Partnership gives life to fiction, poetry in printed form

A long-time dream by Central Michigan University’s creative writing faculty has finally taken shape, providing students with firsthand experience in the publishing industry.

For years, faculty in the program talked about launching a university-based book publishing unit, said Matt Roberson, a faculty member of the Department of English Language and Literature.

“We’ve long wanted to build the literary community in Mount Pleasant and in Michigan by offering publication to deserving writers and manuscripts,” Roberson said.

The framework already existed in the Central Michigan University Press, created by the Center for Learning through Games and Simulation.

Roberson talked to Jonathan Truitt, the center’s co-director, about using the press to publish books based on an annual contest. The CLGS jumped on board right away and the Summit Series was born.

“Creativity is a part of the human experience,” said Truitt, a faculty member of the History, World Languages & Cultures Department. “This is something we need to celebrate in all its forms. The Summit Series does this for writing in really great ways.”

“Choosing to support it was as easy as playing silly games as children. You do it because it’s fun.”

The Summit Series recently published its first book, a work of fiction by an Upper Peninsula author. Moral Treatment was chosen as the 2024 winner, selected from fiction submissions. The book received a positive review from The New York Times.

The plan is to select fictional prose one year and poetry the next, Roberson said. Another Upper Peninsula writer, a poet, was just named the 2025 winner.

In the first two years, they plan to solicit works from Michigan writers and widen it to the Midwest for the second round in the third and fourth years.

The Series has a companion course in the English department designed for upperclassmen and graduate students that he said it gives students a firsthand look at how the publishing industry works. It’s proven popular with students.

Students in the course help narrow down submissions for the invited judge. This year, it was Pulitzer Prize winning poet Diane Seuss. They also learn about cover design, editing, print-on-demand books and publicity and public relations.

In addition to The Summit Series, Central Michigan University Press restarted publishing Central Review, which publishes student works, in 2024.