Byzantium is the English department's award-winning literary magazine produced entirely by undergraduate students. The magazine's poems and stories are chosen in Cal Poly's long-standing annual creative writing contest, for which undergraduate and graduate students from all majors submit their work. Two separate faculty judging committees, one for poetry and one for fiction, read the entries blind. The winning poems and stories, including honorable mentions, are published in Byzantium.

Begun in 1990, Byzantium has published literary work of remarkable quality, and many of the student winners in the writing contest go on to prestigious graduate schools in creative writing, including Columbia, Emerson, UC Davis, Houston, UC Irvine, Oregon, San Francisco State, and elsewhere. Byzantium complements the English Department's creative writing emphasis by providing both an in-house publication goal and a capstone work that demonstrates our student and department commitment to creative writing.

Typically, two English majors are chosen as co-editors. These two students work in tandem with a student are director chosen from the Art and Design Department. Numerous English majors compete for the privilege of editing the magazine, and those who are selected usually have editing experience, business acumen, desktop publishing skills, and the ability to work collaboratively under deadline. The magazine has been cited for its literary excellence and has twice won awards for design.

The editors of Byzantium earn senior project credit for their work. Though the senior project is officially registered during spring quarter, the two editors work on the magazine beginning in fall quarter. Working with the art director, the editors are responsible for all aspects of the publication, including raising funds, choosing a printer, laying out the text, editing the text, selling the magazine, and coordinating a reading for the writers. In addition, the editors produce a year-end report chronicling their project; this report, along with the finished magazine itself, is the "official" senior project.

Editing Byzantium is a challenging, exhilarating way for English majors to gain experience that can help them in the "real world." Just as many of the published student writers go on to graduate study in creative writing or jobs in publishing, most editors have used their experience to help them secure jobs after graduation.

Byzantium can be purchased at the university bookstore, El Corral.

If you would like more information about Byzantium, please contact Professor Kevin Clark by email at kclark@calpoly.edu.