Hello, my name is Mary Innerst and I am the new editor-in-chief of Progenitor, the award-winning art and literary magazine of Arapahoe Community College.

Just a year ago, I was a student new to the writing scene. Like many, I had a dream of sharing my work with the world.  I was talented (at least my mom said so), full of ideas, and driven, yet terrified. I shrunk at the thought of baring my soul to the disparaging public eye. I had my opportunity to face my fears when a composition professor mentioned that ACC has a literary journal.

I submitted a short story I had composed in class, not because I thought it would be accepted, but because the hunger for others to read my work overcame my fear of rejection. Art is a selfless act, a brave act. Real artists, writers among them, create not for themselves, but for others. Now, a year later, I am still a college student, but one with a publication in Progenitor under my belt and another upcoming publication in YARN, another literary magazine. I continue to submit pieces year-round to various journals.

If you are an aspiring writer or artist, I encourage you to consider submitting your work to be published in the 2019 issue of Progenitor. ACC is brimming with opportunities for young writers and artists, the opportunity to be published in a nationally acclaimed college literary magazine is arguably chief among them. ACC offers an exceptional atmosphere to experiment with your passions, take risks, and embrace experiences that, although intimidating, will be incredibly beneficial to your future endeavors.

It can be a terrifying process sharing your deepest, most personal work with the world and, unfortunately, I cannot promise an acceptance letter. In fact, the life of any artist is riddled with rejections and harsh criticisms, no matter how talented they may be. No one is immune to rejection. As a teenager, the acclaimed novelist Stephen King received dozens of rejections, so many, in fact, that the nail he used to hold them to his bedroom wall became insufficient. “The nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it,” he noted, “I replaced the nail with a spike and kept on writing.” I like to think of rejections as paving stones on the way to a brilliant moment of acceptance, made that much sweeter for the hardship experienced along the way.

I’d like to personally invite you to begin, or continue, your artistic journey with Progenitor. Submissions are free and whether you write Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction, or create photography, paintings, sculptures, or digital art, Progenitor presents a possible future home for your work.

To review our submission guidelines and to send us your work, visit arapahoe.edu/progenitor. We are accepting digital manuscripts and artwork now through February 20^th. I look forward to seeing your name among the submissions!

Sincerely,

Mary Innerst