Lily Price
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): John Buckley, Lecturer II
Research Mentor School/College/Department: English Language & Literature, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
Presentation Date: Thursday, April 22, 2021
Session: Session 5 (3pm-3:50pm)
Breakout Room: Room 1
Presenter: 3
Abstract
There are a wide variety of literary journals today, from college-owned to ones that revolve around a specific interest such as feminist ideas or geographic regions. In this project, I aimed to identify trends among literary journals both structurally in regard to format as well as thematically. These results helped me to select journals that best match my own writing and broadened my understanding of the world of journals. To find these results, I compiled a database of journals with several categories such as types of writing, digital access, editors, and themes in Google Sheets. I also spoke to editors and staff of several literary journals to better understand the behind-the-scenes operations as well as their thought processes when deciding what to include in their issues. I learned that while many journals have different production processes, many have made the switch from print to partly or fully online. I also learned that at the end of the day, the staff makes the journal. From a group of young experimental MFA students to a woman who has been editor-in-chief for years, the staff is ultimately the driving force behind style and form. This research is valuable to writers as it shows that by reading journals, you can identify themes within each that symbolize the style of the journal as whole.
Authors: Lily Price
Research Method: Creative Arts
