Western Carolina University’s English Department is currently celebrating the acceptance of four English students’ creative writings into the competitive Sigma Tau Delta journals that were recently published.
The Sigma Tau Delta Journals publish annually the best writing of undergraduate and graduate active chapter members of the Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society.
This year, Joy Neaves’ creative essay “Defining Moments” appears in “The Sigma Tau Delta Rectangle: Journal of Creative Writing”, as well as Jordan Monroe’s story “USPS Standard”.
Patti Graham’s fiction “Tall Tales of the Appalachian People” is also published.
“It was such a surprise to find out that I was chosen,” said Graham. “I have never had any creative writing classes, but I come from a long line of story-tellers out of the Tennessee Mountains. Because my short stories are based on dialectal features and grammatical structures that do not adhere to a standardized form of English, I honestly believed that I would not be taken seriously.”
Jennifer Doyle-Corn has had work published for the second year in a row. Her essay “A Most Recalcitrant Patriot: Oscar Wilde’s Irish Vision of Socialism”, appears in this year’s “The Sigma Tau Delta Review”.
“I was thrilled and honored to learn that my work was accepted to the Review again. It’s a good journal for students. It’s amazing to see my name in print, especially since it is so difficult to get work into printed journals now that so much is done in electronic format. I guess you could say it’s motivated me to try for publication in other academic journals; I have a little more confidence in my writing now.”
Judges from across the country critique the Sigma Tau Delta journals to select which member’s work will be published. The journals have had illustrious head judges including: Jane Brox, Henri Cole, Jim Daniels, W.D. Earhardt, CJ Hribal, Kyoko Mori, Lisa Russ Spaar, and Mako Yoshikawa, among others.
The best writing is chosen for publication from around 1,000 submissions. Not only do these publications go to over 10,000 members worldwide, of an over 17,000 active member organization, but they also honor the best piece of writing in each category with five scholarships totaling more than $1,000. There is also an annual reading at the annual International Convention by any of the published writers who can attend.
When asked for advice to give other writers wishing to be published, Graham replied, “believe in yourself; never let others tell you that you cannot do something based on a stereotype. If you don’t take a chance, then they are correct in their premise. Never let typecasts prevent you from seeking your dreams.”
