A new team of editors at WNMU is gearing up to work on the fourth edition of the student-run journal “The Maverick.” The journal is published annually by the Mimbres Press.
Leading the effort is this year’s editor-in-chief, English major Anais Orantez Middleton. “I have been a part of ‘The Maverick’ since its second volume,” Orantez Middleton said, noting that the experience has given her a solid understanding of the work that editors do.
As an English major, said Orantez Middleton, “I wanted to write, but I wanted to still be comfortable with the idea of it actually giving me a career, so I found editing. … I am really happy that I get to learn the skills of what goes on in magazines, in newspapers, in literary journals. It is really exciting to gain experience before going into the workforce.”
Joining Middleton this year are two new editors, Laisha Vargas Garcia and Arielle Certosimo, and a graduate assistant with the Mimbres Press, Marian Valle Angulo. All three are new to “The Maverick.”
All of those working on the project are enthusiastic about taking part. Said Certosimo, “I am excited because I am a creative person, and I am excited to put my creative skills to the test here.”
Valle Angulo, who is charged with the layout and design of the journal, as well as with promoting it, said that, as with previous volumes, the current volume represents the creative and scholarly breadth of work by students at WNMU. She added, “This volume is going to be even more exciting because it is not only going to be a compilation of work by the students, but it is going to be a call to action.”
Orantez Middleton elaborated: “In today’s age, we are actively fighting against censorship. So we want more than ever to have students share their feelings.”
Whether publishing an academic study or a poem, she said, “We just want everyone to be heard.”
Vargas Garcia added, “In the time we are in now, it is more important than ever to share our voices and to speak up.”
Associate Professor Heather Frankland, the faculty advisor for “The Maverick,” said that the group is planning to hold an event in the fall to mark the release of Volume 4. “In the past, we haven’t really had a big celebratory event, like a release party.”
Frankland noted that there was a lot of momentum on the team this year. “We are building on the work of some trailblazers we had from the very beginning. We are trying to build a structure that feels like it will be sustained.”
For this volume, the editors are actively encouraging bilingual submissions. “We feel that will help further our mission as an Hispanic Serving Institution,” explained Orantez Middleton.
Students interested in seeing their work published in “The Maverick” should submit it for consideration by March 28. Kinds of work that can be submitted include academic papers, art, poetry, fiction, nonfiction, musical compositions and plays. More information about how to submit work can be found here.
