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Lycoming College’s annually published, student-run literary journal The Tributary has released its 2023 issue. The Tributary consists of student submissions of all types of prose, poetry, and artwork, regardless of students’ majors. This past year has brought major changes to the journal, as it not only has expanded to full online releases alongside its physical release, but has opened submissions to undergraduate students from across the nation. This involves two separate releases; one for Lycoming College specifically, and one that includes works from across the country.
“Having a student-run journal is a great opportunity for students at Lycoming College, so I was glad to jump in and bring my background in editing other projects to this experience,” said Phoebe Wagner ’14, assistant professor of English and creative writing. “The student interest is wonderful, and I hope to see that interest grows as The Tributary grows as well.”
The 2023 issue welcomed new and familiar faces to the journal. The following students worked diligently as editors with its advisor, Wagner:
- Managing Editor: Maya Jenkins `23
- Assistant Editor: El Rossman `25
- Fiction Editors: Abigail Mooneyhan `23 and Elizabeth Shaffer `24
- Nonfiction Editors: Aiden Brown `25 and Caylin Dimisa `25
- Poetry Editors: Caleb Hipple `23 and Sarah Lanphear `24
Each year the Lycoming edition journal awards prizes to the top submissions in prose and poetry, decided by the faculty, as well as submissions in art, decided by the publication’s staff. This year, the prize for poetry was awarded to “Elimsport” by Chase Bower, the prize for prose was awarded to "How to Make Thross Dye" by Colt Walker, and the prize for art was awarded to "Summer Nights" by Areesha Mian.
“As the Managing Editor, it was an incredibly rewarding experience to help make The Tributary this year,” said Jenkins. “I learned so much about the ins and outs of publishing a journal and was able to apply everything I learned whether it was editing or creating contracts. As well as this, each of the works we have included this year are so incredibly diverse and interesting. I am very excited to see future volumes!”
While edited and run by students, the journal is advised by Wagner. As a former Lycoming College student, Wagner worked on The Tributary for two issues as fiction editor and one issue as managing editor. As advisor, she hopes to take the journal to a new chapter, aiming to foster student interest in editing and publishing and to give writers and artists a chance to showcase their work in a published journal.
The Tributary’s past year of rebranding has broadened the scope of the journal from promoting Lycoming students to people affiliated with Lycoming College to promoting all undergraduate creative work to a national audience. As Wagner said, “This change will allow the editors to make connections with other writers in the same point of their career and hopefully build more community.” As the journal expands, so will its resources, which Wagner hopes to use to pay students professional rates for their work in the next few years.
The Tributary is open to additional ideas for the rebranding process as well as open to students, regardless of major, who are interested in submitting or working for the journal. To learn more about submissions and how to get involved, visit www.lycoming.edu/tributary.