By Andrea Davis
Photo by Michael Bald
Submissions to the TJC Bell Tower Arts Journal are due Nov. 12. The submission process has changed to only online applications to help reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19. Apply online at tjc.edu/belltower.
The TJC Bell Tower Arts Journal only accepts submissions of original, not previously published works of non-fiction essays, short fiction, graphic art, photography and poetry. Pre-published or plagiarized work will not be accepted. The journal’s editorial board is constantly seeking unique and insightful submissions displaying lively language and artistic skills.
Work deemed destructive, profane, exploitative, pornographic, racist, or seeking to cause injury to an individual or group will not be accepted. All entries must be accompanied
with a fully completed submission form for entry acceptance, according to the inside of the Bell Tower Arts Journal.
The Bell Tower Arts Journal is sponsored by the Psi Gamma Chapter of Sigma Kappa, the Tyler branch of the National English Honor Society.
According to the inside cover of the journal, “they give equal consideration to all applicants for admission, employment, and participation in its programs and activities without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability or veteran status.”
Dr. Linda Gary, professor and department chair of humanities, philosophy and general studies, created the journal in 2006.
“My favorite thing about the journal is that it is student focused and student generated,” Gary said. “Students design the cover and layout each year, and only student works are considered
for publication. Students are even part of the selection process.”
The TJC Bell Tower Arts Journal is named after the Bell Tower on campus and exists to highlight the artistic and literary works of TJC’s students. Each year the number of submissions to the journal changes, but the highest number of entries in one year was 70 total entries.
During the journal’s 14 years of production, it has won numerous awards, including three best overall literary magazine at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Conference. “Considering that the Literary Magazine category is an open division — we are up against literary magazines produced at four year universities that are large and well funded — that’s quite an honor,” Gary said. “It’s rather like winning Best Picture at the Oscars, and it is a testament to the stellar quality of the journal.”
