The “Arcturus”, a student published literary magazine, put out their calls last week for the 2025 edition, opening the doors for writers, poets, visual artists, and creators to submit their works for this year’s publication, the 57th edition of the award-winning literary magazine. 

Instructor Jamie Wilson invites everyone on campus, whether student, staff, faculty, and alumni to share fiction or nonfiction stories, poems, and visual art in “an award winning journal that celebrates the diverse voices and talents of our Highline community.”

This year’s submission deadline is Monday, Feb. 24 (a week from Monday), giving artists just over a week to compile their submissions and have it in for the editing process. From there it will travel to the student editor team, who works with the artist on grammar and formatting while keeping the art in its integrity. 

All submissions must comply with Highline’s code of conduct, singling out the use of AI on their website. Up until now, plagiarism and the use of generative AI has not been tolerated when it came to “Arcturus” submissions, but the nature of a seasonal team means evolution in what’s acceptable in the creation of art. 

“I think that this year’s team is a little bit more nuanced in their take on AI,” Wilson said in an interview. “They’ve decided there are legitimate ways to experiment with AI in the creative process.”

Wilson went on to say, “Our policy up to this point has been none allowed but we’re developing more nuanced policies as AI becomes more widespread in its usage in the arts.” 

For entries that have used AI, Wilson pointed artists to the comments box on the submission form to disclaim their use of AI in the creative process, giving artists a chance to explain their creative process and how AI has played into it. 

Last year’s “Arcturus” featured a poem by the Thunderword’s own editor, Liv Lyons, entitled, “Cognate y Cognado.” 

Lyons note in the magazine reads, “Teaching ESL is my life’s purpose, but it must be conducted in a way that preserves the cultures and languages of native people across the  world. This means teachers must actively learn the language of their students, teach adaptation and not assimilation, and forever abandon the phrase ‘broken English.’ English is not superior; it is a lingua franca and can be used to enrich, not to colonize.”

Lyons’ submission is one of many that connect personal to cultural and social observations through art. 

For shy of 60 years, the “Arcturus” has been publishing community art and writings. As styles, colors, and art evolved, so did the “Arcturus”. Strolling the history, the “Arcturus” changes with the times, featuring surrealist covers, geometric art, poems about war, government, friends, and self. It wasn’t until recently they started going after awards and bringing them home. 

The 2023 edition won second in the Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines, or R.E.A.L.M., Awards by the National Council of Teachers of English. 

In 2022, the “Arcturus” won first place in design and second in their division in two separate writing and printing competitions. 

Prior, the 2021 edition, the “Arcturus” nearly swept the stage at the Print Excellence awards, earning first in both section and division, as well as a Judges Choice award. 

Each year in the fall, Wilson sends out an all-call to campus in recruitment for students to participate in joining a team of editors who make this publication possible. The class, lasting across both winter and spring quarter, meets twice a week at the arrangement of the students enrolled.

Wilson said, “In the winter we focus on soliciting and reviewing writing and visual art submissions for publication, and then in the spring we work with the print shop to design the issue (in the form of a book).”

Editors for the “Arcturus” can enroll in both quarters, or join for one depending on their interests and academic schedules. As the winter quarter approaches its end, the “Arcturus” continues working towards publications and is expected at the end of spring quarter.