"I am interested in your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter"

August 8, 2009 11:03 AM

Suggestions for English department newsletter?

I am an Associate Editor for the English department newsletter at my uni, and am looking for hive mind input and suggestions. The newsletter has not changed a great deal over the past couple of years; it is 4-6 pages, usually one issue each month, and content has included noteworthy accomplishments of faculty and graduate students, faculty profiles (and their own tips on writing) awards, new faculty, new course offerings, news about publications, readings or other events, informal polls of students about favorite authors / books, etc. There is usually a clever “literary” quote and a list of author birthdays on the cover, and a themed crossword on the back (completed crosswords are entered for a prize, usually a book relating to the crossword theme).

I’m thinking I want to include an inset with upcoming conferences of note, but I’m unsure of what else to add—I want to hear what clever suggestions you all might have for me. I’ll have fairly wide latitude with content, and the content will dictate layout. It’s simple, follows formal conventions, and is conversational and friendly in tone.

What cool or clever ideas might you have for me?

posted by exlotuseater to writing & language (5 comments total)

Calendar of local events? Poetry readings, author signings, plays, etc.

A literary cartoon.

Student/faculty works (short poem, flash fiction, art).

Maybe a section with a review of a website (literary studies. writing, language tools, etc.).
posted by cjorgensen at 11:32 AM on August 8

As someone whose job involves putting together from scratch a quarterly newsletter for a state government agency, let me ask a question. What about the format? Is this a Microsoft Publisher Affair, or do you use Quark or InDesign? Publisher sucks balls, and it makes design changes a pain in the ass.

Sometimes a little design change is all you need to get people to take a fresh look. If a design change is out, sometimes, all you need to do to get people to take a fresh look is sex up the writing a little. Instead of just saying, so and so is presenting at Conference X, do a brief interview and turn a rote announcement into something a little personal and feature-y.
posted by dortmunder at 11:37 AM on August 8

I would try to get a rotation going where faculty and engaged students produce content for the newsletter. Devote, say, half a page to this, and don't make the parameters too strict, except that it should be unrelated to their academic work. This could include less serious book/movie reviews and recommendations, short travel pieces, off-the-wall anecdotes, etc. Done correctly, you could increase your readership, your audience involvement and interest. Try to line up a few popular faculty members early on, so that students will get started reading. Faculty readership is probably the easiest, because they're going to be there for a long time and you only need to snag them a few times in order to get them to develop a habit of reading your newsletter. Students, on the other hand, are cyclical. Things that are very lively for years may die without warning when one engaged student graduates with no successor.

Of course, this is a moot point if you are yourself a student.
posted by sonic meat machine at 3:46 PM on August 8

interviews with local authors? it could be interesting reading, good for the authors, and fun networking or inspiration readers and interviewers alike.

I also like the suggestion for the calendar of events, especially extending outside the university. If there is some sort of demand for it, including a "meet at X to travel together to Y for the reading of The Z Chronicles!" or whatever.
posted by whatzit at 1:09 AM on August 9

How about asking current students to write profiles of faculty (especially new faculty) and alumni who are making good and interesting use of their English degrees?

And how about "Top Ten List" round ups? Ask faculty (maybe just a few add a time, depending on how big the department is) to list their all-time favorite novels, poems, children's books, books on a cold winter day, vacation reads, texts about food, . . . .
posted by pittsburgher at 11:58 PM on August 9