Undergraduate literary journal at the University of Illinois Springfield. Each year, we publish an annual print consisting of works from undergraduate students across the country.

Violet Margin (formerly Alchemist Review) is a literary journal at the University of Illinois Springfield. Each year, we publish an annual print journal in April consisting of works from undergraduate students across the country, after having published work by only UIS students and alumni until 2019.

Violet Margin is a journal of prose, creative nonfiction, translation, poetry, and visual arts dedicated to publishing dynamic works by undergraduate writers and artists across the country.  With an appreciation for print culture, as well as digital technologies and mixed media, Violet Margin provides a forum for collaboration and exploration within the ever-evolving world of literary publishing. Violet Margin is edited by students at the University of Illinois Springfield.

Violet Margin is committed to publishing diverse voices and aims to focus on those that have, throughout history, been marginalized and excluded from the literary canon. We also especially encourage beginning writers and unpublished writers to submit. We recognize the weight of handling vulnerable new writing and aim to treat all writers with respect and care.

Violet Margin

While we have no specific, isolating theme, we are encouraging submission of works that feel unrestricted, unafraid, and willing to steady their gaze, even when wanting to look away.

We want work that acknowledges the realities that exist within the margins. Work that feels necessary, innovative, and attentive to the moment.

This spring, the Violet Margin is reflecting on the current climate around us, whether social, political, or environmental.

In a world that seems increasingly divisive, we are looking for works that remind us of the human need for connection, community, and our capacity for empathy.

Undergraduates of any college or university

Violet Margin

Highlights

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