“What flavor do you write in?” asks the Talisman staff, in need of your student poems, short stories, photos or drawings by March 14th, 2008 for the 38th edition of the Talisman.

The Talisman is a yearly magazine that displays a showcase of student creations. The editorial committee for the Talisman meets every week to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each piece, than they decide on which ones they would like to add into the magazine.

“Our criteria is something that is well-written, original, and has an awareness of what makes language interesting as opposed to same old same old,” Katherine Harer, Talisman advisor said. “A sense of rhythm, a sense of unity, not a lot of clique, would be great.”

The magazine wasn’t always titled Talisman, just like it hasn’t always been the same size, color, or theme. Some of the first issues from the 70’s were called Agora. Some issues have been larger, some very thin, and all consisted of various themes. This year’s theme is ice cream and it’s the 38th flavor, as they call it.

Deanna (DeeDee) Welch, one of the Talisman editors said, “We had no ideas for a theme this year, I think we were hungry so we chose an ice cream theme.”

This year, they are offering two contests with cash prizes. The contests offered are the Dorothy Dutcher and Victoria Alvarado awards which were created in order to honor two English teachers that passed away. According to Harer, Dutcher had a great love for poetry and journals, whereas Alvarado loved fictional short stories.

The journal part of the Dutcher contest hasn’t been very successful in the past years. Harer believes this is due to blogging, e-mailing, and people just being too busy to keep journals. However, they get between 200-300 entries and they print about 40-50 poems, 5-8 short stories, and artwork usually depends on size.

“We usually get a good mix without trying because Skyline is such a great diverse place,” Harer said. “There’s so many people of different ages, backgrounds, and experiences.”

The winners of the contests will be selected by teachers, who also write, that are chosen by Harer to judge the student’s work. The winners will be notified in April, close to when the magazine will be ready for print.

For some creative writing students, like Welch, they get chosen by Harer to be a part of the editorial committee. Some people can volunteer, but it’s up to Harer’s discretion on who gets chosen.

Welch said, “I was actually surprised that she chose me, I hadn’t even heard of the Talisman until last semester.”

Welch was also surprised on how many entries that have already been submitted. So far, they’ve gotten a few poems, but more short stories. According to Welch, the editorial committee has been pretty easy so far because they’ve liked everything that’s come in.

Welch thinks once they get some artwork and chose the cover page, they’ll have to knuckle down on what the final pieces are that’ll be in the magazine. This year, she’ll even be submitting some of her own artwork into the Talisman.

The winners will be given a certificate, their check, and a chance to read their work. The Talisman award ceremony will be held on Thurs. May 22nd.

Harer said, “It’s a ritual that we do for the magazine and a tradition that Skyline’s had since before I was even here.”

The Associated Students have been very generous by helping with the funding of the Talisman.

Harer said, “Without the help of associated students, we wouldn’t have the magazine, so we’ve just been really thankful for their support.”

We have a really good responsible editorial committee and were working really well together, according to Harer.

Welch said, “We have creative editors, good writers, and fun people.”