Ursa Minor, Lethbridge College’s new student-run literary magazine, is hot off the press.
Filled with short stories, poetry, photography and art by Lethbridge College students, the publication is the tangible result of a new work-integrated learning course in the Centre for Business, Arts and Sciences called English 2291 – Literary Magazine. Students are responsible for every part of the magazine’s creation – from sifting through submitted pieces, editing content and designing the layout to sending the publication to print, marketing it and distributing copies around campus.
The (now fully realized) project has been years in the making for instructor Dr. Amy Hodgson-Bright. She received a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore grant in 2020 to help develop the magazine, but the pandemic delayed it getting off the ground. In the meantime, the Centre for Business, Arts and Sciences developed the Literary Magazine course. Classes began in January.
Hodgson-Bright, who was an editor of her alma mater’s student-run literary magazine during her undergraduate degree, says it’s a fantastic way to support student writers and artists.
“Since 2014, I have taught writing and composition to most programs across campus,” she says. “I found that any time I asked students to write creatively or include images, or gave them opportunities for photography with an assignment, they were so excited. I really wanted to make sure there was some kind of official publication that could showcase that work outside of our classes.”
As the only student enrolled in the inaugural Literary Magazine course offering, Theresa Ogaosun (second-year General Arts and Science) had a hand in every aspect of editing, publishing and promotion. She says the idea of completing the project alone was scary at first, but that it was also an opportunity to challenge herself.
“I learned so much about starting a magazine, which is something I have always wanted to do,” she says. “I can say I am now equipped to launch my own magazine thanks to the experiences I got from this class, and from Amy.”
Ogaosun says she has gained valuable skills in project management, time management, communication, problem solving, marketing and more, because of her work on the literary magazine.
The first issue of Ursa Minor will be available in hard copy Thursday afternoon.
“We’re hoping that having the publication out in April provides some momentum as more students can see what the Literary Magazine course actually results in,” says Hodgson-Bright. “Several students who submitted content for Ursa Minor were really interested in how they could be on the editing board in the future, so having an actual publication will hopefully help us recruit more students next year.”
The name of the new magazine pays homage to Lethbridge College’s mascot, the Kodiak bear, as the constellation Ursa Minor is often referred to as the Little Bear (or Little Dipper).