By Lily Gannon, Staff Writer
Literary agent and editor Anjali Singh gave a lecture about the publishing industry on April 16 in Stretansky Concert Hall.
The lecture took place as this year’s final event in the Seavey Reading Series, which was held in conjunction with a department-wide celebration of campus publications.
Singh’s speech focused on the different directions and careers her life took her through. She hoped to encourage other English and creative writing students that there are more jobs out there then they know about.
“People suggest being a teacher and I knew I didn’t really want to do that,” said Singh. “They also suggest getting a corporate job. I equated a corporate job with death.”
Singh also talked about the time she met a woman that was a literary scout. She described the job as being a spy for the literary world, where the person reports on what is happening in the publishing industry.
Singh says that meeting the literary scout opened her eyes to the different careers that are available that no one actually ever talks about.
After Singh’s speech, members from nine publications took the stage to talk about their accomplishments: “Essay,” “RiverCraft,” “The Susquehanna Review,” “Flagship,” “The Squirrel,” “Modern Language Studies,” “Me/Us/U” podcast, “Familiaritas” and “The Sanctuary Magazine” were represented at the event.
Among these publications, some gave away awards to students who had submitted work.
For “Flagship,” the literary award went to senior Aiyona Hayman and the photography award went to senior Kyle Kern.
For “Essay,” senior Alison Cerri and junior Richard Berwind were finalists for the Erik Kirkland Memorial prize, with junior Steven McKnight winning.
For “RiverCraft,” the Juliet Gibson Memorial Award was given to Shannon Grasser.
For “Familiartas,” the winners were Berwind and junior Angelica Ramos.
For “The Sanctuary Magazine,” the poetry prize went to sophomore Jordyn Taylor and the prose prize went to sophomore Ava Stanski.
Attendees were happy with how the event went and how it showcased different publications.
“There was so many different works of literature and creative writing and photography,” Kern said. “It was enlightening as well as amazing to see all of Susquehanna’s publications together for one big release night.”
“A lot of the publications don’t get talked about as much by the department,” said junior Jennifer Sauerman. “Having everyone have the opportunity to talk is great.”
This point was shared by other attendees, who enjoyed seeing smaller publications in the spotlight.
“I think it’s great we are celebrating creativity and showing how these publications are doing such great work,” said senior Samantha Thompson.