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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. Under our new guidelines, one book each year is 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 with a commercial, university or nationally-distributed small press.
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. Initial screening of manuscripts will be done inhouse. A prose judge will choose one winner, a poetry judge a second, and the editors at New Rivers Press the third.
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 does not require an entry fee so that the competition can be as inclusive as possible; we also welcome the opportunity to read work of every character. The MVP competition has helped 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. Initial screening of manuscripts will be done inhouse. A prose judge will choose one winner, a poetry judge a second, and the editors at New Rivers Press the third.
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 does not require an entry fee so that the competition can be as inclusive as possible; we also welcome the opportunity to read work of every character. The MVP competition has helped foster a community of respect and support for writers.
MVP Facts
Since, 1981, 116 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.
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