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Understory program in search of creative student submissions

Understory is a publication of student artistic and academic media that is published online and in print each school year.

The cover of the 2023 edition of Understory. Photo courtesy of UAA Department of English.

UAA’s Understory program is seeking student submissions for its 2024 edition.

To learn more, The Northern Light interviewed Understory intern and UAA student Miya Scheid. Scheid is responsible for collecting and editing student works submitted to Understory.

Scheid said Understory is an "anthology of student works” that displays the various authorial and artistic talents that UAA students possess. The anthology collects written works as well as multiple forms of artwork, such as statues and paintings. “We are collecting any type of student creative work,” Scheid said.

Physical works, such as paintings and sculptures need to be submitted as images.

Any UAA student taking three credits is eligible to submit their work. “It doesn’t have to be only English majors. It can be anyone as long as they’re a UAA student,” Scheid said. “We like to showcase as much student work as possible.”

Scheid said that submissions are due by Dec. 1, “at the very latest.” She estimated that Understory has collected 30 to 40 submissions so far this school year.

The collected works are edited by either the Understory interns or the professors in charge of Understory. In a follow-up email, Scheid wrote that most edits are relatively minimal and are mostly to correct spelling and grammar errors.

“We do have rules about what can be in the submissions,” Scheid said. “We want it to be as inclusive as possible, but we don’t want any controversial topics.” Discouraged topics include violence, gore, religion and politics.

Scheid said the print version will be coming out in the spring and “there should be physical copies available to students,” adding that she’s “sure we’ll have more information about that next semester.”

Students can submit their work through the portal on the Understory website. Past editions of the anthology can be found on the website as well.

Students with questions about Understory or the submission process are encouraged to reach out to understorysubmissions@gmail.com.