Do you create any form of art or creative writing? Would you like to have your work published in an award winning creative journal? Well, look no further — Dialogue, Calvin’s very own creative journal, is accepting submissions until Friday, Feb. 27 at midnight.

Because we only put out two issues a year, Dialogue often gets less attention than Chimes. Many people are confused about what Dialogue is, or why it’s important or why they should submit their work. As the Editor-in-chief of Dialogue, I’m here to explain what we do, why we do it and why you should get involved, too!

First, our submission process is entirely anonymous and very straightforward. We accept submissions of poetry, prose, photography, graphic design and any form of visual art (ceramics, painting, drawing, etc) from students, faculty and staff at Calvin. You’re welcome to submit up to three pieces per category. The submissions form is on our website (just search “Calvin Dialogue” and our Wix site will come up) and tells you all of the requirements and guidelines. 

How do your submissions get accepted? Every semester, we open up jurying to any Calvin student who wants to join (this semester, it’s on the evenings of Mar. 3 and 4). If you’re wondering what Dialogue is looking for in a submission, you can come decide for yourself! You can choose to jury for any of the five submission categories (although we typically run in-person art and writing juries simultaneously). The head Dialogue editors anonymize every submission so that there is no bias (unlike general Dialogue staff, we are not allowed to submit our own work). Next, we send out those submissions to the jury to rate each piece from 1-5 (1 being “this is an unacceptable piece for publication,” 5 being “this piece must be published”). The staff averages the ratings of each piece. We then gather in the Dialogue office and discuss each piece — debating rankings, discussing the merits or flaws in a piece and offering thoughtful critiques. 

Jurying is always fun! We establish boundaries of respect and thoughtfulness in our critiques. If you’ve submitted work, you’re still welcome to come and jury, as long as you do not attempt to sway discussion of your piece in any particular direction. We always tell jurors to remember that the author or creator of the piece we are judging might be in the room with us, so we need to be respectful, logical and careful with our critiques. Jurying can feel intimidating (I know I was a little scared when I first juried), but it’s very laid back and also fun to talk about creative work with cool people! 

Now that the submissions process is demystified, I encourage you to submit your work. It’s a low-risk, high-reward process. If you’re rejected, that’s okay! I’ve been rejected many times from Dialogue; I’ve also had my poems get published quite a few times. The risk is a few jurors thinking, “I don’t think this piece is fit to be published in Dialogue. I wonder who created it? Oh well, I guess I’ll never know,” and then a polite rejection email in your inbox from me a few weeks later. We get 200+ submissions every semester, so rejection is, unfortunately, the norm. And that’s okay! You are always welcome to resubmit work.

The reward is an excellent professional development opportunity — being able to say you’re published in an award-winning creative journal is excellent for students wanting to build their resume, get published in the future or go on to grad school in English or art. More importantly, perhaps, the reward is also the incomparable feeling of seeing something you’ve worked hard on be physically in print, in someone’s hands. I felt deeply appreciated, proud and grateful the first time I watched my friends read my poems at the Dialogue 56.2 release party, almost two years ago. Sharing creative work is always an act of vulnerability; having it received within a community that is as positive and close-knit as Dialogue is a reaffirming and powerful experience. 

So, what are you waiting for? Submit your work! You will not regret it!