Normally I would write a review on a literary magazine or some awesome poetry in a zine, but I thought that this would be the perfect moment to reflect a little on the academic journey that my peers and I her
e at Whispering Wick have just completed.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but it’s a little strange to finally be finished my undergrad. Just saying that sounds foreign in my mouth, but that’s the reality for us—we’re done school! Like many others across the globe, we never imagined finishing four years of debt-inducing education without even being sat in a classroom. To be honest, the last time we even set foot in a classroom was well over a year ago, back in March of 2020. It’s been a long, strange ride, but here we are—graduates of our program.
So, what’s next for us? The Honour’s Bachelor of Creative Writing and Publishing program at Sheridan prepared us for various facets of the industry, but not once did we really take in how the pandemic would affect us. Many of us are where we were before we finished school—working part-time jobs and making the best of what we have. The industry isn’t really in a hiring phase right now, and a majority of us are still suffering from burnout from writing pages upon pages of final essays and projects. Having said that, however, I think this past month has helped us rest and slowly get back into the groove of things.
Stepping out onto a larger scale, there are tons of opportunities out there for writers like me. Personally, I’m working on a few exciting projects that have been formulating for a while, and it’s definitely nice to finally get writing time that isn’t for grades. While Whispering Wick isn’t open for submissions just yet, I would like to encourage anyone and everyone to take this time to maybe polish up some pieces or create brand new content for the next wave of submissions (heck, it doesn’t even have to be for us—though it’s strongly encouraged—as long as you can get out there and write, that’s all that really matters). One really good platform to look for lit mags and presses that are currently seeking submissions is Twitter. Our Twitter account follows quite a few lit mags and presses, so definitely check us out there for some connections! Another platform I came across is the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses. CLMP has a lot of cool resources for writers and even has a list of lit mags and presses that are currently looking for submissions.
As we finally step out into the professional realm, I think our goal of establishing a connection with our community takes centre stage. CW&P was just the beginning, and I think that there are a lot of good things and exciting opportunities headed our way, no matter what part of the industry we want to impact. Before I sign off, I do have to let you all know to stay tuned this summer, because Whispering Wick has some exciting things planned! Thank you for reading!
You can check out calls for submissions at CLMP here!