Welcome to The Orange Couch Notion page! This is our first year using Notion for the journal, so we are all learning together.
Everything you need TOC-related should be easily accessible on this Notion page, as well as our Slack channel.
Thank you for being willing to read for Issue 6. I know we will publish another amazing issue!
| Managing Editor | @Anonymous |
|---|---|
| Readers | @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous @Anonymous |
| Round Dates (Tentative) | Round One (Reading): Weeks 4-7 |
| Round Two (Reflections): Weeks 7-8 | |
| Deadline | April 28th at 10 AM CST |
| Launch | Week 10 (TBA) |
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The Orange Couch is a digital magazine for DePaul writers and alumni who want to publish their creative writing and work with other writers in the process of doing so.
Think of The Orange Couch as a comfortable gathering place for conversation about writing and the writing process.
The Orange Couch features creative writing by writers who have sought feedback on their writing and revised their work based on that feedback. It is a place to publish and celebrate the incredible work that comes through the doors of the Writing Center every day.
When creative writing is represented as a solitary pursuit—as it too often is—it misses the bigger picture. At The Orange Couch, we know that collaboration in writing is a constant—between writers, editors, translators, and friends.
The Orange Couch celebrates that collaborative process. All pieces published in The Orange Couch receive feedback from other writers.
We are committed to representing and supporting diverse voices, perspectives, and processes in this publication and as such, we encourage submissions from writers including, but not limited to, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities.
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Thanks so much for being a reader! Readers have two main responsibilities: giving feedback on the reflections for accepted pieces and helping determine which pieces The Orange Couch will be publishing in Issue 6. As The Orange Couch will only be accepting 20 pieces for publication, readers are encouraged to let the managing editor know if any piece resonates with them by reaching out via Slack or in one-on-one meetings (scheduled by the managing editor)!
Since each submitter has already sought out feedback for their piece, The Orange Couch board will work on the assumption that the writer's work aligns with The Orange Couch mission and qualifies them to be published in the Writing Center’s literary magazine. To get a sense of last year’s submissions, please check them out here.
For both the reading and the reflection categories below, readers will be assigned to a piece in the Submission Form below, followed by a message via Slack for confirmation. This is our first year trying Notion for The Orange Couch, so please be patient as we work on navigating the platform!
Round 1 consists of selecting the 20 pieces we will be publishing for the issue and will take place over Weeks 4-8. Each piece will be assigned two readers who will be blocked off for 30 minutes on WCOnline to read three poetry pieces. Readers will be blocked off for 30 minutes to read prose for pieces 8 pages or less. For pieces more than 8 pages, readers will be blocked off for an hour.
During round 1, it is not necessary to take notes (unless the reader would like to!) or turn anything in. The reader will have a check-in via Slack or Face-to-Face (schedule permitting) at the end of the round to share their thoughts with the managing editor on whether or not a piece should be accepted.
Each piece and its assigned reader will be available to view in the Submissions Form below.
Readers should contact the managing editor via Slack to note whether any additional time is needed to finish reading the piece(s) during a different shift or if the piece(s) need to be reassigned due to a time conflict.
Round 2 consists of reviewing the reflections submitted alongside the 20 accepted pieces. Readers will be blocked off for 30 minutes to read two sets of reflections (4 reflections total). Each writer is asked to respond to two reflections upon the submitting. Once the pieces are selected, the managing editor will send a document with the reflections via Slack. Similar to our Written Feedback modalities, readers will include feedback on the first page of the document (see the “Reflections” section of “What Should Readers Look For?”)