What is Ivory Tower? In the simplest of terms, it is the undergraduate-run art and literary magazine at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Each year the group of around 20-25 students enrolled in the Ivory Tower course (through the English department) acquire submissions of art, fiction, poetry and nonfiction that they carefully read through. From these hundreds of submissions, they work to select the very best among them to be edited and published in their final printed magazine.

This year, I'm a member (a Fiction Editor and Copyeditor to be more precise) of this amazing group of students working to cultivate wonderful student work for an excellent magazine, and I have all the information you need to know if you want to be published in Ivory Tower, support Ivory Tower, or just read Ivory Tower next year.

If you're a writer or artist...

If you're an undergraduate student at the U of MN, you are eligible to submit work to us! You don't have to be an English or writing student to submit; in fact, we love and encourage submissions by students pursuing fields other than creative writing.

The submission deadline for all categories is December 7th, meaning you have just over a week to get those perfected pieces in. If you do have works you'd like to submit, you can do so here.There is no limit to the number of pieces you can submit, or the number of categories you can submit to (if you're that multi-talented, more power to you!), but do be conscious of the fact that entering just a few revised and highly refined pieces will be more effective than entering 15 different first drafts. Shoot for quality rather than quantity.

If you're a writer who also likes art, considering submitting specifically to our ArtWords contest. Through a partnership with the Weisman Art Museum (WAM), a group of judges from among our Ivory Tower staff selects several of the best pieces of writing that are specifically based on a piece of art currently on display at the WAM. These chosen pieces (if written by undergrads) are also included in Ivory Tower magazine. Graduate students are also able to submit to ArtWords, and, if selected, receive a prize and are published online. You can submit to ArtWords on the same Submittable page, or learn more about the details here.

With your submission, simply include a short bio and the name of your work, and then be patient as we carefully read through all of our submissions and get back to you next semester! If you're a student who is less artistically inclined, but you have friends who are, let them know about our wonderful publishing opportunity! You or the people you know have the chance to have your work published in a high quality printed volume that celebrates the best creative art and writing among all of your undergraduate peers! That's a pretty cool thing.

If you're a community member or supporter...

Ivory Tower is in need of donations in order to create the best possible edition of our magazine. If you're a past Ivory Tower staff member, a supporter of the English department, or a local community member who wants to help us make our lit mag visions a reality, please consider making any donation on our Crowdfund page. You will be responsible for helping us to gain incredibly valuable real career experience before we even graduate college. And, come April, you can pick up a copy of our magazine to see what exactly your donation helped to create.

If you appreciate art and literature...

Consider joining us at our launch party on April 26, 2017 at 6 p.m. at the Weisman Art Museum on campus. This yearly event is a celebration of the writers and artists whose work will be featured in our edition of Ivory Tower. There will be live music, snacks and beverages, creative activities or performances, and readings of some of the fiction, nonfiction and poetry included in the magazine. At this launch, we will also be providing free copies of our magazine to all attendees. (Following the launch party, free copies will also be distributed and available all across campus.) This party will be a fun and creative extravaganza of undergraduate art and writing. Plus, it's the perfect opportunity to pick up your copy of Ivory Tower before anyone else.

Unable to make it to the launch party? Look out for more copies around campus beginning April 27th. The magazine will be available in several well-trafficked campus buildings following its release.

Ivory Tower Staff Q & A!

Q: What four words would you use to describe this year's magazine?

A: Passionate, smart, weird, and:

(-Cat Dang, Editor in Chief)

Q: What is something you want the Minnesota community to know about Ivory Tower?

A: "Ivory Tower is distributed for free all across campus! Plus, we have an awesome launch party on April 26, 2017, featuring food and live music!"

(-Ally Paitl, Designer and Art Editor)

Q: If Ivory Tower was a person in a bar, what would be its cheesy pick-up line?

A: "You must be reading Fahrenheit 451, because you’re smokin’!"

(-Jordan Kohs, Managing Editor, Art Editor, Publicist)

Q: What would Ivory Tower's astrological sign be and why?

A: "Leo. It's the creative sign and Leos work hard to complete their goals."

(-Dani Barber, Managing Editor, Nonfiction Editor, Copyeditor, Designer)

Q: What is a misconception about Ivory Tower that you can put to rest?

A: "That we only publish English majors. I remember last year when I was published in Ivory Tower that there were people from all sorts of majors, even smaller programs like the BFA Acting program. We're looking for the best poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art from the entirety of the undergraduate student body, regardless of major, so whether you're a Biology major who paints in their spare time or an Electrical Engineering student who writes poetry on the weekends, we want to see your work!"

(-Ben Schroeder, Poetry Editor, ArtWords Judge)

Q: If Ivory Tower had an online dating profile, what would it write as its bio?

A:"I'm Ivory! I’m really into poetry and I’m writing pretty much all the time. Talk books with me Swipe right if you're not obsessed with Vonnegut. Write me a villanelle so I know it’s real."

(-Aubrey Asleson, Marketing Director, Fiction Editor)

Q: What would be the spirit animal of the collective Ivory Tower team?

A: "Our spirit animal is the honeybee. Though on our own we are small, we work together to make some sweet, sweet honey from the nectar that is the creative minds within our student body. Honey is also the only food that has all the required substances to sustain life, sort of like #art has all of the goodies to sustain a beautiful life."

(-Sammy Brown, Editor in Chief, Fiction Editor)