The Harbinger
The Harbinger is housed at Texas Tech University, a public university in Lubbock, Texas. They publish: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and visual art. They also accept pieces that fall into other genres; for example, in the past, they have collaborated with the Texas Tech School of Music to showcase student-written scores, or with students involved in jewelry-making to include pictures of their medium.
They exclusively accept pieces from undergraduate students at Texas Tech.
The Harbinger staff operates on a volunteer basis, composed entirely of undergraduate students at Texas Tech. The journal is student-led and considered an extracurricular activity. Every fall, they open staff applications for students from all majors to apply and help with the editing, design, and advertising of each issue. Although they are student-led, they do work alongside the TTU Press and receive support from the English Department, Honors College, College of Arts and Sciences, and more to promote and guide each publication.
How does your magazine fit into your broader campus or literary community?
The literary community at Texas Tech has been small in the past, but many organizations have contributed to the ongoing development of the community. The Harbinger works in partnership with the Texas Tech University Press to get guidance on publishing practices. We also host readings and workshop opportunities that invite and encourage students to share their writing, get feedback from students, and interact with other students with similar literary interests.
What have you found most exciting about working for or advising your magazine?
The most exciting thing about working with our publication is how different every year’s publication is. We are constantly in awe of the talent that exists at Texas Tech University, and every year we get to witness new writers finding their voice and an outlet to share their work through The Harbinger. Lubbock is referred to as the “Hub City” due to its prominence in West Texas and the traffic that it attracts from the major cities surrounding it, and the Texas Tech student population reflects this diversity between city and country, as well as boasting a large number of out of state and international students. It is The Harbinger’s honor to read and provide a platform to so many unique voices.
Where are you right now in the production cycle for your next issue?
As of right now, we are still collecting submissions and preparing to begin the selection and editorial process. Our submission window is typically open from October-December, so we are working on promoting submission. Recently, we have been working alongside creative writing professors at Texas Tech to encourage students to submit their work to the publication. Our readers and editors will begin the screening and editorial process over winter break.
Describe your magazine in three emojis!
🎨🪜🕊️
The palette represents the artistry and creativity of Texas Tech students that we get to highlight through our publication. The ladder is symbolic of our goal to elevate student voices and connections we establish with students and their works of creative expression. The bird is representative of our name: The Harbinger. The term “Harbinger” means to announce something approaching in the future, in which we announce the publication of the talents and narratives of our student authors.
What do you think is the biggest challenge faced by undergraduate literary magazines?
Outreach is always a challenge, especially at a large university. In the interest of diversity, we always strive to make sure that students from all majors are aware of The Harbinger and the opportunities they have through our publication, but this can be hard to do. Recently, we have worked with the Honors College in an attempt to reach a broader array of majors, especially STEM majors. Despite these challenges, we are grateful that we receive submissions from various disciplines and have faculty that assist us in spreading the word about our journal.