Call for submissions for The Scratch Post, an undergraduate arts and literature journal
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 5, 2025) — University of Kentucky undergraduate students are invited to submit creative writing, visual art or graphic narratives for the inaugural issue of The Scratch Post, to be published in Spring 2025.
The Scratch Post is a student-run arts and literature journal initiated by Lewis Honors College lecturers Julie Boutwell-Peterson, Ph.D., and Jena Seiler, Ph.D. The journal aims to celebrate and foster the role of creativity in academia and thoughtfully curate a collection of creative works to be enjoyed by the campus community and broader audiences.
“It’s an opportunity to work in design, marketing, writing, communications and even some unexpected areas,” said Mackenzie Blaylock, Lewis Honors College junior and The Scratch Post’s editor-in-chief of writing and communications. “Besides offering opportunities for building skills, The Scratch Post is a way to give back to the UK creative community.”
“My hope is that The Scratch Post will provide all UK students, regardless of their major, a platform to share their creative works,” said Abigail Wright, Lewis Honors College sophomore and editor-in-chief of art and design.
Blaylock envisions The Scratch Post becoming a means to track how creative styles change over time.
“What we hope to accomplish is creating history (by) keeping track of the type of submissions we receive, archiving any future journals and organizing the details that went into creating this organization,” she said.
Undergraduates from any discipline are welcome to submit their work in the following categories by Feb. 23: visual arts, creative writing (fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction) and graphic narratives.
The Scratch Post is supported by an endowment started in honor of the late Jane Vance, Ph.D., UK professor of English and former Kentucky Poet Laureate. Vance taught humanities and creative writing courses in the honors program for decades and advised the honors program literary magazine JAR.
To support The Scratch Post, donate securely online to the Jane Gentry Vance Fund.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.