The University’s student-run online literary magazine, Unbound, is inviting students to test their creativity with its first-ever writing contest.
The Line-by-Line contest focuses on simple, line-based work, accepting submissions for poetry, fiction and art drawings. Each section will spotlight a different type of line work. For poetry, students can submit a heroic couplet, two rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter; for fiction, the first line of a short story or novel; and for art, a black-and-white
line drawing.
“We’re focusing on the hook aspect of each submission, the thing that initially draws in the audience and invites them to keep reading,” said Unbound poetry editor Allise Penning.
The best line idea formed as the editors discussed ways students could get involved without having to compromise time for their coursework. Submissions are short, so it’s more convenient for students to balance their work and still remain creative and have a chance at being published.
“The brevity makes it easier on students so we don’t overwhelm them, yet it’s still a way for us to pull the campus community together,” said Unbound co-editor-in-chief Jane Elliott.
As literary students are still in the process of developing their artistic identities, Line-by-Line allows them to test the creative waters on campus without completely engulfing themselves in one specific focus.
“The purpose of this contest is to challenge artists to create something beautiful without all the bells and whistles. Good art doesn’t have to be elaborate and abstract; it can mean simplicity,” said Unbound poetry editor Sammy Shaw.
Winners of the contest will be announced at an open mic event at The Buzz on Nov. 24 and will be published in the next Unbound issue. Additionally, the fiction and poetry winners will receive a $25 gift card to Smith Family Bookstore and the art winner will receive a $25 gift card to Oregon Art Supply. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 20.
Dreamt up by University graduate Kelsey Connell, Unbound was triggered by her thesis work that aspired to create a way for students to have their literary work peer-reviewed, edited and published on campus. She initially got the idea in instructor John Witte’s literary editing course, where the class worked closely with Northwest Review, an international literary review published by the University. There they discussed the lack of a lasting campus publication that gave students an artistic outlet.
“This just didn’t seem right for a campus with such a strong creative energy,” said Connell, who went on to successfully establish Unbound as a place for students interested in literary editing to learn and grow.
One of Connell’s main goals for the magazine was to provide students thorough feedback on their submissions. After participating in the University’s yearlong Kidd Tutorial Program, which Penning calls a “creative writing boot camp,” Connell realized firsthand that her literary growth stemmed from constructive criticism of her work.
“This type of feedback is unique to the magazine and something that artists might not always get from magazines outside of the campus setting,” she explained.
Unbound has grown from a six-person staff in spring 2008 to now staffing 20 editors. It became recognized by ASUO in spring 2009, but still chooses to remain literally unbound as a completely online publication, cutting costs and lightening the burden for the editors.
“Since the magazine costs so little to publish, we can really focus on the quality of submissions and collaborating with students, instead of worrying about funding the printing production,” Penning said.
Unbound is always accepting submissions for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and art pieces, including painting, drawings and photography. It is open to University students only to focus on creating a core literary forum on campus.
“I think we are in a pretty good niche in the literary scene, and with more submissions we’re working to expand that scene here on campus,” said co-editor-in-chief Luke Nelson.