The Young Emerging Writers Reading and “THE ATLAS 21” Release Party at Rozz-Tox -- August 13.
Thursday, August 13, 6:30 p.m.
Rozz-Tox, 2108 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
With the Midwest Writing Center's literary magazine THE ATLAS celebrating the publication of its 21st volume, a release party, open-mic night, and KAS concert honoring the Young Emerging Writers (YEW) program will be held at Rock Island venue Rozz-Tox on August 13, the evening boasting readings from YEW alumni and copies of new and back issues of THE ATLAS available for purchase.
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
This year's event will start at 6:30 p.m. outside of Rozz-Tox with the release of THE ATLAS 21, with the 2026 YEW interns giving brief readings of their magazine inclusions. Copies will be available for $10, and other local literary artists will be selling their work, as well. Guests are advised to bring blankets or lawn chairs and to not bring their own food or drink, as the service window will be open. At 8 p.m., the party will move inside Rozz-Tox, where there will be an open-mic featuring YEW alumni and staff, followed by a live concert with the musicians of KAS.
Funding and material support for the 2026 Young Emerging Writers Summer Internship Program generously provided by: 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.
Admission to the Young Emerging Writers Reading and “THE ATLAS 21” Release Party is free, with a $5 donation suggested to support the Midwest Writing Center's youth writing programs. For more information, call the Midwest Writing Center at (309)732-7330 and visit MWCQC.org, or call (309)200-0978 and visit RozzTox.com.
