DeKALB — Towers Literary Magazine, first published in 1939, is striving to publish once again after its lapse in 2016.  The literary and creative art magazine publishes fiction, nonfiction poetry, drama and artwork and used to publish every year for 29 years. 

Pushing for creativity and giving a place for students to show their work is a big reason behind relaunching the magazine. 

“At my high school, we had a literary magazine, and I thought it was really cool because a lot of people were able to share their writing that otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to share with anyone,” said treasurer Ariel Argent. 

Jack Struck, assistant editor-in-chief, said that clarifying the guidelines to submissions is a priority, making sure students know all submissions are welcome and that all different forms of writing, art, illustrations and drama are accepted. 

“We’re hoping to clarify the guidelines because there’s really only guidelines on the website that show fiction, and it’s not the only categories,” Struck said. “And then a few other things like we’re hoping to increase our visibility, of course.” 

The primary goal for the semester is getting more submissions so they can increase the numbers of publications and expand interest, Struck said.

Funding for the magazine is still something the club is looking to learn more about because they had to start from scratch. 

“Generally, when a club lapses, all of their funding is revoked, and you essentially have to register as if it was a new club,” Struck said. “We wouldn’t have any funding from the previous years.” 

Towers will reorganize their website and reach out to staff and faculty to get the word out that the magazine is coming back to campus. 

“We’re going to talk to the English and art department,” said president Theresa Dolasinski. “That way, they can tell students who are interested in class.” 

Towers is looking to bring a club that’s directed towards publishing on campus for students to express their creativity and give hands-on experience in their professional field. 

“I find that it’s good to have other options for other students who want to go here like there’s the speech club and other options for students, but there’s not really anything for a creative point,” Dolasinski said. “It’s hard to find internships in the English field, and you need those if you want to get a job in the field, so I thought this would be a good way to gain experience.” 

Towers will begin to have meetings once enough submissions are put in. The magazine is looking for editors for each category. Students who would like to gain experience in publishing are welcome to submit their work. 

For further inquiries on how to submit to the magazine, contact the club at [email protected].