The Kent State Honors College literary and art magazine Brainchild is a creative outlet for honors students to showcase a wide variety of literary writings and creative art works. Brainchild is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to publish their works and be featured within the Mid-East Honors Association ().
Charles Malone, Brainchild staff advisor and program and outreach manager for Wick Poetry Center, noted, “Creating a space like Brainchild offers artists [and] writers of all majors a place to express themselves. For students curious about what it means to take their creativity seriously, and perhaps explore graduate study in creative fields, publishing their work helps them develop.” Malone commented on the experience of this opportunity for Honors College students, stating that, “The magazine provides real world problems for our Editors, Designers, and Marketing folks to solve. We work closely with our printer and learn what it takes to prepare a book for press, we are rigorous in our copyediting, and we practice group decision making through the selection of pieces for publication.”
Olivia Meyer, new student editor and winner of the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Scholarship for 2021, is sophomore fashion merchandising major with minors in fashion media and business. When asked why she joined Brainchild, she stated, “I joined Brainchild because I hope to work for a prominent fashion magazine someday, and thus, am very excited to learn about the world of publishing, editing and design. After winning the award, I realized I wanted to deepen my understanding of what makes a great work of poetry and experience the hustle of working for a premier literary and arts magazine.”
Anastasia Simms started at Brainchild at the beginning of the semester. Anastasia is a junior, who is majoring in English with a concentration in professional writing and psychology,while minoring in creative writing, who commented, “I chose to be involved with Brainchild because I love all things creative writing and it seemed like a natural next step for me to take as I learn more about that world. This experience will help me to become a better writer and editor and understand how publishing works better, but also it will allow me to help other people who love creative writing like I do.”
Honors College students of 2020 are dealing with extreme social change, the end of America’s longest war, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Malone noted, “Beyond learning objectives, Brainchild voices the concerns of students in their unique moment. Honors students in 2016 wrestled with different questions and surroundings than those in 2020. If we do our work well, each volume captures the complexities and energies of our time.”
Madonna once commented that, “Artists are here to disrupt.” Brainchild allows for Honors College students to express themselves in a healthy way, through writing and art.
Brainchild is now accepting submissions for publishing in their spring 2022 edition. The deadline to submit is January 15, 2022, and possible submissions may include: fiction and creative nonfiction writing, poetry, visual art and photography and other work that does not fall into these categories. Visit for more information and to submit work for consideration.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Stephanie Moskal, Honors College Marketing Coordinator, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312