6.16.22 | EPOCH Volume 8!

(photo credit: K. Fetteroli, grade 11)

Dear Friends,

 

I am thrilled to announce the publication of our eighth volume of EPOCH Magazine! EPOCH is a “creative magazine for teens by teens.” Teens from our local area submit their photography, mixed media artwork, short fiction, and poetry to our teen editorial board, who then select and create the issue. Free copies are now available at the library.

 

Volume 8 was a collaboration between the EPOCH teen editorial board, local educators, area teens, and Skidompha staffers Jeannette Eaton and Kelsey Gibbs. We are blown away by the number of submissions we receive with each new issue. This spring issue broke our record for most submissions—the six teens on the editorial board sorted through nearly 250 different submissions. They review each piece of art and writing anonymously. 

 

In the weekly editorial board meetings, teens talk with Jeannette and our longtime EPOCH mentor Gordon Clark about what makes a piece of writing and art stand out, what makes them think and feel, and what pieces they want to linger over or spend more time with. The pieces submitted for this issue were creative and thought-provoking, and our editorial board is so grateful to everyone who submitted. They hope we may all be inspired to create.

 

Many submissions come in through dedicated and inspiring teachers who help students with the submission process. We want to extend our thanks for their hard work this year. 

 

Skidompha received generous grant funding from The Anonimo Foundation for this project, and we extend our deepest thanks to them. This grant supports program staffing, printing and distributing free issues, and writing workshops for teens.

 

I feel so lucky to have the chance to engage with such a wide range of projects and creativity here at the library. On behalf of all our staff, we hope you will leaf through Volume 8 the next time you visit Skidompha.

    

Be well,

 

Matthew Graff

Executive Director

Skidompha Library

 

P.S. Are you a teen interested in submitting your artwork or writing to EPOCH? We are now accepting creative submissions for our next volume, which are due via email, epoch@skidompha.org, by October 15, 2022. You can submit something you create at school or something you make on your own. 

 

This year we are asking visual artists to include a statement about their

work—what inspired the piece and what they hope to convey. Please include your full name, school, and grade with your submission. Submitting your work to EPOCH indicates your permission to reprint your work in our next issue. You can find all the submission

information on our website, www.skidompha.org.