Issue 23 / A Note from the Editors

issue23We are thrilled to announce that Issue 23 (Fall 2016)—our annual nonfiction issue—is here, featuring work from Mark Clemens, Lacey N. Dunham, Dave Essinger, Cal Freeman, Tracy Harris, Allyson Hoffman
Sarah Kasbeer, Dirk Marple, Sahar Mustafah, Micah McCrary, Toni Nealie, Anna Prushinskaya, Stephanie Ratanas, Christi R. Suzanne, Ben Tanzer, Laura Hulthen Thomas, Michaella A. Thornton, Nicholas Ward, and Melissa Wilkins.

Issue 23 is available in paperback ($12) and eBook formats ($2.99), including Kindle, iPad, Nook, and PDF. Buy your copy

Next, some thoughts from Jeff and Rob:
 Issue 23 represents a milestone: this is our last quarterly issue, our last issue of straight nonfiction. Starting in 2017, we’ll be publishing Midwestern Gothic bi-annually, and in each issue will be fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. But Issue 23 represents how we initially viewed nonfiction: with so much reverence that it deserved its own issue. Having the nonfiction issue come out annually was a way for us to explore this style of writing, to be mesmerized by the truth out there—to see our home, the Midwest, through a different, and much-needed-at-times, lens. This is not to say we feel that having nonfiction in each upcoming bi-annual issue is a negative—not at all. We love it so much that we said, from the beginning, with this change, it would be a part of it. Full stop.
I guess what we’re trying to say is this is bittersweet for us, this issue. We believe that bi-annual publications will serve us, and all of you, better. We have been doing this now a long time, going on seven years, and we do love it, but it’s still a small group of us (a core group, and we value and love our staff so, so much), and four issues per year was getting in the way of us being able to…well, do a lot. With bi-annual publications, we’ll have more time to put on contributor events across the country, market and promote issues and writers in the issues, and in general, give back to the writing community that has given us so much.

And yet, we’re sad. This is a new and exciting direction, but it’s impossible to face the future without dwelling on the past. And the past has been wonderful and enriching and so important to us. But, we must grow—we want to grow. Cutting back, in this instance, is growing for us. And this issue…this is a marvelous issue. We could not ask for a better issue to send us off into the great cosmic world that is 2017.

We’re sad, yes, but we’re happy. This is the way to go out—no, better: this is the way to welcome in the new.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we did. We hope you’ll help celebrate the Midwest region, these authors and their words.

Thank you.

One Response to “Issue 23 / A Note from the Editors”

  1. Midwestern Gothic Issue 23 | Micah McCrary Says:

    […] Issue 23 of Midwestern Gothic is now available! I’m happy to have my essay “Two Cities” featured in the all-nonfiction (and final quarterly) issue, which also contains “The Sediment of Fear” by Toni Nealie. Feel free to check out the issue, which is available in both paperback and eBook (Kindle, iPad, Nook, and PDF) formats. […]

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