As all of you know, I’m an English and Creative Writing major; recently, I added a Publishing Track (I’m also a Dance major with honors). And obviously, as a writer, my goal is to get my work published and become a fully-fledged author in my own right. Last year, I took two major steps in that direction; I got two short stories – “Di Mana Ada Kemahuan, Di Situ Ada Jalan” (translated from Malay to mean “When there’s a will, there’s a way”) and “Kiasu-Geddon” (“kiasu” is a Hokkien word that literally translated means afraid to lose out; in slang form, it refers to not being the best) – published in Ink Lit Mag, a magazine for University of Iowa freshmen and alumni. So this year, I’m promoting all the different magazines and opportunities that we can take advantage of to get published in.

The University of Iowa has various magazines; like Ink Lit, exclusively for freshmen and alumni. Aside from that, there is Earthwords and Fools Magazine, both of which are semiannual publications. But seeing as they are more well-known, this blog post is going to be about the new magazines created by the Publishing I: Intro to Literary Publishing classes. 

In this Fall 2019 semester, there are three Publishing I classes, one run by Bryn Lovitt, one by Julia Lucas and one by Julia Conrad. All three classes are producing and creating our own magazines from scratch! So that means…three more opportunities for University of Iowa students to get published! 

Each fall semester, there are two to three Publishing I classes and each class publishes a magazine. In the spring, students who have already taken Publishing I, take Publishing II, which is a necessary course for students on the Publishing Track. Publishing II students produce a 200-page anthology from the best new work from young writers around the state of Iowa.

Anyway, back to the magazines created by the Publishing I classes. The one that is being published by my class is called Metal Magazine and it’s open for submissions until October 11th! This might sound like a shameless self-promotion, but in actuality, it’s an awesome opportunity for University of Iowa students to get published! To top it off, this magazine is brand new, so you would get to be published in a debut magazine! How cool is that???!!! (…And it is still a shameless self-promotion. Sorry, couldn’t resist :P) 

Now, get cracking on writing fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry; making artwork, including comics and taking photographs; composing music and so on. Good luck to all of you and happy submissions! 

Managing Editor of Metal Magazine,

Emily