Quarter After Eight is a literary journal that releases annual issues focused on showcasing innovative writers at Ohio University. The organization aims to celebrate those who challenge the conventions of language, style, voice or idea in literary forms.
The annual publications for the journal are made possible by a grant from the Ohio Arts Council.
The journal was founded in 1994 by English graduate students who wanted to see more experimentation within student journals on campus.
“It's always been completely graduate student-run ever since its conception, and it just gives English graduate students a chance to really have 100% control over ownership,” Melanie Ritzenthaler, co-editor for Quarter After Eight, said.
The journal has allowed for many students on campus to become more involved, especially those who are majoring in English or creative writing.
“I think it was important to me to get involved in the community in some way: that is, the community of the graduate English department and gain experience,” Laura Post, a graduate student, said. “I had experience with working on student journals before as a reader, but I had never really wanted to become more involved than that. But I tried it out, and I just got along really well with everybody. It's a small enough staff that it ended up that I was one of the main editors for a couple years, which was a great experience.”
The mission of Quarter After Eight is to publish experimental writing. The group is inspired by the fact that the organization has to reapply for funding every year, making it extremely important for the journal to keep running so that local and diverse voices as well as art can be seen within the Athens community.
“From reading submissions and selecting submissions, I think that what comes across is a real embracing of non-mainstream points of view,” Candace Walsh, co-editor of Quarter After Eight, said, “Underrepresented, marginalized, both identity-related and also in terms of literary style and approach. We tend to reward people who go out on a limb and take risks with their writing.”
Quarter After Eight also focuses on highlighting different viewpoints, identities and backgrounds, aiming to foster more awareness for queer writers and writers of color. They actively try to reach out to these individuals through having a chance at submitting work for free to the journal at the beginning of every fall.
The journal is open to anyone. Writers can submit until April 15.
“Art is always something that is different in terms of submissions, so especially if you're any of the students who work in fine arts, photography or painting, we would always be interested in seeing art submissions from students that could potentially be on the cover of Quarter After Eight,” Ritzenthaler said.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated that the journal is for graduate student writers, but it takes submissions from anyone. This article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
