10 Year’s Young: Glass Mountain Celebrates Its Anniversary and New Boldface Conference Line-Up
March 16, 2017, by Erika Jo Brown
Glass Mountain magazine is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The upcoming issue, which will be released at a launch party on April 19, is a landmark event for this undergraduate literary publication. The journal’s name is inspired by a story from local legend Donald Barthelme.
Glass Mountain’s staff and editors in fiction, art, reviews, nonfiction, and poetry are all undergraduate students at UH, who receive submissions from the local community and internationally. Singular in its mission, it exists exclusively for writers who do *not* have an MFA or other higher degree in creative writing.
The team runs a popular monthly reading series and open mic at Bohemeo’s. They also produce the weeklong Boldface Conference for Emerging Writers that will run May 22-26. The conference includes twice-daily workshops, craft talks, readings, panels, and the chance for private manuscript consultations with visiting writers—Bill Broun in fiction, Leah Lax in nonfiction, and Hayan Charara in poetry. The conference is open to everyone. Please note that discounted early bird registration ends on March 22, regular registration is available through May.
UH English major Maryam Ahmed reflects on her Glass Mountain experience: “I attended Boldface as a poetry participant in 2015. I made tons of writing friends, and became more familiar with UH graduate students and the Houston literary scene at large. Now, I’m the poetry editor at Glass Mountain.”
Francesca Ervin, Glass Mountain fiction editor and UH media production major, exclaims, “This is the best issue we’ve ever done! We sifted through hundreds of submissions to find our favorite work.”
Georges Boulos, Glass Mountain financial manager and UH English major, describes his trajectory from a pre-med/biology major to an English major: “I’m able to apply my business acumen to a cause I believe in.”
LeeAnne Carlson, Glass Mountain editor and UH English major, met her mentor Gail Storey at Boldface. “She was the visiting nonfiction writer, and so I had a consult with her. She was incredibly affirming and made practical suggestions to take my piece to the next level. She continues to be in touch and invest in my success.”
Glass Mountain participates in arts events like MenilFest, AWP, Writespace Fest, and beyond. Feel free to contact Erika Jo Brown with questions about Glass Mountain or Boldface at boldfaceconference@gmail.com. To register for the conference click here.