Issue 10

Dear Readers,

The school year is just getting started. Everyone is rejuvenated. Freshman are wandering around campus, still adjusting to their class schedules. Professors are already preparing for midterms. Seniors are itching with the excitement of graduation. Senioritis has not yet set in.

In the five years Sanctuary had been around, the launch has always happened in the spring semester. We wanted to shake things up. We believe the fall semester will be a better time to launch our magazine, because the stress of classes hasn’t kicked in yet. It is our hope that this shift will give new life to Sanctuary. People who already know and support the magazine will be able to participate with us earlier in the year. Freshman who are interested can attend the launch and find out more about us. Everyone wins.

This year’s issue is small but powerful. The pieces we have published highlight what it means to live in a world that is like this one but is not quite the same. The worlds of these stories and photos take what we know and turn it into something magical and sometimes, something twisted.

Jessica Deibert provides us with a lens into a world full of thrill and wanderlust. Mikayla Meyers forces a curiosity onto the viewer about what might lie beyond the edges of her photo. She also helps us to understand that sometimes love is the same as memories you aren’t ready to let go. Audrey Stydinger’s story takes place in an eldritch world where your identity is least defined by your body. Autumn Cain draws a haunting parallel between suicide and giving a blowjob, which leaves the reader with hair raised and thoughts racing about what it really means to belong.

We ask people to submit stories that are alternative, offbeat, and weird. These pieces embody that and so much more. We wanted to be immersed in your world and these authors have successfully immersed us. We wanted to be impressed by style and voice and we have been. In our mission statement, we ask that submitters “Make us feel like we belong in your world more than we belong in this one.” I am more than content, because the work in this issue leaves me breathless and wishing I was there instead of here. There are oddities in these worlds that keep us invested and mulling over what we’ve experienced long after we have finished experiencing it.

Yours truly,

Chelsea Ritter and Emily Teitsworth

P.S. From Chelsea Ritter

It has been an amazing three years working as an editor for Sanctuary. It’s hard to believe that this magazine was so close to becoming a thing of the past. However, I am confident that the staff will continue to keep Sanctuary alive and well. Many thanks to our reading board, staff, and especially to Emily Teitsworth for her amazing leadership skills, endless dedication, and perseverance. I could not have handed the reins to a more capable and trustworthy individual.

Editor

Emily Teitsworth

Managing Editor

Chelsea Ritter

Website Designer

Sarah Adams

Reading Board Directors

Dallas Carroll

Nikki Einsig

Reading Board

Sarah Adams

Alyson Callahan

Nikki Einsig

James Hoon

Chelsea Ritter

Emily Teitsworth

Faculty Advisor

Dr. Laurence Roth