Content Coordinator

Intern Update: Natalie Volin

Superstition Review

Today’s Intern Update features Natalie Volin, a Content Coordinator from Issue 17 of Superstition Review.

With a BS in Technical Communication as well as a minor in Spanish and a certificate in publishing, Natalie was recently promoted to be an Operations Manager at the Baby Bathwater Institute, a network of entrepreneurs.

Natalie was also a co-founder of the Iron City magazine, an online and print journal that publishes work from incarcerated writers and artists to highlight and find value in their stories to pave the way for understanding and transformation.

We are so proud of you Natalie!

If you’d like to learn more, you can visit Natalie’s LinkedIn profile here.

Intern Update: Elizabeth Sheets

Superstition Review

Today’s Intern Update features Elizabeth Sheets, a Content Coordinator from Issue 13 of Superstition Review.

With a BA in English Creative Writing, Elizabeth currently works as an editorial assistant for the Journal of Proteome Research, managing manuscripts and communicating with authors and experts alike in the field about reviewing and editorial decisions.

Elizabeth has also worked as an editor for the Black Fox Literary Magazine, reviewing submissions as well as blog posts for clarity and grammar before publication.

We are so proud of you Elizabeth!

If you’d like to learn more, you can visit Elizabeth’s LinkedIn here.

Intern Update: Samantha Vélez

Superstition Review

Today’s Intern Update features Samantha Vélez, who worked as a content coordinator on Issue 8 of Superstition Review.

With a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies and concentrations in Spanish, literature, writing, and film, Samantha recently began work as an Outreach Coordinator at the University of Wyoming, particularly the Wyoming CarbonSAFE program and the Center for Economic Geology Research (CEGR). Here, she assists the director as a professional writer, her tasks including creating media releases and news articles and preparing presentation materials and editorial concepts for publication materials.

She has also worked as a graduate teaching assistant for English to receive her Master’s at UW and is two years into a PhD program for Marketing at their College of Business as well.

We are so proud of you Samantha!

If you’d like to learn more, you can visit Samantha’s LinkedIn page here.

Meet the Review Crew: Scott Blair

Superstition Review

Each week we feature one of our many talented interns here at Superstition Review.

Scott Blair worked as an Art Editor for Superstition Review in the fall of 2010 and enjoyed it so much that he came back for a second semester. Now stepping into the role of Content Coordinator, Scott’s gaining a different perspective on all the work that goes into creating and marketing such an impressive journal.

Scott shies away from social media, going as far as to proudly point to his four-year-old Twitter account that has never sent a tweet. At 30 years old, Scott remembers chartrooms at 28k, how Gmail addresses used to be by invitation only, and when MySpace pages only had plain white backgrounds. He doesn’t consider himself a technophobe, but finds TVs that report your usage and cell phone apps that tag your location to be a bit disturbing.

This semester Scott will graduate with a writing focused degree in English from ASU. Come fall, he’ll be back on campus working toward his Master’s in Secondary Education. By the time he graduates again, Scott should be highly qualified by Arizona standards to teach Biology, English, and General Science. Every once and a while, Scott thinks about taking the three classes he’d need to be qualified to teach choir as well, but three specialties seems to be enough. His ideal career would be in the English department of a public school but because the Sciences are in demand and English teachers less so, he expects to work in biology until a spot opens.

Meet the Review Crew: Winona Manrique

Superstition Review

Each week we feature one of our many talented interns here at Superstition Review.

Winona Manrique, Social Networking intern at Superstition Review, is a graduating senior at ASU. Having worked on Issue 8 of Superstition Review as Content Coordinator, she came on board for a second semester with the magazine to learn even more about the process of publishing.

Winona writes fiction as a hobby, which is how she first came to be interested in the publishing world. She has participated in NaNoWriMo four times in the last two years (twice in summer) with a 50% success rate. The writing community in the East Valley has allowed her tremendous opportunities both as a writer and a reader. She won the Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Award for fiction with her first ever short story.

Born in New England, Winona has moved more times than she cares to count. She studied abroad in England and fell in love with Stonehenge, Beowulf, and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. She is currently applying to postgraduate programs in the United Kingdom to study Medieval History, something her English Literature major has allowed her a unique opportunity to specialize in.

Intern Highlight: Winona Manrique

Superstition Review

Content Coordinator Winona Manrique is a senior at Arizona State University. She will graduate Spring 2012 with a BA in English Literature. Her short story “Back to the Hearth” won the 2011 Glendon and Kathryn Swarthout Award for 2nd place in Fiction. Originally from Connecticut, she plans to move to New York City to pursue a career in publishing and one day become a published author. This is her first semester at Superstition Review.

Click here to hear Winona read one of her short stories.

Meet the Interns: Ashley Carter

Superstition Review

Content Coordinator Ashley Carter is currently a junior studying English Literature at Arizona State University. She is also working on a minor in Media Analysis, a Writing Certificate, and an LGBT Certificate along with her degree. In her free time, Ashley reads, writes, spends time with friends, and participates in Gamma Rho Lambda activities, where she is Head of Public Relations. After graduating, she plans to move to New York, attend graduate school, and pursue a career as an editor for a publishing company. This is her first semester with Superstition Review.

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

I am the Content Coordinator for Superstition Review. My tasks include regularly updating the submissions spreadsheet, assign material to genre editors to read, and make sure materials get responded to in good time. I like to think of myself as the “professional organizer” for the editors of Superstition Review.

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

I had an extremely encouraging professor, Judith Van. As soon as I expressed interest in a summer internship program in New York, not a day went by that she didn’t ask if I had applied to SR to jump-start my experience. It was that wonderful encouragement on top of all the good things I had heard about the online magazine that got me to finally apply.

3. How do you like to spend your free time?

Last semester, I rushed for the sorority Gamma Rho Lambda. It has been one of the best decisions of my life. I gained 18 sisters and a whole lot of responsibility as the head of Public Relations for GRL. I spend most of my free time hanging out with them, or fulfilling my sorority responsibilities. When I’m not doing that, I spend time with my roommates and my girlfriend, write, read, and dabble in photography.

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

I’d like to try my hand at being a Fiction Editor. My future goal is to be an editor for a book-publishing house, which will entail a lot of reading and evaluating of possible books. Fiction Editor seems like the small-scale version of that.

5. Describe one of your favorite literary works.

My favorite literary work of all time is The Fionavar Tapestry series by Guy Gavriel Kay. This series has been compared to J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic The Lord of the Rings by many and with good reason. Kay is a genius, one of the best I have ever read. The way he spins stories and creates such beautiful worlds and dynamic characters cannot be matched.

6. What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading Becoming a Visible Man by Jamison Green for one of my classes. It’s an autobiographical work that describes Green’s own experiences as a transsexual man and offers a deeply insightful approach to all of the challenges transsexuals can still face today.

7. Creatively, what are you currently working on?

As of right now, I’m not working on much. My creative juices have become stagnant thanks to a little thing I like to call the world of academia. While school is in session, I like to focus all of my attention on my studies. As soon as summer break starts, I plan to revitalize some of my old stories. With a little bit of editing, they may be ready for publication. We’ll see.

8. What inspires you?

My grandmother, Sarita Mullin. She’s strong, independent, intelligent, hard working, caring, unbiased, and so many other great things. She has always been around to give me a hug or a swift kick in the butt when I needed it. She is by far one of the greatest women to ever walk the planet. If I’m half of the grandmother she has been to me, then I’ll be happy.

9. What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how hard I work. I devote a lot of time and energy into everything I do, be it work, school, my sorority, or this internship. I refuse to give anyone sub-par work, and I think that people appreciate it.

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In 10 years I will have obtained my M.S. in Publishing from NYU and have a job as an editor for a book publishing company. Hopefully, at this point my girlfriend of three years (so far) and I will have gotten married and be able to adopt kids.

Progress Update: Closing In

Superstition Review

With just over three weeks left in our submissions period, Superstition Review staff are reaching a critical point in Issue 6. Submissions are pouring in and our section editors are reading and sorting them daily.

Our photoshopper has been busy formatting the head shots of confirmed authors as well as staff. We’re also looking to our Advertising Coordinator to develop new ways to expand our readership. Interview Editors are continuing their research by listening to National Public Radio broadcasts and reading previous interviews from our selected authors. This is allowing them to form more refined interview questions.

Content Coordinator Carrie Grant has confirmed poets James Hoggard and Amanda Auchter for this semester’s issue. Hoggard’s work has been published in Mississippi Review, Harvard Review and others. His most recent work, out of the 19 books he’s published, is Triangles of Light: The Edward Hopper Poems.

Author of The Glass Crib, Amanda Auchter‘s writing has appeared in numerous reviews and magazines and she has received accolades from Crab Orchard Review and Bellevue Literary Review, among others. We look forward to their work with Superstition Review.

In addition to providing these weekly updates on our progress, I strive to provide information on Superstition Review authors, and upcoming literary events in the community. Stay tuned in the next few weeks for features on Matthew Gavin Frank and Melissa Pritchard.

 

Meet The Interns: Madeline Beach

Superstition Review

Madeline Beach is currently completing her final semester hours to earn the designation of a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. At this time, Madeline is professionally working as a technical writer and enjoys seeing the worlds of technology and literacy work together in tandem, in both professional and academic settings. This is Madeline’s second semester with Superstition Review as she enjoys being closely involved with the ever-growing revolution of online publishing.

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

Madeline Beach: Currently I hold the position of Content Coordinator. My responsibilities include receiving and tracking all submissions received as a part of our open submission period.

SR: Why did you decide to get involved with Superstition Review?

MB: I first learned about Superstition Review when I took a course led by the journal’s Managing Editor Trish Murphy. The course involved researching and studying Literary Magazines, so I felt the best next step was to become familiar with the publication process. After having interned last semester, I felt that continuing to gain experience in online publishing would prove invaluable to my future career endeavors.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

MB: Currently, I work full-time as a Project Administrator at a large financial company. After my workday ends, I rush home to begin my schoolwork. In the spare time I have, I write short essays for practice, perfecting my skills as a writer.

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

MB: I think it would great to gain experience in the actual web design process of online publishing.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary works.

MB: My favorite literary work, which as written by Tammy Delatorre, is titled Gifts from my Mother. The piece is a cynical coming of age tales that describes the “gifts” a young girl receives from her mother. At night the narrator’s mother leaves her young daughter in the car while she frequents the local bar. The mother brings her daughter the parasols and olives from her drinks at the bar, which the daughter sarcastically remarks as being so thoughtful. I like the feel of the story because it is dark and poignant, telling the short story of a young girl’s experience of her mother.

SR: What are you currently reading?

MB: I have recently begun to re-read 1984, by George Orwell. A co-worker and I were discussing the film and I felt the urge to read the book again to better familiarize with the details.

SR: Creatively, what are you currently working on?

MB: I am currently finishing a piece of creative non-fiction, detailing my experience of my father’s untimely death and how I felt caring for him at a young age.

SR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

MB: I see myself as a leader within my employer’s brand management services division, editing work that is submitted for approval, prior to publication.

Meet the Interns: Michael Volkers, Content Coordinator

Superstition Review

Michael Volkers is a junior studying English Literature.

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

Michael Volkers: I am the Content Coordinator and my responsibilities primarily lie in keeping tabs of the content to be published on the magazine.

SR: How did you hear about Superstition Review and what made you decide to get involved?

MV: I heard about SR through the English department’s e-mail distribution, which I acted upon, and here I am!

SR: What are you hoping to take away from your Superstition Review experience?

MV: I hope my experience with SR will create a foothold into a possible career in publishing. I also hope it will improve my writing by learning the processes behind literary publishing.

SR: Describe one of your favorite literary or artistic works.

MV: Oh, now that is a difficult one. I have so many favorites, but lately I was introduced to Salvador Plascencia’s People of Paper, which is a brilliant piece of work. For those who have not read it, it is a very postmodern novel that involves a great battle between the novel’s characters and the author himself over the commodification of sadness. I highly recommend it.

SR: What are you currently reading?

MV: I am currently reading The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism for school and Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five for fun.

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

MV: I would like to try out being a Fiction Editor. I think it would be a great experience.

SR: Do you prefer reading literary magazines online or in print?

MV: I am torn on that one. I prefer to hold published material in my hands, but the convenience of the internet is great. Lately I have been reading both.

SR: Do you write or create art? What are you currently working on?

MV: I write fiction in my spare time. I have a several pieces of short fiction I need to polish and a novel in the works. My friends are prodding me to write a screenplay as well.

SR: Besides interning for Superstition Review, how do you spend your time?

MV: Most of my time outside of SR is devoted to homework, my day job at a law office, and spending time with family and friends.

SR: What is your favorite mode of relaxation?

MV: For relaxation I like to pick up a horror novel or troll the internet.