Volume #1 History

(2025 / 2026)

As we are only about five weeks away from the 1 year anniversary of our founding, I thought it might be wise to outline the past year what has changed, and what has grown. Triptych was originally an independent, small-scale journal created out of a love for weird, uncanny work, science fiction, and a sense of the New England Gothic. We were founded in November of 2025, and while the exact date escapes me, I know it was after 4 PM because it was pitch black outside. I opened for submission in November of 2025, launching a Chillsubs and Duotrope account with links back to this Google Site and a Google Form for our first Issue. Shortly after that we were also listed on The Submission Grinder. In mid-September of 2026 we became listed on Leafmines, another platform for writers. 

This issue was published in April of 2026. I printed 20 hard copies, because I believe physical media on-campus is an important aspect of the college experience in any humanities department. Severe financial constraints meant we could not afford shipping contributor copies out (something we detail more in our FAQ page). 

On May 4th, 2026, the UMass Boston Archives reached out to us about securing a copy of Issue #1 for preservation in the Special Collections wing, and also to secure copies of any other publication released by Triptych. Between May and July of 2026 when the submission portal for Issue #2 closed and the issue was still being assembled, several important changes were carried out. By the end of August, we had placed copies in three other public libraries in Massachusetts: Easthampton, Somerville and Gloucester. By mid-September that number had increased to four public libraries with the addition of Watertown. We also shipped copies across the Atlantic to The Glasgow Zine Library in Scotland, and out to the midwest into Wisconsin, and out to Denver Colorado. 

In terms of writing, firstly we launched the Shorts page. This is for stories we liked a lot and either wanted to promote, couldn't fit into the theme of a journal issue, or really really liked in general. This is a space for smaller works and designed to be scrolled through casually, and stories once published here are there for as long as we are around, unless the author in question requests we take it down. 

Secondly, we created an 'Archives' page of our own where we list all our wonderful contributors by publication so that people can quickly and easily  find their name and their work, organized by publication date. 

Finally,  we began to heavily experiment with a line of Chapbooks and novelettes. This section is very much a huge work in progress and we have only released two so far (found here). We anticipate more releases in January of 2027, as all of our current funds and energies are tied up in Issue #3, the final print release of 2026. 

All copies of Triptych are distributed free of charge via a recovered, formerly abandoned newspaper stand in the Communications Department, which sits on the other side of the English Department at UMass Boston. During the Fall 2026 semester we began restocking it weekly, while supplies lasted. In fact, the stand became so popular as a hub for distributing print literature that we also began stocking it with miscellaneous copies of defunct publications like The Watermark and Writ Large after copies of the former began appearing on it.