An Independent Literary Press
DANIEL SLAGERPublisher
Milkweed Editions publishes literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and novels for young readers.
Works of fiction (novels, novellas, and short story collections) between 150 and 400 pages. We do not publish genre fiction, by which we mean we are not interested in romance, science fiction, mystery, crime, or westerns.
Works of literary nonfiction that often focus on the relationships between human and natural communities. We are not interested in manuscripts written for an academic or scientific audience.
Collections of poetry (single-author collections only, please) that are at least 60 pages long. Please review our previous poetry titles to get a sense for what we’re looking for in a poetry collection.
Books for young readers (readers between the ages of 8 and 13) that are full-length novels between 90 and 200 pages. We do not consider picture books or poetry collections for young readers.
For submissions guidelines and more information, please visit our website.
COMPANY HISTORY
Milkweed Editions is a nonprofit literary press, publishing between 15 and 20 books a year. Founded in 1979, we have published over 200 titles and are dedicated to keeping our books in print. We read each manuscript we receive and consider it for publication according to our mission statement. We believe that literature is a transformative art, and that each book bears a responsibility to convey the essential experiences of the human heart and spirit.
MOST RECENT RELEASESDriftless by
David Rhodes
With
Driftless, Rhodes returns to the midwestern landscape he knows so well, offering a fascinating, unsentimental portrait of a town left behind by the march of time. Home to a few hundred people yet absent from state maps, Words, Wisconsin, comes richly to life by way of an extraordinary cast of characters. Among them, a middle-aged couple guards the family farm from the mendacious schemes of their milk co-operative; a lifelong paraplegic suddenly regains the use of her legs, only to find herself crippled by fury at her sister and caretaker; a woman of conflicting impulses and pastor of the local Friends church stumbles upon an enlightenment she never expected; a cantankerous retiree discovers a cougar living in his haymow, haunting him like a childhood memory; and a former drifter forever alters the ties that bind a community together.
David Rhodes BioAs a young man, David Rhodes worked in fields, hospitals, and factories across Iowa. After receiving an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop in 1971, he published three novels in rapid succession: The Last Fair Deal Going Down (Atlantic/Little, Brown, 1972), The Easter House (Harper & Row, 1974), and Rock Island Line (Harper & Row, 1975). A motorcycle accident in 1976 left him paralyzed from the waist down, since which time he continued writing but stopped publishing. He lives with his wife, Edna, in Wonewoc, Wisconsin.
Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles by
Kira Henehan 
Welcome to the off-kilter world of Finley, an investigator of indiscernible origins and prowess. Her assignment: the mysterious Professor Uppal and his puppets. The objective: impossible to say. But Finley is unassailable. She forges ahead with occasional assistance and hindrance from her colleagues Murphy, The Lamb, and Binelli, as well as the professor’s beautiful daughter and her sinister artiste boyfriend. In her meticulous and completely unbiased report, Finley tracks the investigation’s slow spiral back upon itself, as the clues she uncovers reveal questions that lead directly back to her own forgotten past.
Captivating and whimsical, idiosyncratic and deeply funny,
Orion You Came and You Took All My Marbles finds inspiration in hard-boiled noir and the tortured quest of an existential inquiry. This novel marks the debut of a powerful, original voice.
Kira Henehan BioKira Henehan was born in New York and grew up around the U.S., Canada, and the Carribbean. Her work has been published in Fence, jubilat, Chelsea, Conjunctions, and the Denver Quarterly, among others. The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, Henehan is a graduate of San Francisco State University and Columbia University’s MFA program, Henehan lives in New York City. This is her first novel.
The Chain Letter of the Soul by
Bill HolmCollecting the best and the newest poems from Bill Holm’s oeuvre,
The Chain Letter of the Soul paints a portrait of a man of great heart, broad vision, and startling prescience. Fans will recognize many of their favorites from
Boxelder Bug Variations,
The Dead Get By with Everything, and
Playing the Black Piano, and new readers will be introduced to an enduring voice of American literature with collections
Poet, musician, wit, and polemicist—Bill Holm is one of a kind. A Minnesotan of Icelandic ancestry, his travels have taken him all over the world, providing material for his rich and memorable verse. Readers will discover Bill Holm’s eminent sensitivity to musical, natural, and personal truths won through keen poetic observation. Humanist, humble, and sometimes humorous, his work celebrates the waywardness and promise of the human species.
Bill Holm BioBorn in 1943, Bill Holm studied English at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, and the University of Kansas, where he earned his MA in English. His books include
Eccentric Islands, The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth, Coming Home Crazy, The Windows of Brimnes, and poetry collections including, most recently,
Playing the Black Piano. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including a Fulbright scholarship and the 2008 McKnight Distinguished Artist Award. An avid traveler, he regularly spent summers at his house on a North Iceland fjord in Hofsós, Iceland. He spent the rest of the year living in Minneota, Minnesota and teaching at Southwest Minnesota State University before passing away at the age of 65 in the spring of 2009.
Fancy Beasts by
Alex Lemon 
Scorching away the false distinctions between body, mind, and spirit, this exhilarating new collection of poems gives brilliant expression to the turning point in an extraordinary life. Set primarily in California, and riffing on the 2008 election, plastic surgery, Larry Craig, wildfires, Wal-Mart, and rampant commercialism, these poems are a workout—vigorous and raw. Yet they are also composed and controlled, pared down and sculpted, with a disarming narrative simplicity and directness. Taken together, they offer a frank, funny, and inimitably frenetic vision of post-millennial America.
Alex Lemon BioAlex Lemon is the author of the poetry collections
Hallelujah Blackout, Mosquito, and the memoir
Happy. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines, including Esquire, BOMB, and AGNI, jubilat, Kenyon Review, New England Review, and Pleiades. He was awarded a 2005 Literature Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment for the Arts and a 2006 Minnesota Arts Board Grant. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and teaches at Texas Christian University.
UPCOMING RELEASES
-Vestments
-Extra Indians
-Nature of College
-Letters to a Young Madman
-The Hole in the Wall
-The Crepe Makers’ Bond
(Check out our online 2010 catalogue for more info on these upcoming releases)
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