Cassandra Matthews ~ Assistant Editor
The Prism, the University of Lynchburg’s literary magazine, is seeking creative writing and visual art submissions by Nov. 1.
Every year, a new edition of The Prism is published. Anna-Catherine Kueng, a co-editor, said, “We accept poetry, prose, fiction, creative nonfiction, photography, and visual art submissions. Submissions are only open to Lynchburg undergraduate students.”
While only students can submit their work, Kueng explains that the entire University of Lynchburg community is encouraged to read the magazine. Nicole Tolley, another co-editor, mentioned how even alumni request copies in the spring, which is when the latest edition is published.
Mariah Molina is a staff member. She talked about how every week, the staff meet to view what submissions have come in and vote on what should be included in the magazine. Kueng and Tolley, as co-editors, view the work first. Then, Molina said, “We can either vote yes, no, or maybe.”
Tolley further explained, “[W]e vote and make suggestions on the pieces that we are considering for publication. They are usually decided on for publication by majority rule.”
All three members of The Prism staff reported that submissions have been picking up now that the deadline is quickly approaching. Kueng said, “The submissions vary by week to week. Sometimes, we do not get many then the next week we get a lot within a few days. It just depends on the time of semester, but generally, around the deadline, we get the greatest amount of submissions.”
Currently, The Prism has received many more creative writing submissions than visual art submissions. While the staff is still welcoming students’ writing, Molina hopes to see more photography and artwork by Nov. 1.
Regarding what it takes for a piece to be featured in the magazine, Molina said emotional pieces or unique pieces have particularly been catching the eye of the staff.
Kueng also said, “Some of the works have similar themes just by coincidence, like cosmic-related content and flowers seem to be popular in this semester’s submissions, but they do not have to relate to each other to be published. We take a wide variety of submissions.”
Kueng continued, “There are so many talented Lynchburg students so just getting to see classmates and friends’ works in The Prism will be exciting for readers. We already have a lot of great submissions, and I anticipate we will get even more that are well done as the deadline draws closer. I am excited to see how the publication will turn out visually once we get the physical copies published in the spring!”
To have your work considered for the 2021 publication, email prism@lynchburg.edu.