Fog of Controversy Surrounds Debut Issue of Nebraska's alt.write Magazine

Nebraskas Midwest Literary Underground (MLU) has released the debut issue of its provocative magazine, alt.write.

Clay Center Nebraska, (PRWEB) January 20, 2004 --Because writing is about life, not about language, alt.write, a new magazine published by Night Howl Productions, values meaningful fiction, provocative nonfiction, and writers who take challenging stances on the media and on social issues. alt.write also encourages minority writers, minority perspectives, and stories and viewpoints that are routinely marginalized by commercially driven media and for-profit publishers.

     alt.writes release follows a controversial decision by the statewide Writers Guild to ban the Midwest Literary Underground from posting messages on the Guilds listserve; messages that had sometimes been critical of the media, booksellers, and the literary and publishing establishments. Notice of the ban was sent by email on August 21, 2003 by the Guilds president who wrote, "Unfortunately, we heard from several NWG members who were upset about the content of your messages or maybe just their frequency."

     It is deeply disturbing that an association of writers, who should be among the staunchest defenders of the written word, have desecrated the sacred ground of free expression and avoided debate for the sake of appeasing a few writers who disagreed with alternative points of view," said a spokesperson for the Midwest Literary Underground. The action by the Guild demonstrates how quickly our precious freedom to write can be subverted by those who find it easier to advocate censorship rather than discussing and deliberating the issues."

     alt.write will initially be available through Nebraska's library system and will continue to seek out and encourage works that reflect views and opinions of an increasingly diverse and changing society.
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