On Friday, May 6th at 7 p.m., Drexel’s newest published undergrads gathered in the Van Rensselaer Ballroom to celebrate their achievement. The Maya Literary Magazine put on this gala in order to celebrate the publication of the 2016 Maya Literary Magazine.
The Maya Literary Magazine is Drexel’s undergraduate-run literary publication that publishes art, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry submitted by Drexel students. The magazine is run by a staff of undergrads who review the submissions at meetings and decide whether or not they’ll go in the magazine. The pieces are reviewed anonymously to be fair, run by discussion, and voted in or out based on a majority.
The 2016 Book Release Gala celebrated the publication of the 2016 Maya Literary Magazine, and the guest list was made up of all those published in the magazine, the magazine staff, supporting faculty from Drexel’s English Department, fans of the magazine, and their guests. The Van R Ballroom was decorated with copper LED string lights, Maya magazines from previous years, and poster boards decorated with quotes and artwork from the 2016 magazine. A projector also ran a slideshow on loop with selected quotes from written pieces along with the artwork.
At the gala, guests dined on baked ziti, chicken parmigiana, and broccoli while chatting with friends and other lovers of art and writing. There were raffles for donated baskets, a 50/50, and a jar full of jolly ranchers for guests to guess how many were inside to win a prize.
Editor-in-chief of the Maya Literary Magazine, Amanda Kraft, spoke at the podium to thank faculty advisors, staff members, and others who supported Maya. She also congratulated all who were accepted into the magazine.
Staff member and next year’s editor-in-chief of Maya, Emily Turek, also revealed the new Amanda Kraft Award. The award is dedicated to Amanda for her tenacity in keeping Maya running when years ago it was about to be disbanded. It will be awarded yearly to a person who shows a love for Maya and everything that it stands for.
Amanda awarded $100 bills to the winners of the nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and artwork contests. The winners of the nonfiction, fiction, and poetry also read excerpts from their winning pieces. The winner of the nonfiction contest was Gina Vitale with “A Beginner’s Guide to Being Broken”; the fiction winner was “’Til Death Do Us Part” by Miranda Reinberg; and the poetry winner was “Abuse” by Emily Turek. The winner of the art contest, Amy Su, with her piece “Meeting at the Bridge” also spoke a few words about her work. As the art winner, “Meeting at the Bridge” was also featured as the front and back cover for the 2016 magazine.
The 2016 Maya Literary Magazine is 146 pages long and showcases creative work from over 45 undergraduate Drexel students. Each piece of art, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction in the magazine is an amazing example of the creativity and skills of the Drexel undergrads. If you’re interested in purchasing a magazine and seeing what Drexel students can do, click here.
The Maya Literary Magazine is only going to get bigger and better. The gala was a fun night to celebrate all of those who have created something amazing that is now officially being shared with the world. If you’re a writer, an artist, or just have something you’d also like to share, email your submission to drexelmaya@gmail.com. Hopefully, we’ll see you at the gala next year!