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Runestone Journal – Volume 8

Runestone Journal online literary magazine volume 8 2022 cover image

In the Editor’s Note to Runestone Journal Volume 8 (2022), Halee Kirkwood writes, “We take our title this year, ‘The Shape of Your Daydreams,’ from Annie Przypyszny’s poem ‘Feeding The Birds.’ We felt that this line captured the mood of this year’s Runestone. Readers will find that many of the pieces within have an ephemeral nature with an obsession with the intangibility of the divine, while at the same time finding pieces that play with structure and form, pieces that give a daydream shape.” The works that inspired this issue include Poetry by Geoffrey Ayers, Greer McAllister, Jack Mitchell, J. Nehemiah, Annie Przypyszny, Madeline Ragsdale; Creative Nonfiction by Saitharn Im-Iam, Grace Ramos, Camille Whisenant; Fiction by Ellery Beck, Kile Zomar Lowery, Beatrice Ogeh, Hailey Thielen; and an Author Interview with Kawai Strong-Washburn by Cal MacFarland. Current and past issues are free to read online. Submissions are open through October 1 to any current undergraduate at a two- or four-year institution or ages 18-22.

Writing Tips for the Apocalypse

Runestone Journal logoHaving a hard time writing during what feels like the apocalypse? On Runestone Journal‘s blog, Blake Butenhoff offers, “Tips For Writing In the Apocalypse.” He brings writers three funny, lighthearted tips to get those apocalyptic writing juices flowing: “Know your audience’s needs and time constraints,” “Find other ways to journal,” and “History will have the last say, so do it anyway.”

At this point, I would maybe ignore his advice to “start using clay tablets” if you run out of paper, but find “There are no rules anymore,” to be pretty helpful.

Find out what else Butenhoff has to say here.

Digital Storytelling with Runestone Journal

Runestone Journal logoUndergraduate writers, Runestone Journal wants to see your take on digital storytelling. Digital works based on a piece of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry are all welcome.

Editor Richard Pelster-Wiebe will be judging your submissions, and after an initial screening, the selection process will take place during Hamline’s “Introduction to Literary Publishing: Runestone.” The winner will receive a prize of $250.

Submissions are free and are open until October 1, so you have plenty of time to craft a great digital piece.

Runestone Journal – Vol. 6

Runestone Journal - February 2020

Runestone Journal proudly announces Volume 6, featuring: creative nonfiction from Hannah Baumgardt and True Dabill, fiction from Maryetta Henry, Gabraella Wescott, and Holley Ziemba; poetry from Lex Chilson, Marina Fec, arizona hurn, Maya Salemeh, Adam D. Weeks, and more; author interviews with Roy G. Guzmán and John Ostrander; and book reviews by the Student Editorial Board. Visit NewPages for more new issues.

Runestone Interview with John Ostrander

John Ostrander
Photo Credit: Hieu Minh Nguyen

Runestone Volume 6 was released at the end of February and features an interview with John Ostrander, prolific writer of comics in the the DC, Marvel, and Star Wars universes.

Ostrander answers questions about comics he loved as a child (he had to hide super hero comics from his mother), the challenges of joining an already well-established comics universe, and how involved in the process he was for his comics being adapted into films.

In terms of working minorities and more diverse characterization in, I’m very proud of that.  One of the characters I created was Amanda Waller for The Suicide Squad.  There was no one like her at the time, and really not many like her since then.  When I was first working on it, I knew that as the head of it I wanted someone who was not super-powered, I wanted someone who was African American, I wanted a female, I wanted someone slightly older, and I wanted them to be tough as nails.

Read part one of the interview with Ostrander here.