Insanity’s Horse is a year-long project for student editorial board
April 2020 – For 35 years, Drew University’s Insanity’s Horse magazine has published works of student art and literature.
The student-run project, headed by editor-in-chief Megan Vu C’20, released this year’s 178-page edition this week, featuring more than 100 works in a digital format, as opposed to a long history of only printing physical magazines.
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“It’s the one place on campus where students can publish any and all of their creative work, from poetry and short stories to images of sculptures and photography. It was made for students, by students and has been a free publication since its inception.”
This year’s magazine features poetry, short stories, literary essays and numerous art images, including paintings, photography, digital art and drawings.
The editorial staff of six undergraduates reviewed submissions, critiqued the work, provided feedback to the submitters and got a crash course in publishing.
“The editorial board and the students submitting works all experience the publication process, which helps people who are interested in pursuing a career in publishing,” said Vu, who put the digital magazine together using InDesign.
The editorial staff met weekly—even when virtual—to review works and coordinate the publication’s annual prose contest with faculty advisor Courtney Zoffness, assistant professor of English and director of Drew’s Creative Writing Program.
“This year’s edition is a triumph,” said Zoffness, who noted the special challenges of producing the issue without access to campus resources on which students historically relied. “It’s a wonderful testament to the creative talent of Drew students, and to the grit of Megan, in particular, who worked tirelessly to make it happen.”
Vu was quick to note the contributions of her fellow board members: “Each editor has a specific job so that work is spread across several members and we could more readily communicate with our submitters. We couldn’t accomplish anything without all of us working together.”
For Vu, who has held several editorial board positions during her time at Drew, Insanity’s Horse is a potential launching pad towards her career.
“I’ve always wanted to be an editor, so I’m hoping to work at a publishing house, with books or literary magazines,” she said.
“Being editor-in-chief for Insanity’s Horse was a real dream come true and I’ll be forever thankful that so many people entrusted the position to me.”
