Hello!

If you’re reading this, we hope you’re enjoying what’s left of summer. It’s a point of ours to address our contributors and readers and writers and fans this way a bit more often—when we have something to say. And today, we do.

It is with heavy hearts that we’re announcing that we will no longer be putting on the Voices of the Middle West Literary festival.

We started the festival with a very simple goal in mind: to bring together the diverse voices and minds of the Midwest, to showcase the immense wealth of talent we have in the storytellers and publishers and editors that live here. In addition, and perhaps selfishly, we wanted to create an event where we could hang out with people we love, hobnob with presses and journals and scholars and students and everyone in-between. For three solid years, we feel we’ve been able to do that: to create an alternative literary festival for the region that was free to the public. One that had important panels and panelists and kick-started relevant and topical and essential conversations. And, most importantly, a festival that was fun for everyone to take part in.

None of this would have been possible, we might add, without the immense efforts of Voices Co-Organizer Laura Thomas. Laura, a Lecturer and the Program Head for the Creative Writing area of the University of Michigan’s Residential College, has shaped this with us—this is her event as much as it is ours. She helped us navigate the university channels, found us champions to our cause, and put in so much work it’s nearly unfathomable. Truly, we would not have created Voices of the Middle West or made it what it was without her. We also recognize the Residential College itself for their contributions, for allowing us to house the festival in their wonderful halls and for supporting us.

We are saddened about discontinuing Voices, but we’re grateful. We’ve shared three wonderful years with Ann Arbor and greater Midwest community. We hope that, someday, we may be able to revisit the festival and bring it back. Until then, thank you all for your continued support, for driving and flying in to attend Voices these past years, for your kind words about it and what it has meant to you. None of this is easy, and knowing how important Voices has been, it’s made it even more difficult. However, we’re glad we were able to be there for you all in some way. We did this—truly—for all of you, and seeing the outpouring of support we’ve continued to get…well, it means the world. Thank you all.

—Jeff Pfaller and Robert James Russell, August 2016