By Catalyst Team
Cover photo of Catalyst student editors (not pictured: Elizabeth Bocock) by Dr. Jenny Mueller.
It’s that time of year again: the editors for Catalyst are looking for submissions!
Catalyst is McKendree University’s student-run arts and literature magazine that gives students a chance to have their work seen by the public. Every spring a small group of student editors compile short stories, poetry, art, and creative nonfiction from students like you!
“The first version of the magazine appeared in print in 1991,” said Dr. Jenny Mueller, professor of English and faculty advisor to Catalyst. “It’s run continuously since then and has been a website since 2016.”
The website format has allowed the editors to publish more student art than ever before.
Scarlett Catanzaro, a Catalyst student editor, said, “The expansion to a web version allows students multiple avenues to have their work featured and explored by their classmates, faculty, and McK alumni. It helps build a sense of community students might have felt was lost during the pandemic.”
Submissions for this year’s edition of Catalyst are due on March 25th. The student editors are looking for original art, including photography, paintings, drawings, digital art, and other visual images. They are also looking for short fiction stories, poetry, essays, and memoirs that highlight your creativity. For fiction and essays, the editors recommend no more than 1500 words if you wish to be in the printed magazine, but they accept longer works for the website.
“If you’re wondering about whether your creative work is right for Catalyst, don’t overthink. Just do it!” said Jasmine Gage, who had her work published in Catalyst twice and is now a student editor.
Hannah White, a former student editor who has submitted work to Catalyst in the past, shared what she likes about having her work published: “I submit to Catalyst because I enjoy writing, and it feels like a good first step in getting comfortable with watching others read my work. Also, any emotions I felt or wanted to make others feel, I get to see if it worked, and if I don’t see the reactions I was aiming for, it’s incentivizing to keep writing until I get the readers where I want them.”
The print version of Catalyst will be available as a part of McKendree’s annual Academic Excellence Celebration (AEC) in April. Every year, Catalyst also hosts an AEC session where students can read their published work and share their art with the community.
The final day to submit to Catalyst is March 25, 2024. Email your submissions to Dr. Jenny Mueller (jimueller@mckendree.edu). You can submit any writing or art you please; just make sure it is original (no AI)! All submitted art and literature are read, considered, and edited by McKendree undergraduate students. Please leave your name out of the file as all submissions are reviewed anonymously.
To see last year’s issue, visit: McKendree | Catalyst (catalystmck.com)
