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History of MVP
In 1981, New Rivers Press started the annual Minnesota Voices Project (now titled the MVP, or the Many Voices Project) in a competition for "new and emerging" writers from Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. More recently, one book each year was chosen from nation-wide submissions, and the other two from submissions by writers who reside in Minnesota or New York City. For the purposes of this competition, an emerging writer is one who has published two or fewer books of creative writing with a commercial, university or nationally-distributed small press. This year (2009), we have decided to award two national prizes, one in poetry and one in prose, without geographical restrictions.
Our submission period runs from September 15 to November 1 (postmark). Like all New Rivers Press titles, the MVP books are promoted and distributed nationally by Consortium, bringing widespread attention to both the authors and the press.
Because the press has been integrated into Minnesota State Moorhead's curricular workings, student interns and others will work on editorial, design, promotion and publicity matters under the close direction and participation of professionals who teach or serve on the staff of Minnesota State.
Open to new and emerging writers, the MVP is vital to the support of new writing. A number of writers who entered the competition without success one year resubmitted at a later date after revising their manuscripts and were chosen for publication. New Rivers Press, thanks to the Jerome Foundation, did not require an entry fee until 2008, so that the competition could be as inclusive as possible; though we now require a $20 entry fee to help cover expenses, we still welcome the opportunity to read work of every character. The MVP competition helps to foster a community of respect and support for writers.
Our submission period runs from September 15 to November 1 (postmark). Like all New Rivers Press titles, the MVP books are promoted and distributed nationally by Consortium, bringing widespread attention to both the authors and the press.
Because the press has been integrated into Minnesota State Moorhead's curricular workings, student interns and others will work on editorial, design, promotion and publicity matters under the close direction and participation of professionals who teach or serve on the staff of Minnesota State.
Open to new and emerging writers, the MVP is vital to the support of new writing. A number of writers who entered the competition without success one year resubmitted at a later date after revising their manuscripts and were chosen for publication. New Rivers Press, thanks to the Jerome Foundation, did not require an entry fee until 2008, so that the competition could be as inclusive as possible; though we now require a $20 entry fee to help cover expenses, we still welcome the opportunity to read work of every character. The MVP competition helps to foster a community of respect and support for writers.
MVP Facts
Since 1981, 119 books have been produced in the MVP series. Over seventy-five percent are by women. The writers who enter come from all walks of life. Benet Tvedten is a monk in South Dakota. Gail Rixen is a carpenter in Chokio, Minnesota. Deb Marquart is a jazz singer and professor in Iowa. Ed Bok Lee is a Korean-American performance poet, teacher, and actor in Minneapolis. Duke Klassen is a Minnesota self-employed silversmith. Born in Ahmadabad, India, Purvi Shah directs a community-based anti-domestic violence organization for South Asian Women in New York City. All are wonderful writers.
The Many Voices Project Competition books represent a range of communities and cultures. From the barmaids and faith healers of John Reinhard's Burning the Prairie to David Haynes’s portrait of one year in the life of an African American teenager in Right by My Side, MVP books celebrate diversity.
The Many Voices Project Competition books represent a range of communities and cultures. From the barmaids and faith healers of John Reinhard's Burning the Prairie to David Haynes’s portrait of one year in the life of an African American teenager in Right by My Side, MVP books celebrate diversity.
Links:
Books Published as part of MVP
BROWSE BOOKS
FictionAnthology
Other
2008 Titles
2007 Titles
Authors Online
Many of our authors are available for telephone or online conversations with book groups. Email or phone (218-477-5870) and tell us what you’re reading, the size of your book group, when you’d like to have a conversation with the author, and whatever else we need to know to help coordinate arrangements.
New Books October 2009
Fallibility, poems
Elizabeth Oness (Houston, MN)
"I am grateful for this beautiful book." Jeffrey Harrison
Friend Among Stones, poems
Maya Pindyck (Brooklyn, NY)
"The best advice re writing a poem is Emily Dickinson's: Tell the truth but tell it slant. Most poets try to do that, most of us fail. Maya Pindyck's poems very often find exactly the right slant, the right channel, the right wire, the right hypodermic--straight to the reader's heart!" Thomas Lux
When Love Was Clean Underwear, novel
Susan Barr-Toman (Philadelphia, PA)
“This novel captures the pulse of life—even when I put the book down and go about my day, I think about these characters. Barr-Toman writes with precision and wonderful humor about the human experience, and the need for forgiveness.” Elizabeth Cox
Click HERE to read first chapter.
Finalist Poetry Judge:
Michael Hettich
Finalist Prose Judge:
Ann Hood
American Fiction Series:
Whiskey Heart (novel) by Rachel L. Coyne (Minnesota)
"Coyne understands the human heart - she knows all the dark corners, twisted by the heat and hurt of love, and she knows the odd paths back from ruin. I couldn't put it down." Jonis Agee
Minneapolis Star Tribune review
Interference and Other Stories by Richard Hoffman (Massachusetts)
"The stories in Interference are moving, wise, and bracingly unsentimental. Richard Hoffman writes about male sadness and vulnerability with unusual insight and tough-minded compassion." Tom Perrotta
Click here for MPR Midmorning interview with Ed Bok Lee, author of Real Karaoke People
FictionAnthology
Other
2008 Titles
2007 Titles
Authors Online
Many of our authors are available for telephone or online conversations with book groups. Email or phone (218-477-5870) and tell us what you’re reading, the size of your book group, when you’d like to have a conversation with the author, and whatever else we need to know to help coordinate arrangements.
New Books October 2009
Fallibility, poems
Elizabeth Oness (Houston, MN)
"I am grateful for this beautiful book." Jeffrey Harrison
Friend Among Stones, poems
Maya Pindyck (Brooklyn, NY)
"The best advice re writing a poem is Emily Dickinson's: Tell the truth but tell it slant. Most poets try to do that, most of us fail. Maya Pindyck's poems very often find exactly the right slant, the right channel, the right wire, the right hypodermic--straight to the reader's heart!" Thomas Lux
When Love Was Clean Underwear, novel
Susan Barr-Toman (Philadelphia, PA)
“This novel captures the pulse of life—even when I put the book down and go about my day, I think about these characters. Barr-Toman writes with precision and wonderful humor about the human experience, and the need for forgiveness.” Elizabeth Cox
Whiskey Heart (novel) by Rachel L. Coyne (Minnesota)
"Coyne understands the human heart - she knows all the dark corners, twisted by the heat and hurt of love, and she knows the odd paths back from ruin. I couldn't put it down." Jonis Agee
Minneapolis Star Tribune review
Interference and Other Stories by Richard Hoffman (Massachusetts)
"The stories in Interference are moving, wise, and bracingly unsentimental. Richard Hoffman writes about male sadness and vulnerability with unusual insight and tough-minded compassion." Tom Perrotta
Other
2008 Titles
2007 Titles
Authors Online
Many of our authors are available for telephone or online conversations with book groups. Email or phone (218-477-5870) and tell us what you’re reading, the size of your book group, when you’d like to have a conversation with the author, and whatever else we need to know to help coordinate arrangements.
New Books October 2009
Fallibility, poems
Elizabeth Oness (Houston, MN)
"I am grateful for this beautiful book." Jeffrey Harrison
Friend Among Stones, poems
Maya Pindyck (Brooklyn, NY)
"The best advice re writing a poem is Emily Dickinson's: Tell the truth but tell it slant. Most poets try to do that, most of us fail. Maya Pindyck's poems very often find exactly the right slant, the right channel, the right wire, the right hypodermic--straight to the reader's heart!" Thomas Lux
When Love Was Clean Underwear, novel
Susan Barr-Toman (Philadelphia, PA)
“This novel captures the pulse of life—even when I put the book down and go about my day, I think about these characters. Barr-Toman writes with precision and wonderful humor about the human experience, and the need for forgiveness.” Elizabeth Cox
Click HERE to read first chapter.
Finalist Poetry Judge:
Michael Hettich
Finalist Prose Judge:
Ann Hood
Whiskey Heart (novel) by Rachel L. Coyne (Minnesota)
"Coyne understands the human heart - she knows all the dark corners, twisted by the heat and hurt of love, and she knows the odd paths back from ruin. I couldn't put it down." Jonis Agee
Minneapolis Star Tribune review
Interference and Other Stories by Richard Hoffman (Massachusetts)
"The stories in Interference are moving, wise, and bracingly unsentimental. Richard Hoffman writes about male sadness and vulnerability with unusual insight and tough-minded compassion." Tom Perrotta
Click here for MPR Midmorning interview with Ed Bok Lee, author of Real Karaoke People
Ronna Wineberg's Second Language was awarded an Honorable Mention in the 2009 Eric Hoffer Award for Books (for Excellence in Independent Publishing) in the category of Legacy Fiction (books that are more than two years old).