Publications & Presswork
We provide meeting space in our Publications Room, web space, advice, and an occasional pizza for a number of Penn publications and editorial teams. Getting involved with an ongoing publication project -- whether as a writer, editor, or staff member -- is easy; simply consult the descriptions and contact information listed below. At the end of the list you'll find an archive of older publications that once called our Publications Room home. For general information about student publications, email Writers House Director Jessica Lowenthal (jalowent@writing.upenn.edu).
15th Room Press
The 15th Room Press is an imprint project named to help us imagine an extra room beyond our 14-room cottage. In the two years since the project's inception, we have initiated two broadside series - one which features the work of our visiting poets and one, called the "Hub Series," which features the work of our community members. We have learned to design our projects, hand-set movable type, ink and clean the presses, and hand-print the final product. Every year we also collaborate with our partners at the Common Press for special press workshops and embark upon larger limited-editions projects.
Common Press
The Common Press is the letterpress printing studio at the University of Pennsylvania. The press is a collaboration of interests at Penn, including writing (Kelly Writers House), print culture (the Rare Book and Manuscript Library) and visual arts and design (the School of Design). The facility provides a mixed media environment where students can move between digital and manual image making, collaborating with writers, printmakers and others in the book arts. The Common Press exists to assist in teaching design and to facilitate collaborative projects across the university. It was founded on January 17, 2006, the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth.
First Call
First Call is Penn's weekly undergraduate magazine that provides a forum for the expression of ideas and opinions, in the forms of creative fiction and poetry, reviews and critiques, as well as art. First Call is committed to a strict policy of not censoring opinions. We print provoking commentary on the university community as well as on our society as a whole and remain committed to providing top-notch writing that will sometimes anger, sometimes inspire, but always challenge our community to think about its ambitions, its beliefs, and its ethical and professional standards. For more information, visit firstcallmagazine.com or email fcpaper@gmail.com.
The F-Word: A Collection of Feminist Voices
The F-Word is a feminist literary magazine made by and for undergraduates of the University of Pennsylvania. Established to fill the feminist void on campus, the Fword serves as an outlet for writing and art pertaining to issues of gender and sexuality. For more information, visit www.pennfword.com or email fwordinfo@gmail.com.
The Green Couch
The Green Couch is a seasonal publication devoted to the genre of literary journalism. There are no meetings and submissions are welcome from undergrads, graduate students, and alumni alike. Each issue includes a feature piece (This month's Couch Potato) of about 3,000 words as well as a handful of shorter articles. For more information contact Charlotte Borgen at borgenmc@sas.upenn.edu.
The Little Black Book
The Little Black Book is a magazine publication and social group that focuses on the wholeness and well-being of Black women on our campus. It is a forum through which Black women can discuss their concerns and opinions on a range of topics that include sexuality, emotional health, and financial growth. For more information, contact Rhaisa Williams at rhaisakw@gmail.com.
Penn Appetit
Penn Appetit is a food magazine that includes all types of food writing: feature food stories, personal narratives related to food, political/opinion columns, food poetry, restaurant reviews, and more. We are also looking to include photography or other artistic work in the magazine. The goal of the publication is to expand the types of food writing done on campus, as well as to explore the food issues surrounding Penn and Philadelphia. For more information, contact pennappetit@gmail.com, or visit pennappetit.com and pennappetit.blogspot.com.
Penn Review
Devoted to the literary and visual arts, Penn Review is the premier mainstream magazine on Penn's campus. We publish poetry, fiction, creative non fiction, and other original literary works. We also accept all forms of visual art, including including documentation of 3-D, time-based, and site-specific work. We meet once a week during the semester to discuss submissions for our annual publication. E-mail pennreview@gmail.com for more information on submitting work or joining our staff.
Punch Bowl
Penn's humor magazine The Punch Bowl held meetings in the nurturing embrace of the Writers House in their younger days, but as they grew, like a rebellious teenager, they demanded a later curfew, more independence, and meeting space elsewhere. We continue to list them here to acknowledge our originary relationship and continuing mutual affection. For more information, email thepunchbowl@gmail.com.
Quake
Quake is the University of Pennsylvania's first literary erotica magazine. Quake is student-run, University recognized, and dedicated to the principle that sex should be both enjoyed and discussed. The publication will showcase the prose, poetry, and photography of Penn undergraduates from all sexualities and backgrounds. Inquiries and submissions are welcome year round at pennquake@gmail.com.
Xconnect
Xconnect is a tri-annual electronic journal for contemporary art and writing based in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania.
Other Campus Publications
Kedma
Kedma is a forum for Penn students and faculty to discuss, debate, and challenge ideas about Judaism, Jewish society, and Israel. Kedma seeks to bridge the political and religious spectrum by providing an open and intellectually honest forum for both Jews and non-Jews, conservatives and liberals. Kedma seeks to engage and excite Jews at Penn who are not normally active within the Jewish community, and to stimulate and challenge those who are. For more information, check out our website at http://www.kedmajournal.com or email us at kedmajournal@gmail.com.
Archived publications
Combo
COMBO is a literary journal of poetry and poetics featuring innovative writers under 35, alongside a few older and more established poets who have influenced them. COMBO is dedicated to giving younger and lesser-known poets more space and visibility than they are accustomed to, so that readers will have a clearer sense of the context in which that work is produced.
Dial F For Film
Dial F For Film is an online magazine for students who want to share their ideas, critiques, and theories about film. E-mail sfulton@dept.english.upenn.edu to submit posts.
Generation XX
Generation XX is a campus publication which serves as a forum for women's issues at the University. It is published entirely by a group of women and men concerned with these issues.
Ma'ayan
Penn's Jewish literary publication.
Mainstream Online Magazine
We may have had a mainstream online magazine. The current staff can find no record to match this description.
Other Voices
Other Voices is an electronic journal of cultural criticism published at the University of Pennsylvania.
PhillyTalks
PhillyTalks is a dialogue with contemporary poets. Its newsletter will feature responses by two poets, each to the other's poetry; it will be available on-line and in hard copy at least one week prior to the event. Philly Talks, the event, will present both a reading by the poets and a panel discussion. The panel format is an invitation to extend the conversation together.
Propaganda Silk
Penn's Asian American literary magazine.
The Vision
The Independent African-American Student Newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania. For more information about The Vision, e-mail vision@dolphin.upenn.edu.
