Staffed and run by students enrolled in a yearlong course, the press produces one book a year in either poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction. Howling Bird Press is the publishing house of Augsburg University’s MFA in Creative Writing. We offer an annual book contest in alternating genres: poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The contest is open to emerging and established authors, and receives subm
issions from across the country. Each year, the winner is awarded a $1,000 cash prize along with book publication in the fall, including distribution by Small Press Distribution. The author is also invited to speak at our program’s summer residency in July. Howling Bird Press is staffed by students enrolled in the Publishing Concentration of our MFA program, a two semester sequence of ENL 527: Publishing I in the fall and ENL 528 Publishing II in the spring. Led by a professor with many years of experience in literary publishing, the students handle all the work of maintaining a press, including acquisitions, editing, graphic design, production, marketing, and distribution. The Publishing Concentration is open for enrollment to Augsburg MFA students in all genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and playwriting. It is also open to writers who have completed MFA Programs or equivalent graduate study at Augsburg or other institutions.
