Sanctuary

Greetings Dear Reader,

First of all, we'd like to thank you for picking up the newest edition of Sanctuary Magazine. We've all worked hard on this magazine to bring you the very best of the submissions that we received, while also trying to deliver something that you might not quite expect. With this edition, as per tradition with Sanctuary, we placed a great emphasis on revamping our image. This is reflected in our effort to open submissions to a wider variety of mediums than in the past, and we think that it is reflected in this issue.

Speaking of firsts, it's also worth noting that we received over a hundred submissions this year, by far the largest amount that we've received to date, which of course gave us a vast pool of works to choose from. From these we selected not only the best, but also pieces that spoke to each other and flowed together naturally. This decision, we believe, not only led to a better magazine, but also foreshadows things to come for Sanctuary.

Next year, we hope to move Sanctuary online, which will enable us to accept multimedia submissions as well as the traditional writing and photography that we have been pleased to share with you in the past. Ideally, this will also help us reach a much wider audience while also allowing us to promote on a much larger and more innovative scale.

Anyway, getting back to the present, with this edition of Sanctuary we are proud to showcase a selection of works that include short stories, poetry, photography, song lyrics, and an excerpt from a comic book. Every year we receive a wide variety of genres, but this year is definitely a new record for us. Still, we believe that we have selected an accurate representation of the enormous outpour of creativity presented to our mailbox this year.

From meetings with divine beings, to relationships with the natural world, and ties to the past, as seen in Treading Water, On the Edge of Humanity, and Exploring the Devonian, respectively, the stories within this edition exist in the spaces between the surreal and the routine that shape our day to day. Through the moments of harrowing inevitability seeded into our subconscious as explored in the panels of Sleep or the hope that helps us climb out of bed in the morning displayed by the titular protagonist of Mr. Schue's Birds, we see that sometimes the most powerful episodes of our lives happen at the most insignificant moments.

We hope that by this point, it's apparent how proud we are of our many contributors and their works, we only wish that we had more room to work with. To this end, we would like to extend our thanks to the many people that have helped us achieve our goal of revamping Sanctuary Magazine.

First and foremost we would like to thank Gary Fincke and the rest of the Writing Department for their help and resources. We would also like to thank Tom Bailey, Catherine Zobal-Dent, and Silas Dent-Zobal for allowing us the opportunity to visit their classes to talk about our magazine. Another thank you is in store for Laurence Roth who granted us access to the Letterbox so that we could assemble this publication in a professional setting.

Of course, it goes without saying that we would be nowhere without a dedicated reading board, so thanks to Michelle Bayman, Lauren Breen, Sarah Bryski, Madie Coe, Allison Mann, and Rachel Woodring. Without submissions however, we would be nothing, so a big thank you is in order for Christina Harrington, whose shameless plugging was without a doubt a massive annoyance to everyone on this campus, but effective nonetheless. It's also worth noting that without our contributors, we wouldn't have much of a magazine, so thank you to everyone who took the time to send us your work. You may have also noticed that this publication has a cover, thank you to Shane Fannan for helping us out with that. We also would like to extend a thank you to the Print Shop for making this magazine into the physical product that you are currently holding.

Finally, we would like to thank the most important person of all, you! Without your support there wouldn't be a Sanctuary Magazine, so please write your name in the following blank space, you've earned it.

Thank you again, __________________!

The Editors,

Kyle Herr and Savannah David

Head Editor

Kyle Herr

Junior Editor

Savannah David

Managing Editor

Christina Harrington

Graphic Design Consultant

Shane Fannan

Reading Board Members

Michelle Bayman

Lauren Breen

Sarah Bryski

Madie Coe

Allison Mann

Rachel Woodring