Faculty and Students Publish New Undergraduate Literary Journal

Utah State University faculty and students have published the first volume of a new undergraduate literary journal, Sink Hollow. It features quality art, poetry, nonfiction and fiction pieces created by undergraduate students from around the world.

The journal offers students the opportunity for publication and recognition before graduation, which is crucial for the development of their creative careers. Artists and authors come from Utah State to Marist College in New York to Saint Petersburg State University. Sink Hollow also offers USU students the chance to try their hand at publishing, useful for anyone who wants the experience or wishes to continue in the field. Students involved with the magazine in future semesters will have the opportunity for internship credit.

The magazine is named after the sinkholes in the nearby Wasatch-Cache National Forest, which rarely go more than a few days without freezing and are often the coldest places in the contiguous United States.

The magazine staff came together to get Sink Hollow on its feet, advisors said. The process included choosing a tone and title, designing the look and graphics, assigning staff roles, publicizing a call for entries and determining which pieces would best fit the journal’s aesthetic. Shanan Ballam is the faculty advisor.

“Each member of the Sink Hollow team played a crucial role in developing an incredibly beautiful, highly-professional journal,” she said.

Staff aimed for a minimalist, muted design in order to allow the pieces room to shine. After months of fiddling with fonts and tweaking the table of contents, the magazine is in tip-top shape, ready for reading, they said.

Shay Larsen acts as editor.

“We called for pieces and the pieces presented in this, our inaugural issue, called back — loud and clear we heard them and we preserved their echoes inside us.” Larsen said. “Listen, and you can hear them too.

“With continued effort and enthusiasm by the dedicated students and faculty members, there will be many more Sink Hollow volumes, and hopefully some national recognition, to come.”

Read the full journal online.

Writer: Jessica Christiansen, (435) 237-1448, jessica.m.christiansen@gmail.com

Contact: Robb Kunz, (208) 596-8967, robb.kunz@usu.edu