Nameless Magazine is UC Davis’ exclusively student-run literary magazine, which publishes one digital issue per quarter and one print issue per year. Each issue features fiction, poetry or mixed media submissions.
Mitchell Winter, editor in chief and fourth-year linguistics and religious studies major, believes it is the emphasis on student participation for which the publication is named.
“[The name] can seem kind of eccentric but it also is true. Because there are so many different voices that we’re trying to convey, we don’t want to give one title to any one piece,” Winter said. “It’s this kind of being nameless, and not having a certain voice that’s coming through, trying to have everyone.”
The first digital issue, which will come out at the end of Fall Quarter, will feature works exclusively from undergraduate students.
“While some literary magazines with wider scope tend to be more competitive, Nameless is largely about connecting the undergraduate community with opportunities to publish and share their work,” said editorial board editor and third-year gender studies major Katherine Geni, in an email.
Though Nameless cannot accept all entries, the staff works and meets weekly to incorporate as many pieces as they can into each issue.
“We’re definitely selective, but we select a broad amount of works,” Winter said.
Additionally, the Nameless staff hopes to emphasize diversity in the pieces that it publishes.
“Nameless also accepts submissions from people of all majors,” Genis said. “We’re hoping to receive a good mix of content from varying positions and perspectives on campus.”
The magazine extends beyond simply selecting student submissions. Nameless hosts workshops for the public. At these workshops, students are able to discuss and polish ideas for pieces and submissions.
“We try and give people stable critiques, and stable ways to look at art in Davis,” Winter said.
In the past, submissions were reviewed by members of a board corresponding to each type of media the magazine publishes.
However, facing a decline in staff due to graduating editors, this year Nameless magazine is moving in a slightly new direction.
“This year, we’re merging the three editorial boards (poetry, fiction and mixed media) into one entity. [Merging] will hopefully make communication more efficient and streamline the overall editing process,” Genis said.
Despite the decline in staff, Nameless Magazine plans to extend its focus beyond publication.
“We’re also aiming to do more publicity and hope to connect with other groups on campus,” Genis said.
The staff hopes these efforts will help them to bring the core values of Nameless Magazine to a broader spectrum of students. The literary magazine offers a stage for artistic expression for students who are less comfortable with performance mediums, said poetry editor and third-year linguistics major Syd Salsman.
“Nameless is important because we provide a point of diffusion for students’ creative works that might otherwise go unread, unappreciated or unpublished,” Salsman said.
To learn more about getting involved in Nameless Magazine, visit namelessmagazine.com.
