Meet the Review Crew I

Content Coordinator for Poetry and Nonfiction: Ashley Maul

Once, she was asked to list five books she’d bring with her on a deserted island and without fail her answer remains: Harry Potter and the Goblet of FireThe Scarlet Letter, a collection of Allen Ginsberg’s poetry, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Billy Collin’s The Trouble with Poetry. Her favorite reading reflects her own writing style – a combination of youthful fancy and shenanigans mixed with sarcasm and adult confession.

Like many students so close to graduation, she is unsure of where the future will take her, but she is very interested in the publishing industry and imagines a career that allows her to telecommute as an editor for a posh literary magazine or book publishing company. With a history in bookstore management and an avid thirst for reading and writing, there is little she can imagine that can combine her interests so perfectly.

Art Editor Arjun Chopra

Arjun started working with Superstition Review over the past summer as a guest contributor with his blog series, “Dispatches From Delhi.” Despite being relatively new to the world of editing/publishing, Arjun finds his position intellectually stimulating and instrumental in giving him his first glimpse into the actual working side of writing. He finds his work to be a comprehensive learning experience in meshing creativity with professionalism, an invaluable skill of those who strive to make a living through their writing, a skill he is glad to have the chance to practice.

When not in class, doing homework, or compiling graduate application materials, Arjun enjoys spending his free time reading novels and poetry collections, writing, watching movies, skateboarding, and listening to a wide variety of different music.

Advertising Editor Brooke Passey

Along with her reading load for class, Brooke tries to read one recreational book a week. To stay motivated she posts weekly book reviews on her blog brookepassey.wordpress.com. She also loves horseback riding and spends her spare time training and teaching riding lessons. In the 15 years that she has been riding she has only fallen off a horse once—when she was reading a book while sitting on her horse bareback. Although she loves both hobbies she has since decided to keep them separate. After graduation she plans on pursuing a career where she can use her writing skills during the day and her riding skills in the evening.

Fiction Editor Abbey Maddix

Superstition Review is Abbey’s first experience working with a literary magazine and hopefully the first stepping stone to a career in the editing and publishing world. She finds the position demanding but educational, particularly informative when it comes to thinking about her own future career as a writer. Her work centers on fiction of all forms, exploring genres and forms and her own limitations. She enjoys pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone and enjoys exploring the question “What does it mean to be human?” from both a literary angle and a scientific one.

On Abbey’s “favorites” bookshelf there are the works of Kurt Vonnegut, Neil Gaiman, Italo Calvino, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, although she’d like to expand her experience with contemporary literature. Although she has a difficult time understanding poetry, the works of Pablo Neruda and Tomas Tranströmer have managed to win her over.

Meet The Interns: Sarah Stevenson

Sarah Stevenson is in her senior year at Arizona State University majoring in Creative Writing. She is currently writing and illustrating a children’s book for her Honor’s Thesis Project. This is Sarah’s first semester at the Superstition Review.

1. What is your position with Superstition Review and what are your responsibilities?

I am the Fiction Editor at Superstition Review and my responsibilities are to solicit work from 20 authors, read and vote on submissions, send acceptance/rejection emails and post bios and head shots for those authors we accept.

2. Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

I wished to gain some experience outside of a classroom, and Superstition Review seemed a perfect fit.

3. Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

During the school year my life is pretty much consumed with school and work (at Starbucks), but I try and make time to read and paint and spend time with my friends and family.

4. What other position(s) for Superstition Review would you like to try out?

I would have liked to try the position of Art Editor, if only because my love of art is right up there with my love of fiction.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

I am particularly in love with The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne because it raises some fascinating questions on morality and community and the foundations of this country. I could write paper after paper on that book and not get bored.

6. What are you currently reading?

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner. It is another favorite of mine – partially because it takes place in Arizona around the 1880s but mostly because the main character is perhaps one of the most spirited, entertaining, and realistic characters I have ever read. It is part adventure, part history, part romance, and no matter how many times I read it, it still gets me every time.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

At the moment I am working on my Honor’s Thesis Creative Project, which is to write and illustrate a children’s book. It is proving to be a great deal more work than the traditional Honor’s Thesis, but I figure if nothing else it is a wonderful diversion from the normal literary analysis, and an excuse to paint frequently.

8. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Honestly, I have no idea. At the moment I can see my life branching out in so many different directions that the future remains quite a mystery to me. All I can do is hope that in 10 years I am happy, and that I have no regrets about which branch I chose to follow.