LOCAL LITS. UW-Eau Claire's student-led literary magazine NOTA has opened up its fall submissions through  Oct. 6. (Contributed photos)

UW-Eau Claire’s bi-annual student-run literary magazine, None Of The Above (NOTA) just opened submissions for its upcoming issue on Sept. 12. Open through Oct. 6, the publication accepts an array of creative work, including music, poetry, visual art, and more.

NOTA was founded back in 1973, though The Purveyor, its predecessor, was founded in 1969. Having earned various awards over the years alongside its more recent open mic events and other creative events for UWEC students, NOTA is currently made up of 11 student officers and is co-advised by Dr. Dorothy Chan and B.J. Hollars.

After submissions close at 11:59pm on Oct. 6, a committee of UWEC students will comb through the prose work to decide which pieces are accepted into the upcoming issue. This way, accepted pieces are not determined solely by NOTA staff.

Emma Friend, editor-in-chief of NOTA, said anyone ice welcome to join the committee even if you’re submitting, you just can’t vote for your own work. The committee then goes through two rounds: the first allows the committee to read each piece individually and vote for their top selections; the second gathers the committee to discuss their top choices, the discussion guided by NOTA editors, and then all vote to determine which pieces are selected.

"We don't have set criteria we look at when we discuss any given piece," Friend explained. "On one piece we may notice a unique writing style we're interested in, or a memorable character, or a million other things that we love. Of course, we also discuss where pieces may have missed the mark for us."

UWEC students are invited to submit their work, and there is no theme to abide by. Music can be sent via link (like from Bandcamp, Spotify, etc.) or file to ENGL64@uwec.edu; one-three pieces of prose (unpublished elsewhere) up to 1500 words can be emailed to ENGL72@uwec.edu; one-five poems (unpublished elsewhere) can be emailed to ENGL71@uwec.edu. 

Music submissions are ultimately chosen by NOTA’s Music Director.

Art Submission night will occur from 6-9pm on Oct. 6 in the Haas Fine Arts room 207, displaying the pieces for folks to view prior to voting. Each individual can submit one to three pieces of artwork, with a series counting as one piece. Students can also email images of their art to ENGL77@uwec.edu if they can’t make it to Art Submission night, but must do so by 6pm on Oct. 6. The voting window will open Oct. 7 at 9pm and end Sunday, Oct. 9 at 11:59pm. 

Ultimately, once final selections have been made and accepted, the NOTA team will fold together the new issue, which will be formally released at NOTA’s Book Release Party on Dec. 8 at 7:30pm in The Cabin on campus. 

Friend said their spring 2021 issue rounded out with 32 total contributors, with 53 total pieces. The amount of work selected each semester varies depending on their printing capabilities and budget among other factors.

The Book Release Party will feature readings from the magazine plus live music, and free copies of the edition will be given for attendees to take home with them. 

View NOTA's last edition online here and email nota@uwec.edu with any questions. You can keep up with NOTA on their Instagram as well (@uwecnota).