By Tatiaynna Austin
[GSR homepage featuring the Fall 2024 issue from greenspringreview.org.]
Stevenson University’s student-run digital magazine, The Greenspring Review, has had a busy fall semester and has many new goals and initiatives for the rest of the 2024-2025 school year. Chris Morrison, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine, would like Stevenson University’s student body to know just how important they are for the success of the magazine.
Chris explains, “I have always said that the Greenspring Review is student-led and student-powered. This doesn’t just refer to the SU student body and their submissions to our magazine, but also our wonderful and hard-working staff members. Simply put, we could not run without their contributions, and we need all the help we can get, especially as we enter the spring. So, I strongly encourage anyone reading this– ESPECIALLY English students, but our staff is open to students of all studies–to keep up with us, maybe attend a few meetings, and consider joining. In my time, it has always been a very welcoming community and I hope that I’ve done a good job upholding that as Editor-in-Chief.”
The GSR staff tries to spread knowledge of the group by hosting small events on campus, recently holding a week-long event called “Haunted Hallways,” where students could look for little ghosts in the Phillip A. Zaffere Library (PAZ). There were 24 ghosts hidden, about an inch tall, each attached to QR codes that students could scan to learn the ghost’s name. The students who found the most ghosts would have the opportunity to win a prize.
The Greenspring Review is also running a creative writing contest that is open to all Maryland high school students, “The New Voices High School Contest,” for a second year. The contest allows high schoolers the opportunity to practice submitting their work under conditions that are similar to submitting to a professional literary magazine or small press. The contest also gives the students the chance to be recognized for their hard work. Over 200 high schoolers have made submissions so far. The Greenspring Review staff is working hard to narrow these down to 10 finalists.
GSR also gives Stevenson students the opportunity to work with a literary magazine. Staff can put their work experience on their resume, and creators will have experience with the publication process and will able to put their published work on their resume, allowing them to have their work seen by other students as well as faculty.
Students can send their work to the magazine through their website, greenspringreview.org. The magazine accepted submissions for the fall issue until November 15. These submissions are intended to “represent the diversity of Stevenson University students and faculty and their perspectives,” according to the GSR‘s website. The literary and media magazine accepts a wide array of works that range from short stories, poems, and photos to films, screenplays, and works of art. The submission guidelines for prose, poetry, and media can be found on the website.
Submissions undergo at least one round of voting, during which the editorial team of each section reviews the pieces and determines whether they will be accepted or rejected. If rejected, the creator will be encouraged to submit more projects in the future. The GSR staff is also willing to review the rejected work if the creator has made major revisions.
If accepted, an editor of the magazine will send the piece back to the creator with a notice of acceptance and will also include editorial suggestions the creator can make if they see fit. These edits are highly encouraged; however, the creator is not required to implement the feedback into their work if they do not want to. The staff will not make revisions without the creator’s approval. Once the work is revised and sent back to the magazine, the staff prepares it for publication.
As a bonus, each section will have one piece chosen by the staff to be featured on the homepage of The Greenspring Review website.
The fall issue of the magazine will be published on November 22, 2024.