Emily Salvatori, Advertising Manager

Ampersand, a student-run and published literary journal, makes its return for the 2018-2019 year after a hiatus. Current students of any major can submit works to the Ampersand editorial board before Feb. 24 to be considered for publication. Works can include fiction and creative nonfiction, poetry, and artwork.

Ampersand was first the publication of the Omicron Nu Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society. Then the Department of Humanities took over the publication of Ampersand. Now the student literary publication is back.

“When I became the advisor of Sigma Tau Delta, the publication came back to the group. However, because students are often more active nowadays when it comes to extracurricular activities and employment, they have to turn down memberships in some groups. Because of this, membership in Sigma Tau Delta has been rather inconsistent, too inconsistent for the group to be responsible for a regularly published project,” said Instructor of English, Nicole Naegele, “However last semester, students, some of whom are not English majors, expressed interest in working with Ampersand, so we decided to publish again with a board made up of students with an interest in writing and publications but not necessarily English majors.”

There are some changes that are coming with the return of Ampersand. The main change is that it will be published digitally instead of printed. Originally, it was printed on campus when there was a budget for printing. It was also printed on campus when the budget started to fade. Now, the journal will be published online in a PDF format in order to work with the lack of budget and also because there is a lessening demand for printed copies. “I’d like to see it continue to grow and draw board members, writers, and artists from across campus. It’s a great opportunity for students to get their work out there, and now that it will be published online, it will be easier for them to direct readers to their work,” said Naegele.

The student editorial board makes all the decisions about Ampersand. Naegele said, “Since we were resurrecting the publication this year, they made decisions about whether to make it an online publication or not, when to set deadlines, and how to advertise. When the submission deadline passes, they’ll get together and select the pieces they’ll publish in this year’s edition.”

Students are able to send up to four poems, up to four pieces of artwork, and creative nonfiction and fiction works 3000 words or less. Submissions should be in a text format such as Word or Rich Text using a font that’s easy to read. Prose pieces should also be typed double spaced. A cover page with your name and email address should be included, and your name should not appear anywhere else in your document.

“Please send us your work. We publish all sorts of materials and perspectives. Some are beautiful image-filled poems, and others are darker stories showing the pain people have gone through. If you like to write but don’t fancy yourself a poet, we are looking to expand our creative non-fiction offerings, too,” said Naegele. “We also love including artworks like drawings and photography that can stand on their own without the written word. Our board is open to all kinds of creative expression, so don’t be afraid to send your work to us.”

If you are interested in submitting works, email them to [email protected]. For more information, you can visit http://westliberty.edu/liberal-arts/publications/ampersand.

Photo Credit: twitter.com/WLUPoetry