Foreword from the Editors (Fall 2023)
December 11, 2023
Dear Friends of MORIA,
My name is Valentine Iseki, and I am the current Editor-in-Chief of MORIA, the national online literary magazine of Woodbury University. Today, I am excited to be announcing the publication of Issue 12!
In the submissions for this new issue, we have encountered themes of childhood, identity, relationships, death — everything that encompasses our life experiences. Our editorial board has named Issue 12, “The Arc of Life Issue,” to represent how each piece speaks for what we, as humans, live through and feel deeply within our lifetimes. Each author has given us work that reflects different stages of life, giving voice to the emotions felt, not only by ourselves, but also by our loved ones during these evolving times. Issue 12 includes perspectives into changes of the body and mind with aging; the loss and complexities of relationships; and the bending of our reality with life-changing events.
MORIA continues to cultivate a diverse range of writers, providing a platform to represent people of all identities. In Issue Twelve, we saw an overall acceptance rate of 11.8% from 499 total submissions. Of our 59 accepted works, 42% were from women or women-identified authors; 22% were from writers of color; 9% of our writers identified as LGBTQIA+. Our rate of selection for poetry was our lowest ever, at just over 1%. We will continue to strive for excellence in our selections while recognizing the words and experiences of our diverse community.
On behalf of MORIA, I would like to thank all the contributors who have made Issue Twelve possible. They have taken their observations of the state of our world in its “new normal,” each bringing a personal story that makes us learn something about ourselves we might not have otherwise known.
We would also like to give thanks to those in the Woodbury University community who continue to make our work possible. Thank you to the former Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Randy Stauffer, for his enduring support and encouragement in the making of this magazine; to Dr. Will McConnell, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for his belief in this project, and to Professor Emeritus Dr. Reuben Ellis, former Dean of the College, for his guidance, financial backing, and unwavering recognition of the work this magazine does for the community at large; to Dr. Matthew Bridgewater, Chair of the Writing Department, for covering the budget of the First Press Reading Series out of department funds; and to Rachel Farnsworth, for her administrative work in support of our events. We thank our donors for their generosity, which enables us to increase our impact on this community. Most of all, on behalf of the student editors of MORIA, I would like to personally thank our faculty editor and professor, Dr. Linda Dove. With her guidance, each student editor gained professional experiences and skills that we will take to other areas of our lives. MORIA has been able to become the renowned literary magazine it is today due to her contributions and dedication to the magazine and its student editors.
In recent months, the magazine has experienced substantial growth, for which we are grateful. This has been the largest volume of submissions that MORIA has received in five years, and I am proud to present the issue that our Fall 2023 editorial board — the largest number of editors ever — has curated, Issue 12: The Arc of Life.
Kindly,
Valentine Iseki, Editor-in-Chief
for the Editors of MORIA Literary Magazine