Now that submissions have closed for the Fall zine of Quilt, I can’t help but think about how much this club has shaped my time here at Queen’s.
Joining Quilt in my second year at Queen’s was easily one of the best decisions I made during my undergrad. Quilt is an undergraduate literary publication at Queen’s, and they publish creative and academic work twice a year. They usually have a smaller zine in the Fall term with poetry and prose pieces, then a larger volume in the Winter term that also includes academic work.
When I first applied, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. I’d never been on an editorial board before and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Frankly, I didn’t think I was even qualified enough to be part of the process. Most of my writing work up until that point had been for school or personal creative projects, so I was nervous about trying to comment on — and help improve — other people’s work.
Thankfully, the senior editors were really kind and excited to get new editors like myself involved in the zine production. They always encouraged new editors to share our thoughts. As time went on and I began to read more submissions, I started to really love the meetings, and my own skills at editing began to improve. I made suggestions for how I thought pieces could be enhanced and other editors built off of them to make them even better. I also learned from other peoples’ editing styles the sorts of things to look for in creative pieces. I got better at identifying ways to trim down or expand a piece to help it shine.
While I am grateful for the way Quilt has helped me improve my writing and editing skills, it was the people and the community that made me truly love it. Everyone was passionate about producing a beautiful collection of work and celebrating student authors. Being a part of that team has fostered my own love for celebrating creative and academic work. One of my absolute favourite parts is being at the launch event for our new issues, where I get to see excited authors share their hard work and leave triumphant with a copy of their piece, published and illustrated in the newest Quilt volume.
There are so many teams at Quilt that have to work together in order to make this possible. Editors, designers, layout, copy editors, outreach, and events — there are so many brilliant and passionate people involved. Being a part of Quilt has allowed me to make new friends, improve my writing and editing skills, and help create volumes that I truly believe reflect the incredible talent of students here at Queen’s.
Looking back to how I felt at the beginning of second-year when I first joined, to now — I’m so happy I applied that year. Since then, I’ve grown more confident and made more connections with people than I thought was possible. Quilt has become a major part of my life, and I can’t wait to show you all our Fall and Winter collections!