The Calliope Chapbook series, brought together by Water’s Edge Press and Lakeland University’s Literary Publishing class, celebrates its release with a book launch. The book launch will take place on April 26, at 2:30 p.m. at Jake’s, a Lakeland Community in Sheboygan, Wis.  

Water’s Edge Press was born in Wisconsin and is currently based in Tucson, Ariz. Back in October 2024, it announced its Calliope Chapbook series, calling for submissions from Wisconsin-based poets. This collection would be published in conjunction with Lakeland University’s Literary Publishing class, taught by Professor Madeleine Wattenberg, in the spring 2025 semester.  

Students of this class, guided by Wattenberg, read through and discussed the submissions provided. The three finalists were decided at the end of February 2025: Freesia McKee, Lynn Aprill and Megan Muthupandiyan. The students were then assigned groups to directly communicate with each of the authors and ready their manuscripts for publishing.  

Wattenberg acted as a supervisor throughout the students’ hands-on roles in the publishing process. She explained her “role during the publishing process was to provide students with the scaffolding and tools they needed to read submissions, select manuscripts for publication, and copyedit, proofread, and communicate with the authors.” Wattenberg provided guidance and facilitated important discussions on the final decision of the finalists.  

Wattenberg applauds her students’ commitment to the course and to their “collective task.” She mentions how proud she is of “the immense amount of work [her students] have accomplished.” Wattenberg explains how the publishing process typically takes a least a year, while the students only had three months. She states, “This was only possible because of the class, likely in part because they’re writers themselves, understood the responsibility of deciding what stories to share and transforming a writer’s words into physical form.” Additionally, Wattenberg, who was also in communication with the authors, shares that they “noted the above-and-beyond level of care that their work received through this process.” 

The students of the Literary Publishing course expressed the different angles of this unique experience. A common challenge they expressed was the abundance of manuscripts and the short time frame in which to read them. The students were given access to 36 manuscripts that were submitted to Water’s Edge Press. Sarah Stege, a student from the course, said, “One of the most challenging parts of the process was reading so many manuscripts in such little time. I wanted to spend more time appreciating each submission and every poem.” In addition to reading and narrowing down submissions, each student had to copyedit the final three manuscripts. Miranda Boswell, a student in the course, said, “It was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding.”  

Each book is unique and explores its own themes and imagery. McKee, Aprill and Muthupandiyan will all attend the upcoming book launch. Each author will do a 10–12 minute reading from their chapbook, along with a Question and Answer hosted by the students that helped with each book. The Calliope Chapbook series was officially published on April 15 and is open for purchase. Additionally, the three authors will sell their respective collections during the book launch for $12 each, and attendees can get their copies signed by them.  

City of Honesty, Freesia McKee 

Professor Wattenberg describes City of Honesty as, “queer love amidst personal and communal loss.” Boswell worked on McKee’s manuscript. When asked what she was most proud of in this process, she stated: “I am most proud of the way I advocated for [McKee’s manuscript] that we ended up publishing. The collection was filled with Lesbian Ecopoems, and I believed that the world needed to see those poems. I do care immensely about queer rights and representation in literature.” Boswell also mentioned that she hopes audiences gain more understanding on the importance of treating everyone with kindness, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.  

Aging in Place, Lynn Aprill 

Professor Wattenberg describes Aging in Place as, “[it] looks at the invisibility women often experience later in life.” Stege worked on Aprill’s manuscript. When asked what she hopes audiences gain from this collection, she said: “I hope people will pick up this book to discover a new narrative about aging. It’s a universal experience, but so often it’s only looked at from one or two angles. Lynn’s book gives aging dimension. It’s valuable for college students like me, because at the root, it’s about life and our connections with the people around us.”  

Human Geographies, Megan Muthupandiyan 

Professor Wattenberg describes Human Geographies as, “[it] takes its readers around the world.” This collection explores Muthupandiyan’s international travels throughout her life while exploring herself, as well. Additionally, the cover of Muthupandiyan’s book is a photo she acquired herself during one of her travels.