This year, The Broken Plate, a literary magazine edited by Ball State University students, has expanded to include entries from authors around the world.
In its previous six years, the magazine only accepted entries from Ball State writers. A grant from the university helped to convert it to a national publication.
Mark Neely, assistant English professor and adviser to The Broken Plate, said the expansion will benefit writers because the selection process was more competitive.
By opening up the competition, the magazine's number of submissions tripled, he said.
To accommodate the large number of applications, the magazine doubled in size this year. More than 40 authors are included, ranging from undergraduate students to established authors. Work varies from poetry to fiction and non-fiction. Neely said the most distant entry came from Paris.
About 20 percent of the magazine's space was reserved for Ball State entries. Neely said this decision was made because Ball State writers are still an important part of the publication.
The Broken Plate will be launched at 7 p.m. today in the Museum of Art, Rm. 217 as part of the fourth annual InPrint Festival.
The festival was started by Jill Christman, assistant chair of the department of English, in an attempt to expose students to newly published authors.
Christman said doing this is useful because undergraduate students can relate more closely to the experiences of these budding authors.
"Learning the ways they're getting work out and hearing success stories from authors with English degrees is the point of the festival," she said. "They [students] get a lot more out of it."
This year's festival will feature authors Nickole Brown, Laurie Lindeen and Kyle Minor. Christman said the three professionals were chosen, in part, for their variety in writing styles.
They will each read from their recently published works at the event at 7 p.m. Brown will read from a book of poetry, Lindeen will read from her creative non-fiction memoir about her experience in a rock band and Minor will sample his short stories.
Mehdi Okasi, the editor-in-chief of The Sycamore Review, a national journal produced by Purdue University, and managing editor Katie Connor will join the authors for a panel discussion on writing and publishing at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Museum of Art, Rm. 217.
They will help to inform creative writing students on how to get their work published. Christman said this is a common concern for her students.
Both events are free and open to the public.
Neely said The Broken Plate will be sold both nights at a reduced price of $5 for Ball State affiliates.
InPrint FestivalThe fourth annual festival will feature readings from three newly published authors and a panel discussion with Mehdi Okasi and Katie Connor of The Sycamore Review.
When: 7 p.m. today and tomorrow Where: Museum of Art, Rm. 217
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