Every year since 1948 Simpson has been publishing a literature magazine that has come to be known as the Sequel. It’s that time of year again and the Sequel is now available.

Students can acquire a copy of the magazine in the library; however there are only about 400 copies printed, so it’s a first come, first serve basis.

“The tradition has been to have a release event,” David Wolf, assistant professor of English and faculty adviser for the Sequel, said.

Wolf has been the faculty adviser for the magazine for the past three years. He tries to stay out of the decision-making process and leaves it up to his staff to make the right choices.

“The Sequel wouldn’t be where it is without him,” senior Ashley Finestead, Sequel art editor, said.

The release event, held last Monday at 7 p.m., provided magazine contributors an opportunity to read their submissions. Students were also offered a copy of the magazine upon arrival.

“It’s really a showcase for Simpson’s fine arts,” Wolf said.

In 2004, the Sequel staff consisted of 10 members. In 2005, there were 12 members. This year the staff continues to grow with a total of 19 members.

“The interest in the Sequel has sky rocketed,” Finestead said.

Finestead works mainly with the art portion of the magazine. She collects the art submissions and then meets with the art group on staff to consider each piece and discuss what works and what doesn’t.

“We give each piece a yes, no or maybe,” Finestead said.

All pieces classified as maybes are set aside and are worked into the publication if there is enough room.

Every year the staff tries to get more money so the magazine can have more pages and publish submissions.

“What we seek to do is increase the book size every year, so we include more works,” Wolf said.

According to Wolf, one unique thing about the Sequel is that it’s open to every person on campus. This means any student, faculty, or staff can submit a work of art or literature for consideration.

Most literary magazines do not have this feature. Some are only open to students and some are only open to scholars. Wolf has heard of some accepting outside work and is thinking about making the magazine open to students outside of Simpson.

One of the biggest features of this year’s Sequel is a large collection of short poetry. Wolf was pleased with the amount of submissions, but would like to see a wider variety of genres in the years to come.

“If someone wrote a short play we would certainly consider it,” Wolf said.

Working with the magazine has been a good experience for sophomore Danny Heggen. This is his first year working with the staff as a poetry editor, and he feels he has gained much from the experience.

“[This has been a good experience] along the lines of giving me experience in working in groups and with different pieces of art, editing things and putting them into publication,” Heggen said.

According to Wolf and Finestead, the Simpson community can expect a phenomenal issue.

“Each year it keeps getting better and better,” Wolf said.

Not only has the Sequel’s staff numbers increased, but so has the number of pages within it. Last year’s had 72 pages and this year’s issue will have around 80.

“In our publishing world, it’s pretty significant,” Wolf said.

Wolf and Finestead hope to continue to gain interest in the magazine so more students, faculty and staff submit their work in the coming years and also so more students begin to read it.

Senior Nicole Muell is proud of the Sequel and the work students have submitted.

“I enjoy the Sequel as all of Simpson campus should,” Muell said.