Aurora

For Aspiring Science Writers

2010-11-11T14:55:00.002-05:00

So you’re interested in trying your hand at writing about science? This is a great choice, because in addition to having the chance to earn fame and fortune (well, prizes) from Aurora, science writing is a growing and exciting field. Science is no longer about old dudes and bubbling chemicals in basement laboratories – it’s a global endeavor that is changing faster than you can say “geek.” That being said, science writers are the ones responsible for bringing news of these changes to the world in an accessible way. Science writers must be willing to be constantly learning and not settle for routine. They often travel with their work and always meet new people. Some freelance while others work as public information officers for institutions. If you’re interested in knowing more about science writing as a career, check out these websites:

When you sit down to write, you’ll want to start by choosing a current science or technology topic that’s of interest to you. You can pick anything, but if you’re stumped, here are some sites that freelancers often use for ideas:

When writing, remember to have fun! This is not a lab report! A lot of science writing is popular and very creative writing! Unsure what that might look like? Check out some of the below sources for a variety of styles, but don’t limit yourself—we want to see your own voice coming through!

Wired Magazine
HHMI Bulletin (edited by Agnes alumn!)
Cracked.com (check out science and tech sections –but keep in mind Aurora likes funny but also “real” and “not profane”)
Science News

And don’t forget, the McCain library also has resources to help along the way. Try:

A Field Guide for Science Writers. 2006. Eds. Blum D, Knudson M & Henig RM.
The Oxford Book of Modern Science Writing. 2008. Ed. Dawkins R. (This book is available as an e-book through the McCain Library website)

Anti-Love Sonnet Contest!

2010-02-04T10:58:00.004-05:00

Now that you know it's not all roses and sunshine, send us your best!

Guidelines

Your submissions are not strictly limited to the sonnet form and since we aren't only about doom and gloom at Aurora, your love poems are also welcome! The winning poem will be featured in the next issue of Aurora.

Please email aurora@agnesscott.edu by February 8th! That's this upcoming Monday!

Open Mic Night!

2010-01-19T11:11:00.002-05:00

We're sponsoring an Open Mic Night with Agnes Writes, ProBo, and the Center for Writing and Speaking.

The event will be Friday, January 29th, at 7PM in the Fireplace Lounge!

Come listen or preform some poetry, music, creative writing, monologues, and performance pieces!

If that doesn't lure you in, maybe the free baked treats, coffee and tea will!

Slow Start

2010-01-14T09:28:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone.

We will continue taking submissions for Aurora Art and Literary Magazine. Just pay attention to your emails and our facebook page. We're all really excited about the new semester. Hope you guys are too!

Call for Submissions!

2009-11-11T23:10:00.002-05:00

Jane Austen Movie Night was a success! It was great! Tons of people showed up. We had way too much candy, and everyone loved the prizes!

Our upcoming event is AQLF Kickoff Open Mic and Artists’ Showcase with Collective and Affinity on Wednesday, November 18th. Please email aurora@agnesscott.edu if you are interested in participating.

We are also accepting submissions for the Spring '10 issue of Aurora.
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR:

poetry
prose (fiction and non-fiction)
short play
reflection
travel journals
ANY KIND OF CREATIVE WRITING

AND/OR

photography
digital art
(images of:)
sculptures
paintings
drawings
prints
collages
ANY TYPE OF VISUAL ART

TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION!

Send writing and images of 5 MEGAPIXELS or LARGER to aurora@agnesscott.edu

If you'd like to take a picture of your visual art, but don't have a camera that takes pictures of at least 5 megapixels, CONTACT US! We'll be glad to use one of our cameras!

Yay! Excitement!!!

Jane Austen, Zombies, and Sea Monsters! OH MY!

2009-10-19T13:27:00.005-04:00

We starting off the year with a Jane Austen movie marathon. It's going to be in the Hub on Monday, October 26th from 6-10:30pm. There's going to be yummy snacks, and we're going to raffle off copies of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. We, the Aurora staff that is, are super excited, and we hope you can make it.

We also have a new fan page on Facebook. I know most of you are on Facebook, and if you're reading this blog, you probably are a fan of Aurora, so you should become a Facebook fan as well! Here's the page. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179552023034&ref=nf#/pages/Aurora-Art-and-Literary-Magazine/116363819566

If you're a little confused about what Aurora is, it's Agnes Scott College art and literary magazine. We'll put out an issue towards the end of the school year featuring the paintings, photos, poems, plays, reflection pieces, travel journals, sculptures, drawings, prints, and stories of Agnes Scott students. If you want to submit something for consideration, please send writing and images of 5 MEGAPIXELS or LARGER to aurora@agnesscott.edu. If you'd like to take a picture of your visual art, but don't have a camera that takes pictures of at least 5 megapixels, CONTACT US! We'll be glad to use one of our cameras!

MagPo Results

2008-11-20T18:54:00.003-05:00

Aaaaaaaaaaand the winner is...
Madelynn Martiniere!

Congratulations for winning this year's Magnetic Poetry Contest! Here's Madelynn's winning poem which will be featured in this year's upcoming issue:

the power of a delicate storm
drunk vision of paradise
crushed love like petals in the symphony of a screaming
garden. With a blood lust rhythm
for an eternity. Or so they say.

Madelynn's poem will be lonely in the magazine all by itself, so please remember to SUBMIT all of your written and visual work to aurora@agnesscott.edu.

Have a happy break!
Leda

p.s. Here's a fun link I found to part of the official Magnetic Poetry web page. You get to make your own Magnetic Poems on a virtual refrigerator! http://www.magneticpoetry.com/poetgame/mpgpick.htm

Aurora has finally made it to the world wide web!

2008-11-13T11:01:00.000-05:00

Hello Art and Literary Enthusiasts!
It is my pleasure to kick off the Aurora blog with this first post. So many ideas are swimming through my head right now as to what sorts of things we should actually post here. We'll definitely have reminders of all of our events though they are few and far between. Oh, and I think we'll also post the results from our biannual contests: the Magpo contest in the fall and the anti-sonnet contest in the spring around Valentine's Day.

Right now, however, let me go over a year in the life of Aurora magazine:

During the fall we mostly advertise, and begin our call for submissions. This fall's deadline is DECEMBER 10TH so mark it in your calendars! We also have our Magnetic Poetry event where we invite people to create their own magnetic poem in Evans during lunch one day. We then put all of the magnetic poems through our usual judging and the winner is published in the magazine.
In the spring the work actually begins. A second and final deadline is set (TBA for this spring) and after we collect all of our submissions the entire crew judges them and then we begin to put the magazine together! We have a layout party one night during this time where we decide the order of the winning submissions in the magazine. After we get the magazine layout all squared away on the computer, we send it off to the publisher. We end the year with a Release Gala celebrating all of the hard work of the staff and the talents of those who submit.

So please, please, please SUBMIT!

We accept all of your...

Writing:

poetry, fiction, nonfiction, one act plays, travel journals

and Art:

paintings, sculptures, collages-any sort of visual art that you can either scan or take a picture of and email to us in .jpeg form.

If you've ever thought of submitting to Aurora, do! This is a great way of getting yourself published no matter what your experience is and also the more submissions we get the better quality of the magazine.

Send all submissions to aurora@agnesscott.edu

Merry Thursday,

Leda Sox

Aurora Editor