Baylor’s student-run literary magazine, The Phoenix, will reveal its 2017 edition this Friday in Carroll Science Hall.
Students and faculty are invited to this year’s reveal celebration.
“I think there’s not a whole lot of places where people can be creative and put creative writing out there. This is oneof the only outlets,” Greeley, Colo., senior Averi Boyd, co-editor-in-chief of The Phoenix, said. “I really like that we give students a chance to submit and share creative works.”
The launch party for the 2017 edition of The Phoenix will take place at 4:30 p.m. Friday in 101 Carroll Science. The launch party will feature the debut of the literary magazine as well as free refreshments from Lula Jane’s. The launch party is free and open to anyone.
The debut will reveal the cover of this year’s issue, as no one outside of the staff knows what it looks like. It will also reveal the authors and artists in the issue and the winners of the “Best In” category for each section of The Phoenix, as both of those are also kept under wraps until the reveal.
“We, as college students, write all the time, but everything we write is dictated by a professor or graded by a professor,” said Denver junior, Baylee VerSteeg, and co-editor in chief of The Phoenix. “This is one of the only outlets on campus where students get to publish something chosen by other students.”
The Phoenix is a literary magazine that has been in publication at Baylor for more than 50 years and is entirely student run with solely undergraduate student submissions. According to the website, the 50th anniversary edition was published in 2009. It publishes short stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, art and photography. Copies of The Phoenix can be picked up for free from tables throughout Carroll Science. More information can be found online.
This is the third launch party for the new edition’s debut, as Boyd said it adds hype and celebrates the yearly issue more. Before, people didn’t know when it would come out, so the launch party offers the ability for people on campus to get excited and celebrate the people who worked hard to be published and the staff who got it published.
“I’m excited for the launch,” Houston senior, Emily Hoffer, said. “I always enjoyed reading my high school’s magazines and seeing their work come to fruition. So I expect Baylor’s to be just as unique and interesting.”
The winners of each “Best In” category will get a chance to read an excerpt of their winning work or talk about their art at Friday’s launch party. Boyd said one of her favorite parts of working with The Phoenix is reading and viewing the work of students and seeing what creative work the student body can produce. VerSteeg said the faculty advisers make it very clear this is the student’s project, and she enjoys giving other students the opportunity to have their names published in a beautiful format.
“We’re very excited about this year’s Phoenix,” Boyd said. “We love the design and submissions, and we’re excited to share it. The editors, designers and staff have put a lot of work into this.”
More information can be found online at https://www.baylor.edu/english/index.php?id=45862. 
