The Young Emerging Writers Program Celebrates the Release
of THE ATLAS 21 Literary Magazine at RIPL and Rozz-Tox

• What: THE ATLAS 21 Release Party & Reading – Two-Part Event
• Where: Part One: Rock Island Public Library – Downtown Branch Community Room (401 19th St., Rock Island, IL); Part Two: Rozz-Tox (2108 3rd Ave., Rock Island, IL)
• When: Thursday, August 13; Part One – doors at 5:30 p.m., readings at 6:00 p.m.; Part Two – YEW Alumni & Staff Open Mic at 8:00 p.m., live music from KAS starts at 9:00 p.m.
• Cost: Both parts of the event are free and open to the public ($5 suggested donation to support MWC youth writing programs); copies of THE ATLAS 21 will be available for purchase at both events

The Young Emerging Writers (YEW) Summer Internship Program will host a two-part party to celebrate the release of the latest issue of THE ATLAS, the Program’s literary magazine, on Thursday, August 13 at the downtown Rock Island Public Library and Rozz-Tox.

The event will start at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the downtown Rock Island Public Library with the release of THE ATLAS 21, where the 2026 YEW interns will give a brief reading of their work from the magazine. Copies will be available for $10, along with other local literary artists selling their work. Light refreshments will be served.

Then, at 8:00 p.m., the party will move down the street to Rozz-Tox, featuring an open mic for YEW alumni and staff, followed by live music from KAS.

Both parts of the event will be archived to MWC’s YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/midwestwritingcenter

About Young Emerging Writers:

The YEW Summer Internship Program is composed of students ages 15-19 who applied and were interviewed for the privilege of participating in this selective paid internship program. This summer, 23 interns from around Quad City area participated in YEW with the help of 14 staff members. YEW provides writing instruction in a variety of writing styles and processes, and develops professional skills in areas such as editing, collaborative project management, and magazine design. In 50 hours of meetings over seven weeks, the interns went from meet-and-greet to producing a high-quality literary magazine.

Copies of new and back issues will be available for purchase at both locations. THE ATLAS 21 will be available for $10 at the launch, and all back issues of THE ATLAS for only $5/pay what you can. You can pre-order a copy of THE ATLAS 21 today: https://www.mwcqc.org/events/the-atlas-21-pre-order/

Please contact Ryan Collins for more information about the YEW Summer Internship Program, THE ATLAS, or this event: mwc@mwcqc.org, (309) 732-7330.

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Use the link below to order your copy today – you can pick them up on 8/13 or we will mail them out to you after the release party (you do not need a paypal account to use the link, FYI). If you are interested in discounts on a bulk order &/or an educational order, please contact Ryan Collins: ryan.collins@mwcqc.org | (309) 732-7330.

Funding and material support for the 2026 Young Emerging Writers Summer Internship Program generously provided by the the Illinois Arts Council Agency, IAC Summer Youth Employment in the Arts Grant, the Moline Regional Community Foundation, Modern Woodmen of America, the Melvin McKay Charitable Trust, the Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Trust, the Quad Cities Community Foundation, the Rock Island Public Library, Carlisle Ryan Digital Print Services, and Rozz-Tox.