Lunch Ticket, the online literary journal for Antioch University Los Angeles debuted their 13th issue for the Summer/Fall 2018 quarter. Founded in 2012, Lunch Ticket is a host to a variety of eclectic and student-selected pieces ranging from poetry to young adult fiction. This quarter saw 47 student volunteers who collaborated to review and select work, create graphic designs for the magazine, as well as conduct interviews and post blogs to the site.
As a student volunteer myself, I had the opportunity to experience first hand how Lunch Ticket encapsulates Antioch’s social justice mission. In her “Word from the Editor,” Jessica Abughattas said, “[the] staff work hard to make this literary journal a safe and sacred space, from the manner in which we discuss submissions, to how we collaborate with one another.” While working on issue 13, I had the opportunity to work closely with my fellow MFA students and experience the critiquing process that happens in literary journals.
For this issue, I was an assistant editor on writing for young people as well as being part of the blogging team. As an assistant editor, I was tasked with reading and evaluating submissions with my fellow assistant editors. Over the course of the last quarter, young adult fiction received a record-breaking 90+ submissions. We were horned to be able to offer our own insight into each piece we read. It was incredibly moving how the writers in our community were dedicated to timely, thought-provoking work. I was struck by the amount of personal and revealing submissions. Our writers submitted stories dealing with a range of hard, real-life topics such as refugees, LGBTQ issues, and family troubles.
Overall, LT 13 was an enlightening experience behind the scenes of the professional writing world. As someone who is a newbie to publishing and submitting my own work; I got a lot of insight into how my work will be critiqued in the future. I learned how to articulate my feelings as a critical reader, and thus became a better writer in the process.
Interested in learning more about the MFA program? Visit here for more information!
Visit Lunch Ticket to view past and current issues!
Feature photo: Lunch Ticket issue 13 staff
