Literary Magazine

This page has links to our current and previous issues of our literary magazine.

Guidelines for Submission

All genres of writing are welcome!

• Poetry

• Short Fiction

• Drama (one-act plays & screenplays)

• Nonfiction (memoir, essays)

• Literary Criticism & Book Reviews

• Interviews

• Podcast

• Short Films (Documentary, fiction films)

Writing for Publication: Steps in the Process

Please complete the following steps prior to submitting your work for publication. Works that have not gone through the process below will not be considered for publication.

1. Brainstorm - Use your journal as a place where you can collect your ideas and practice your writing.

   • Read, annotate and discuss published writing that you admire. If possible, add some of these pieces to your journal so that you can go back to them later and use them as mentor texts. Use the guidelines for annotation and notetaking to help you with ideas for what to include in your annotations or notes.

   • Journal Writing: Write in your journal as often as possible. Try the journal writing exercises that are given in class. Journal writing can explore your observations, thoughts and experiences, and it can also include annotations, notes, artwork, reflections... just about anything that you can put in a notebook!

   • Themes: What themes are you interested in exploring?

   • Literary Techniques & Writing Styles: What literary techniques and writing styles do you want to try? What authors and works do you admire?

   • Reflection: What challenges are you encountering with your writing? What challenges are you encountering in life? What 

   • Literature and News Stories: What readings or news stories do you find interesting? What does it make you think of? What stands out to you?  

2. Draft your piece. Decisions to make while drafting:

   • Genre: What genre are you choosing? What are the conventions of that genre? - see "Exploring Genre" for information to help you decide on a genre.

   • Structure: How will you structure your piece?  

   • Themes and/or Main Ideas: What themes and ideas are you exploring in your piece?

   • Details & Word Choice: How can you include specific details and improve word choice in your writing?

3. Feedback from peers. Use the peer feedback guidelines to share feedback with at least one other classmate. When you conference with Ms. Ntoso, you will be required to show evidence of feedback from peers (their comments and/or your notes).

4. Schedule an Individual Writing Conference with Ms. Ntoso. Please do not schedule a conference until you have completed the first three steps.

5. Revise - Focus on improving structure, details, word choice, lead, and title. Use your notes and feedback as a guide to help you think about improvements you need to make so that your writing achieves what you are striving for. What ideas, thoughts and emotions do you want your readers to be left with? 

6. Author's Commentary - Write one paragraph of commentary on your piece. This is your opportunity to tell us about your inspiration for the piece, your writing process, and your background. 

7. Edit & Proofread - Works that have not been edited and proofread will not be considered for publication and will be removed from our submissions folder.

8. Format your document:

   • Font Size: 11pt or 12pt

   • Font: Arial, Times New Roman, or Garamond

   • Spacing: Single-spaced

   • Please make sure the title of the piece and your full name are at the top of the document AND in the file name

9. Submit - Use the submission form to submit your piece for publication in our literary magazine. The form is open for submissions in December and April.

Publishing Beyond Our Literary Magazine

Please consider submitting your writing to publications outside of our school. The Publishing page has information about opportunities such as outside literary magazines and contests.  This is a great way to share your writing with a broader audience, and some of these opportunities even pay writers for their work.