Cover image photography
by Alec Pugliese.
Grub Street, Towson University’s student literary and arts magazine, has been awarded the highly competitive Columbia Scholastic Press Association’s (CSPA) College Magazine Silver Crown Award for its 2013 issue.
Grub Street was among 1,236 print and digital collegiate publications that were judged on writing/editing, design, content, concept, photography, art and graphics. The student magazine was one of five publications to receive the silver crown for a collegiate magazine.
An awards convocation took place in New York City on March 14.
“This is an important honor because it demonstrates that our student writers and artists are creating excellent work and being acknowledged for that at a national level,” says Professor Geoff Becker, English, who was the 2012-2013 faculty adviser.
Amanda Hoffman ’13, Kate Lyons ’14 and a graduate student in the M.F.A. painting program who goes only by the name Sherwood were also honored with Gold Circle prizes, which recognize individual writers and artists.
“Getting this recognition from a nationally respected association was really a wonderful surprise,” says Lyons, who received a Gold Circle award for her fiction piece Indian Pony. “It feels like a huge honor to be up there with so many accomplished writers and artists from around the country.”
Grub Street is published annually and includes works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and art. The publication is a dual benefit to students, offering a platform for their literary and artistic works and providing the student staff hands-on experience putting together a literary magazine.
“They learn about managing submissions, making decisions on those submissions, editing, design, etc.,” says Becker. “Perhaps most importantly, they become involved in the world of contemporary literature in a vital, active way, allowing them to see that literature is an ongoing conversation, and one in which they can even participate.”
The 2014 issue of Grub Street will be available after May 6 in various campus buildings, including the University Union and the Liberal Arts Building.
The Columbia Scholastic Press Association is an international student press association uniting student journalists and faculty advisers at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchanges and award programs. The association is owned by Columbia University and operated as a program affiliated with its Graduate School of Journalism.
