Past and present military service members, family members, and others are invited to submit work. We also think that “Everyone has an experience with the military, even if only as taxpayer and voter.”

More generally, we are interested in celebrating and featuring voices such as those of women, writers of color, writers who identify as LGBTQ+, and other historically marginalized populations.

In its publishing operations, Middle West Press LLC specializes in book-length projects, such as themed literary and non-fiction anthologies, as well as single-author poetry collections. We are particularly interested in telling stories rooted in the American Midwest (which we define as “the geographic area acquired through the Louisiana Purchase”), although we are not limited to arbitrary boundaries.