Creative writing magazines to hit campus

One of the new creative writing magazines

Budding writers are to have a more creative outlet for their procrastination thanks to the initiative of not one, but two students.

Zendle, a postgraduate English Literary Studies student, last week proposed the creation of a magazine entirely devoted to the publication of student’s creative writing; something as yet not attempted on campus. Zendle told the Yorker that he wanted to “show off York’s young writers” and sent out an email to every English student in the University, looking for people to share his enthusiasm. The response he received was astonishing: the first meeting will be held in a lecture theatre as he received “over 150 replies”.

In a break from university life, after his graduation from Sheffield, Zendle spent time working at a literary agency in London. It was this, he admits, that gave him his passion for the “buzz” of reading submissions, and made him want to get involved with a creative magazine on campus – only to find one didn’t exist.

And yet, now there is a second proposed magazine to join Zendle’s proposed publication. The Etcetera, an Arts magazine, is also in the works as a material publication, and the English Society has pledged support to both the editor of this project, Lyndon Ashmore, and David Zendle in respect for their hopes to “see the re-emergence of an important format after a long absence within the university's already wide ranging and successful media outlets”.

When the ideas proved popular, the English Society commented: “It is very exciting to see that there is such a broad base of interest in creative writing among our students - hopefully this is something that, with these magazine proposals, will grow even further”. Ashmore commented by telling the Yorker of his hopes that the two projects can “coexist harmoniously”, believing that “if the presence of two magazines encourages more people to write and submit then this is without a doubt a positive thing”.

The Etcetera, Ashmore’s project, has been pending ratification by YUSU since the spring term and Ashmore announced that as a result of hard work over the summer, his team now have “a cohesive image which we are putting forward and we are all very excited about it”. He hopes that the first edition will be released around week 8, and then termly thereafter.

According to Zendle, “apparently graduate prospects are where the (English) department's falling down,so the department are very keen to support projects that might improve a graduate's employability”. Zendle believes such improvement could come from the magazine.

And, so it appears, do many of the English students at York. The idea has been very positively received, with one student expressing her surprise, like Zendle, at the previous absence of such a magazine. Rachel Knighton, a fresher at Derwent College, described the proposal as “interesting” and told the Yorker that she suspected it would be sure to “go down well, especially among literature students”, while another English Literature student called it “fantastic”. It has been hailed as a “great opportunity”, with one student simply replying “YES” to my questions, echoing his friend’s comments that she was “really looking forward to it”.

Zendle’s response to such enthusiasm? “Maybe a really big, professional lit-mag is what York deserves.” Well, with the first editions of both planned for late this term and early next term, we shall just have to wait and see.

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