The Watermark, UMass Boston’s annual student literary and arts journal, is a busy place this time of year. As submissions come in, the journal’s two co-editors, Nancy Derby and Diane Costagliola, work to publicize the journal, keep track of incoming pieces, plan events and coordinate a staff of readers and editors in preparation for the journal’s publication at the end of the spring semester.
Derby and Costagliola are well acquainted with the problems of putting together a successful journal; they have both worked with the Watermark for the past year and a half. Last year, Derby was an editor and social events coordinator, and Costagliola was an assistant editor. They are both undergraduate English majors with an interest in creative writing. Working for the Watermark has allowed them to follow that interest as well as to meet other students who share similar interests.
Derby stated that she feels the Watermark is important to the UMB community because, “most students don’t get the opportunity to be published. Not everyone who writes wants to be a writer wants to go through that long process. Its a chance for people who have a lot of talent to get it out there.”
Derby also said that she became interested in working the journal for “the chance to find out what the editing process is…I really wanted to know what went into making a book, how you go from start to finish.” Costagliola added that the experience also provides “a way to get involved on campus.”
So, what does it take to put a journal like the Watermark together? A lot of time and hard work on the part of a large group of people. The journal has 30 staff members in total: an editor and six readers for each of the four sections (fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and art), in addition to the two co-editors. The process works like this: the co-editors collect and make copies of all the submissions for the staff. Over winter break, the staff members read the submissions for their respective category and then meet in a group where, under the guidance of the section editor, they vote on what will be published. Said Derby, “They argue over submissions–what they like, what they don’t like. It usually takes several hours.”
How many submissions end up being chosen for any given category? “It depends,” said Derby, “Every year it changes. Last year we had about ten poetry, forty to fifty art pieces, seven fiction, and three non-fiction.”
Generally, the staff members reading for any given category have experience in that field. Poetry and fiction readers are generally English majors. Other readers hail from philosophy, political science, and classics backgrounds. Most of the art jurors are art students. Said Derby, “We like them to work in the field that they are judging. So that if you are judging poetry, you also write poetry.”
The job of the co-editors is to oversee and organize all this activity. As Derby explained, “Our job is to make sure the editors have a staff, that they make sure that staff meets, that they read all the submissions. We’re responsible for putting up all the flyers, doing all the events, [and] doing the layout” of the journal, a process that takes up a large majority of their time in the spring semester.
They also hire the section editors and they meet with each of the members of the staff. While there is no formal application process, Derby and Costagliola hold interviews for the editorial positions–“to find out,” said Derby, “what the person is interested in, how much work they’re willing to put in, stuff like that.”
The journal, which is funded by the Student Activities fees, costs about $10,000 to print. 4,000 copies are printed each year. The journal ranges between 90 and 120 pages in length.
Most of the work for the journal takes place in the spring semester, after the submission period has ended and the students’ work has been collected. The rest of the year, the co-editors stay busy planning events for the campus. In December, they co-sponsored a reading by novelist Ha Jin (see article in this issue for more). A few weeks ago they hosted a successful open mic in the Harbor Art Gallery. The Watermark sees hosting open mic events as an extension of the purpose of the journal. Said Costagliola, “[Open mics are] an opportunity students to share their work with other students.” Derby added, “I think a lot of people write poetry who wouldn’t submit [to the journal]. And it’s a good chance for them to have their own sort of fifteen minutes of fame.”
Speaking about the Watermark’s events, Derby said, “We haven’t had as many [as last year]. This year we’re focusing on preparing more for each event, working with the different departments beforehand, and really making sure that professors let their students know about them…I think the events have been really successful.”
The Watermark attributes part of the success to the help of professors here on campus. “We have had incredible support from the English Department,” said Derby.
While many students know about the Watermark, most don’t know its history. Originally titled Howth Castle (after a line from James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake), and subsequently called Wavelengths before its present incarnation as the Watermark, the journal has grown considerably since its beginnings. In the early days, the journal was limited to publishing fiction and poetry. It later began to publish artwork in black and white; it now publishes in full color. Two years ago, the journal expanded its range further and began to publish works of non-fiction. The journal is undergoing further improvement under the direction of Derby and Costagliola. Said Derby, “We’re trying to change it this year. We’re trying to get more essays…because there isn’t a journal on campus to publish academic writing, which is unfortunate. I think we are in a position to be able to do that and I think the talent is definitely present too.”
The Watermark has changed in other ways as well. This year, said Derby, “We’re much more prepared…One thing we’ve really been working on is working closer with the English Department and getting the faculty more involved. They are our key to the students; the students will listen to them. If a professor brings us up in class, its different than someone just seeing a flyer. And the professors have been very supportive in that aspect.”
Also, Derby continued, “We’ve really diversified our staff. In previous years, people were more timid about being on the staff, or they didn’t know how to join. I think this year, a lot of people we didn’t know before showed up, were very interested. We have a lot more grad students on our staff.”
What about the lost submissions debacle last year? Said Costagliola, “It was a learning experience for us. It was extremely unfortunate that we lost all those submissions, and it definitely made work a lot harder for us last year.” Derby commented that, “We’ve taken steps this year to avoid that. We have second copies of everything. We have a database that has everyone’s contact information.”
The co-editors also stated that The Lillian Lorraine Jones Memorial Prize, which has previously been awarded by the Watermark for the most exemplary piece of writing in the journal, will most likely not be offered this year as its budget has run out and the professor responsible for the prize, Martha Collins, is no longer at UMB. But replacing that will be $200 prizes for the best piece in each category. These prizes will be judged by professors outside of the school and by local writers. The prizes are funded by the English Department, and the Watermark is in the process of looking for funding from the Art Department as well.
Derby and Costagliola are proud of the success of the journal. Said Derby, “If you look at other college literary journals, the Watermark is generally a much more polished looking journal…our journal is much more impressive.”
Proud as they may be, they are not content to rest on their laurels. In addition to preparing to put together an even more successful journal in the spring, the co-editors have big events planned for next semester. In February, novelist Mary Sullivan will be coming to campus to give “a fiction reading and talk about managing a life in literature with motherhood and the economic demands of a modern urban life”, as well as heading a creative writing workshop for students to discuss their own work with a published writer. There will a publication party for the Watermark at the end of next semester. The Watermark will also be putting a newsletter next semester, detailing upcoming events.
In addition, the Watermark is now accepting on-line submissions (an option that was instituted this semester). The journal does not yet have an official website, but submissions can sent on-line to [email protected]. The deadline for all submissions is January 10. For more information, contact the Watermark at 617-287-7960, W-4-174.