In a few months, ETSU’s Department of Language and Literature will be releasing their 2020 issue of The Mockingbird, the student arts and literary magazine in collaboration with the Department of Art and Design.
“The Mockingbird is definitely a team effort,” said Sam Campbell, the editor of 47th issue of The Mockingbird. “The editor is responsible for the bulk of the work and for making sure deadlines are met and everything runs smoothly, and the editor has the final say in all decisions, but there is absolutely no way any editor would be able to do this alone. And they don’t have to, thanks to the guidance of faculty advisers like Dr. Jesse Graves and Dr. Alan Holmes.”
With The Mockingbird being published as a partnership between the Department of Literature and Language and the Department of Art and Design, the team work between the two departments is paramount.
“The Design Department is phenomenal, especially Jeanette Jewell who takes care of layout issues,” Campbell said. “Even beyond that, there are so many more people from past editors like Matthew Gilbert and Catherine Childress and translators like Dr. Gomez, who are very important, while also many other people are immensely important because they provide financing to make The Mockingbird happen in the first place.”
Submissions are taken during the fall semester each year. Applications are received in early September and closed at the end of October. Those interested must be currently enrolled and submit only creative works such as poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama.
“The process varies depending on the editor because it’s not really a one-size-fits-all task, and it’s really what works best for the individual,” Campbell said. “What I did was once the deadline has passed, I downloaded all of the electronic submissions and removed all names and identifiers so that the selection process is completely blind.”
The Mockingbird then sorts the submissions by genre and sends them out to student readers who volunteered to read in a specific genre and provide feedback. Readers are not allowed to read in any genre they submit in. Submissions vary by year, but The Mockingbird received around 200 submissions for the upcoming issue.
“Furthermore, student readers’ diligence and opinions are extremely valuable when narrowing down the choices of which submissions should be considered for publication,” Campbell said. “Then the outside judges are necessary to keep the prize fair and unbiased.”
While The Mockingbird receives and takes in many submissions, there are no limits to styles or types of writing as long as the piece follows their guidelines as an original, creative work by a current ETSU student. The Mockingbird does not consider previously published materials.
“While creative writing and literature students do submit, I am happy to report that we also receive submissions from many other departments and majors, including biology, digital media, education, psychology and more,” Campbell said. “We receive submissions not only from undergraduates, but also from graduate students and non-traditional students too.”
The Mockingbird comes out once a year in April. The 2020 issue is slated to be released during the Creative Writing Festival on April 8 but could potentially change.
More information can be found at www.etsu.edu/cas/litlang/mockingbird/.
