What is a literary magazine?
A literary magazine is a collection of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and artwork, much like that of Poetry magazine and The Yale Review. Generation is a literary magazine, brought to you by the students of Saint Vincent College, Latrobe Pennsylvania. With goals to aim, entertain, enlighten and highlight talent on campus, Generation features work from students of all majors, even chemistry.
How is work chosen to be published in a literary magazine?
Submission guidelines and procedures are different for each different literary magazine. At Generation, work is accepted from Saint Vincent College students for review during the month of September and all types of literary and artwork are accepted for review. At the close of the submission period all work is then reviewed anonymously, to avoid author and staff bias. Literary work is divided into three categories, yes, no, and maybe. All submissions are then handed over to the editors in chief who then make the final decisions. Artwork is again judged based upon a yes, no, maybe scale and the yesses and maybes are then handed over to the editors in chief who, again, make the final decisions.
If you would like to submit your work but are not a student at Saint Vincent College a list of literary magazines that accept work from all authors is available at pw.org.
How is a literary magazine made?
Publication processes are different for each literary magazine. At Generation layout and design begin before chosen submissions have been finalized. The first task of the staff is determining the theme and general layout concept for the year’s edition. Once this is done the design editor and team begins making a template using Adobe Indesign; this way once work is chosen it can be easily imported into the magazine.
A cover art contest is held and once a piece is selected by staff, the cover is the first piece of the magazine to be finished.
The bulk of production for the magazine takes place during the month of October. Once all of the works are imported into the template, the magazine is printed and proofed by the staff, and corrections are made. The magazine is then sent to the printer (Generation uses Sheridan Books) and is then sent back to the staff in proof format. At this stage, final proofs and changes are made and then sent back to the printer who in turn makes the changes and prints the editions of the magazine.
In about a month’s time from the final proofing stage the editions of the magazine are delivered to Saint Vincent and a launch party is held.
The copies of Generation, a literary magazine are then sent out around the community and distributed around campus for all to pick up (free of charge) and to enjoy!
Generation © 