The Editing and Publishing Course

Quirk, the Literary and Visual Arts journal of UIW, is produced once a year during the spring semester by student-editors in Editing and Publishing (English 3365). The students in the class work together in groups as they evaluate and edit submissions, communicate professionally with authors, and create and implement the layout and design of the journal.

A Note about Our Selection Process

We seek to create a transparent and far-reaching selection process that takes into account the merits of every work on a fair playing field. Thus:

• All submissions to Quirk are “blind,” meaning student-editors judge the work on its own merit, without knowing the identity of the author.

• Our editors work in groups divided by genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual arts) and evaluate using a clear set of criteria, depending on the genre, e.g. imagery, convincing characterization, authentic voice, clear plot, etc. Every submission is read by all the editors of that genre and discussed as a group.

• Every editor reads every work in their genre and is part of the final selection process as to what works we include in each issue. We do not use “first readers” or outside editors.

• While we do have a faculty advisor who instructs the class and oversees the publication process, the selection of works is entirely the decision of the student-editors, free of any influence by faculty members or outside sources.

We are always thrilled and surprised by the high level of quality of submissions we receive each year. While we strive to include and champion as many excellent works as we’re able, we unfortunately have to turn away many more. We urge all writers, poets, and artists who may not make it into an issue to consider us the following year, as we always love the chance to read amazing work and to champion you in all that you do.