UM-F literary magazine seeking submissons

The UM-Flint literary magazine, Qua, is seeking original fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Faculty adviser of the biannual publication, Stephanie Carpenter, says she's hoping to get submissions from the Flint community as well as the student body.

"To ensure the continuation of the magazine it is important for us to have a steady stream of interested students and community members who contribute," Carpenter said.

Carpenter encouraged writers to submit their work if they feel it is polished and publishable.

"Sending out your work is a good exercise for a writer," Carpenter said.

Rejection can be a positive experience.

"As a writer I have received many rejection slips over the years. That has helped me to think further about my submissions and improve my work," Carpenter continued.

"The selection process can be tough," said Editor-in-Chief Amanda Honold. "We've had a lot of original submissions that were edged out by more polished pieces. But if a work has a good core, we'll work with the author on minor revisions. This is why it is important that people who want to submit send us their most polished, grammatically correct work.

"Last year we sent form responses for the rejection notices due to our tight timeline and small staff," said Honold

This time it will be different.

"Rejection can be hard, so we will try to stay positive and encourage all writers to submit again in the future," she said.

"There are a lot of strong voices in Flint. Qua is a great opportunity for them to be heard," Honold continued. "This is one reason why we're hoping to have more pages this year to include more writers."

The group is working on a web site to support the magazine.

People who want to submit their work can e-mail their submission to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Include your name and title of the piece in the body of the e-mail and send the work as an attachment.

"Do not put your name on the submission itself as they are all read anonymously by Qua's staff of student readers," Carpenter added.

Simultaneous submissions (the submission of the same short story or other piece of writing to more than one literary magazine or publisher at the same time) are acceptable. The deadline for the fall issue is Sept. 30.

"We will launch that issue sometime in December, hopefully with a planned event," Carpenter said.

The publication is edited and produced by students, printed by the UM-Flint Printing Services and distributed throughout the community. Free copies are available at the Farmers' Market, Good Beans Café, the Buckham Gallery, downtown businesses and the UM-Flint English Department.

The publication costs about $3,000 to print and is paid for by the board of student publications and activity fees.

Carpenter is in her second year of teaching at UM-Flint. A native of Traverse City, Carpenter earned her master's in fine arts from Syracuse University and a doctorate in English and creative writing at the University of Missouri.

Honold has a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University and is currently enrolled in UM-Flint's Teaching Certificate Program in English. Students who wish to be involved in the production of future issues should contact Qua at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .