Writing Opportunities

Students have many opportunities to publish their writing while at the University of Richmond.

The Messenger Literary Magazine

University of Richmond’s student-run literary and arts magazine The Messenger publishes annually, with submissions in poetry, photography, and prose. English majors are encouraged to submit their writing as a first step toward an active publishing career.

Annually a panel of English faculty members award two cash prizes for outstanding work submitted to The Messenger. These are the Margaret Haley Carpenter Award for Poetry and the Margaret Owen Finck Award for Creative Writing.

Undergraduate Publication

Members of Sigma Tau Delta can submit creative writing for publication in The Rectangle and literary analysis for publication in The Sigma Tau Delta Review. Undergraduate writers also publish regularly in magazines beyond campus, with recent work appearing in The Virginia Literary Review, The Rumpus, and The Allegheny Review. 

Verse Magazine

The University of Richmond is home to the preeminent journal Verse, which is edited by English professor Brian Henry. Students who take English 393: Literary Editing spend a significant amount of time during the semester editing the poetry magazine.