Photography, art, fashion and fiction can all be found in the pages of this semester's issue of The Auburn Circle at the release party, Snaps, Tuesday, April 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the student center ballroom.
The Auburn Circle is the student run and student generated literary magazine that showcases submissions of creative writing, photography, art and fashion designs from Auburn students.
"This time it was particularly tough, because we really got the word out this time and we got tons of great submissions," said Gabby Bates, managing editor. "We actually had to turn away some really great stuff, so we are excited for the quality of the magazine this time."
The staff managed to fit 95, out of 250 submissions, into an 80 page publication for this edition. Bates said she expects students will be very impressed by the quality of work other students are producing.
"It's a little bit of a darker mood, which you would think spring would be all happy colors, but for some reason a lot of our content was a little heavy and a little on the dark side," Bates said. "We have a really graphic cover that kind of captures that, so it might not be what you would expect."
According to Bates, since she and chief editor, Shelby Rice, took over the Circle, they wanted to improve the quality of the magazine and give it a fresh and modern look.
When Rice moved from the Glomerata to the Circle in the fall, she said she found boxes upon boxes of the 2011-2012 Auburn Circles in her office.
"That is just not okay. We don't print a whole lot," Rice said. "I think last year they printed 4,000 copies and I don't even know if half of those got distributed. There is no point in having the publication if people aren't going to read it. So that's what I wanted to do with this year was to get people to know about it, to get people to read it and pick it up. The Circle is a wonderful thing. It has been around since 1974, and people submit their stuff."
The Circle has established a social media presence, distributed all their copies last semester, and hosted a release party for the first time, Snaps. About 150 people attended last semester's Snaps, according to Rice.
The Circle is also trying to push other sections that appeal to more people on campus, Rice said. They want to get as many people interested in the magazine as possible.
"We've really been trying to hit fashion, and like those other things because not everyone on campus is interested in reading a poem or reading a story," Rice said. "So we want to appeal to everyone on campus, and the way to do that is to make what is in the magazine, the content of the magazine, more varied."
Dana Stuckey, editor of the photography, art and graphic design sections, said she loves the collaboration of the staff this year. She has been on staff for three years, and she said how the group worked together to create this edition was great.
"It's really well organized. It's really cool," Stuckey said. "Usually only one or two people work on the layout, but everyone on staff was part of it. There are a lot of themes mixed in between the writings and the art. A lot of things are connected in cool ways, and we drew in our own themes, which I thought was cool."
The first time students can get their hands on a copy of this semester's Auburn Circle will be at Snaps, but students will also be able to pick up a copy in front of the student center, on the concourse and by Mell Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 24- April 27.
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