Ghost County by John McCarthy


Ghost County by John McCarthyWe launched a new poetry collection!

MG Press only puts out one or two books a year. So when one does get published, it feels extra special because we’re super-selective about the manuscripts we move forward with, and because we put so much energy into each title.

Ghost County by John McCarthy is his debut, but you wouldn’t know if you read it or see him read live. His energy floods the pages and saturates the air when he breathes a meditation on traversing the midwest in a pickup truck to life.

Here’s some of the early press it’s been getting:

“In John McCarthy’s arresting debut, the middle of America reveals itself to be a belly full of opportunities and frustrations.” —Adrian Matejka, author of The Big Smoke

Ghost County…is a book that never stops opening up.”
–Adam Clay, author of Stranger and Hotel Lobby at the Edge of the World

“[I]n these gritty poems, McCarthy exposes a grimmer reality tainted by drugs, alcohol, poverty, and violence. [T]his is a hardscrabble life where time stretches past into future, back into the past, and all seems predetermined to remain the same. McCarthy’s poems pay close attention to a darker middle life, and they do not flinch.”
—Sandy Longhorn, author of The Alchemy of My Mortal Form

Check out Ghost County by John McCarthy


Midwestern Gothic: Issue 21 (Spring 2016)


Midwestern Gothic Issue 21 Spring 20165 years and counting! The spring 2016 issue marks the fifth year we’ve been putting out the journal, and what an insane, amazing journey it’s been. So many people have been a part of it, and there are so many people to thank, but here are just a few.

Robert James Russell is a top notch partner in crime. Wouldn’t do it with anyone else.

Christina Olson brings the noise to poetry submissions, book fairs, and so much more.

Katie Marenghi, Lauren Crawford, Jon Michael Darga, Laura Hulthen Thomas, Kayla Silverstein, Emily Paull, Hannah Bates, Hannah Gordon, Giuliana Eggleston, Rachel Hurwitz, Allison Reck, Ally Wright, Stephanie Bucklin, Jamie Monville, Stephanie Mezzanatto, and Michelle Torby (among others) have all played small and large roles in making this possible.

Plus too many contributors and readers to thank. You guys are all awesome.

And of course, my wife, Sandi Pfaller, for doing an infinite number of things to give me the time and energy for this little side project.

Check out Midwestern Gothic: Issue 21 (Spring 2016)