I’m editing The Rockford Anthology for Belt Publishing’s city anthology series. You can also follow the project on Facebook and Instagram.
We want your Rockford story.
We’re building a collection of stories written by current or former residents of Rockford, Illinois, offering a snapshot of the city. Stories can take different forms: essays, poems, photos, hybrid work.
Rockford is full of history. There’s triumph: Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap and Fred VanVleet’s NBA championship win. On the Waterfront and South Main Mercado. Cheap Trick and Michelle Williams. But also injustices and tragedy: the People Who Care race discrimination lawsuit. Mark Anthony Barmore’s murder by police at the House of Grace daycare. The faces behind reports that Rockford continually has a higher per capita crime rate than Chicago.
Share your stories of pride in this city. Or your shame. Memories of growing up in Rockford—from your involvement in the arts and music scene to your old schools. What would you tell someone who has never been here? Where would you show them? Would you tell them any city history or local folklore?
We want stories of dreams and disappointment. How have you reckoned with the crime impacting your neighborhood? What are your frustrations about the city? What about your hopes for the future? Do you have a local hero, a favorite street, or a place that holds meaning? Is there a memory that defines your Rockford experience? A moment of fear so stark it still wakes you up at night? A day of joy so intense that it can still make you laugh throughout the day?
To accurately capture this city, we need a variety of voices. We are actively seeking work from people of all ages, abilities, gender identities, sexualities, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds who have personal connections to Rockford.
We want the story only you can tell about this city.
Length
We have no formal word limit, but we are hoping to keep essays to five pages or less. Shorter is better.
You may submit up to three poems for consideration, but likely only one will be selected for publication.
Formatting
Double-spaced, 12-point serif font is preferred, but don’t stress about it. We’ll take your submission in whatever format works best for you.
Photos
We can only accept high resolution black and white photos. It is recommended photos are scanned at 600 dpi or higher. We can work with JPEG files, but ask photographers to save in a TIFF format.
How to Submit
You can send your submission directly via email to rockfordanthology@gmail.com
The official deadline has closed.
Questions?
Email: rockfordanthology@gmail.com