Thank you for your interest in New Moon! New Moon Magazine is an undergraduate literary journal at the University of Iowa; it releases monthly and it's just one page, front and back, of short poetry and prose. New Moon is a registered student organization at the University of Iowa and is generously supported by the Magid Center for Undergraduate Writing.
The deadline for this application is March 26th at 11:59 pm CST.
Your application is the first and most important way we decide whether you’re the right fit for our publication’s staff. We’re looking for people who are not only qualified to be on staff but also passionate about New Moon’s mission, so be sure to show us that on this form!
Staff members must be undergraduates at the University of Iowa during the 2023-2024 academic year. Once accepted, staff members may stay on the staff of New Moon until they graduate.
New Moon Magazine promotes the literary voices of undergraduates at the University of Iowa by providing the University and Iowa City community consistent, curated access to those voices. Through its accessible format, frequent publication, and presence in public spaces, New Moon aims to be a central element of how the public experiences literature in Iowa City. Through its accessibility, New Moon further aims to promote other campus literary publications and foster an enthusiastic joint-readership. New Moon also provides its staff with the experience of producing a literary magazine on an intensive schedule and adjusting to the reactions of its readership.
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For the 2023-2024 Academic Year, New Moon is seeking:
- A Poetry Editor
- A Prose Editor
- A Creative Director (Typesetter)
Position Descriptions:
Poetry and Prose Editors are in charge of acquisitions. They read and evaluate submissions from undergraduates at the University, collaborating with the other editors on their team and with the entire staff to determine which pieces will make up each monthly issue. Poetry Editors handle the wide variety of poetic works submitted to New Moon while Prose Editors are in charge of both fiction and nonfiction submissions. Qualifications include being passionate and thoughtful about literature, being an expert in the chosen genre and knowledgeable about the others, and being able to converse intelligently and respectfully about literature.
Note: all non-genre editor staff members (the roles described below) may choose to have a vote on which pieces make up each monthly issue, but they are not required to do so.
The two Creative Directors design and typeset each issue of the magazine. The Typesetter creates and adjusts the layout based on which pieces are selected. The Graphic Designer creates each issue’s unique background as well as promotional designs. We are currently seeking a Typesetter, but if your proficiency lies more in graphic design, you are also encouraged to apply for the role. You will share the responsibility of designing issues with our current Graphic Designer, Katherine Steahly. Qualifications include the ability to create professional-quality work with a quick turnaround and proficiency in Adobe InDesign and/or Adobe Photoshop or equivalent software.
All staff members are additionally responsible for attending weekly meetings and official New Moon events and actively contributing to the vision of the magazine.
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This application is the first part of the recruitment process. After reviewing your application, we will let you know whether we want to invite you for an interview conducted by current New Moon staff members. Each interview will be for one or more specific roles you select on this application. Interviews are currently scheduled to be conducted between April 5th and 16th.
The interview process for the role of Creative Director/Typesetter/Graphic Designer involves an additional step. The interview invitations for this role will include a spec sheet for an issue of New Moon Magazine, along with the assets and examples of the raw materials needed to create an issue and/or an issue background. Before the interview, the applicant will be tasked with setting the text and/or designing the background for an example issue. (We are happy to provide guidance on how to access Adobe InDesign and/or Adobe Photoshop on campus computers for this task, if needed.) Detailed instructions on this part of the process will be provided in the interview invitations. In order to provide ample time to complete this additional step, interviews for this role will be conducted later than the other interviews: from April 12th to April 19th.
Applicants to the role of Creative Director/Typesetter/Graphic Designer may bring materials that demonstrate their design abilities to their interviews, including portfolios, previous projects, or social media accounts they have worked on.
Some hands-on mentorship is required for the role of Creative Director/ Typesetter/Graphic Designer. The candidate selected for this role will be asked to attend one-on-one meetings with current staff members involving demonstrations of relevant practices and procedures. This meeting will take place this semester, so if you apply to any of these roles, please be prepared to attend one or more such meetings.
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For any questions about the application or New Moon in general, please email
newmoonmaguiowa@gmail.com. To see what New Moon is all about and check out our past issues, head to
https://newmoonmagazine.org.uiowa.edu/.
