The English Department at Kent State Columbiana is proud of Black Squirrel Scholars, the literary journal for Kent State Salem and East Liverpool.  

This is a great opportunity for Kent undergraduate students of all disciplines! If you’ve ever had the slightest curiosity about being published, even if you’re pursuing other career goals, now is your chance to find out more! We are based out of the Kent Columbiana County Campuses (Salem and East Liverpool), but we encourage submissions across campuses. 

We encourage you to send us your material! Submissions can include short fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction (such as narrative essays), film reviews, book reviews, video game reviews, photography, drawings, paintings, and digital art. 

Please note the following: 

1. Submission is not a guarantee of publication. 

2. You will be notified via e-mail of either acceptance or rejection.  

3. Black Squirrel Scholars will not accept work that is deemed inappropriate for a university setting or work that is antithetical to the mission of Kent State. The following material will be rejected: excessively explicit material, material that spreads deliberate misinformation, and material that incites hate toward any particular individual or group. 

4. All accepted submissions will undergo an editing process.  This may include the following: trimming length, stylistic changes, grammatical changes, and fixing typos. For visual work, pieces might be cropped to fit layout. Authors and artists will be contacted to approve editorial decisions. 

5. All submissions will be read and selected by a panel of The Black Squirrel Scholars staff and not one individual.