Whether you are a visual artist, cartoonist, poet, fiction writer or essayist, Iowa State offers you several opportunities for publishing. You might have walked past stacks of Sketch, Uhuru, Trend and Ethos without giving them a second thought, but therein lie the chances to make a name for yourself.

Sketch is a literary journal that began in 1934. The magazine has featured renowned Iowa State alums like Robert Harkin and Ted Kooser. Over the past 70 years the magazine (one of longest running student publications in the nation) has continued to accept written and visual submissions, which are then selected by a jury board. You can look at digitized copies of past publications in the Digital Collections of Parks Library, and read more about Sketch on our website. We currently publish two issues a year, one for fall semester and one for spring semester.

Sketch is also a wonderful opportunity for students interested in working with literary publications, but it is by no means limited to English majors. Pick up a copy to see all of the majors that are represented, both by graduate and undergraduate students. It is truly a showcase of university-wide talent. I currently serve as President and Editor for Sketch, so I want to encourage writers and artists from all majors to submit their work.

The faculty advisor for Sketch, Christiana Langenberg, told me how rewarding it was for her to be published as an undergraduate (not an English major) saying, “…it helped bolster my confidence in my own abilities to be creative and that that was something other people genuinely appreciated. It was a poem I’d worked on for six weeks with a faculty member who was gracious enough to give me his time to review it (in all its unholy revisions), and it was he who encouraged me to submit the piece. I’m still grateful.”

Explore some of the other publications like Uhuru, Trend, Ethos and the Iowa State Daily when you consider publishing. Uhuru, which is means “freedom” in Swahili, is Iowa State’s multicultural magazine. It seeks to go beyond stereotypes and myths, and deals with issues relating to the African-American, Latino/a, Asian and Native American communities, but is open to all students. Trend, another student-run publication, focuses on fashion and lifestyle in the ISU community. Ethos maintains a literary journalistic style with stories relating to campus issues, personalities and how to have fun at Iowa State. And the Iowa State Daily, of course, is your source for campus news.

Publishing your creative work is truly rewarding because it not only gives you an opportunity to be seen and heard and join the campus dialogue at Iowa State, but also will help you grow as a writer or artist, boost your confidence and give you an impressive line for your resume.

Most publications invite writers, artists, graphic designers, and editors onto their staff.

Both of the student publications I have worked with have been extremely welcoming, and I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to write and edit for them.

Whether or not you envision yourself as a future writer or artist of not, publishing offers you lasting satisfaction. So take the risk: Submit your creative work. We would love to hear it.

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Kristen Daily is a junior in English from Orange City, Iowa.