Since 1933, The Shinnery Review, formerly known as The Pickwicker, a name based on Dicken’s Pickwick Papers, has been a student-led art and literary magazine of ACU. This magazine publishes student work such as creative writing, poetry, prose, photography and all mediums of art from the undergrad community, and this is its 90th year of being published. 

The Shinnery Review began accepting submissions for the ‘23 – ‘24 issue on Oct. 11 and will close on March 1. The annual unboxing event, The Black Tulip, will happen in late April or early May.

Micah Bryant, senior English major with a minor in Art from Joshua, is the Prose Editor for The Shinnery Review.

“Any undergraduate student at ACU can be involved with The Shinnery Review,” Bryant said. “All students are welcome to submit their work to be considered for publication, and we also invite students from any field to join our staff or become officers.”

The Shinnery Review hosts a chapel every Wed at 11 in room 219 of the Hardin Administration building that lasts around 30-45 minutes. Students who regularly attend chapel are considered part of the staff, and they get to review all submissions for publication. If anyone is interested in being an officer, they can apply during the fall semester.

Katherine Spruce, senior English teaching major from Flower Mound, is one of the co-editors of The Shinnery Review.

“Each Monday, our members will receive an email from us, the editors, about which pieces to look over before chapel, and then on Wednesday, we evaluate those pieces as a group,” Spruce said. “We open the floor up to everyone who attends and invite people to share their thoughts and constructive, suggested revisions for each piece that we are considering publishing. Our chapels are a space for people to communicate how they felt about the pieces as they represent the audience of students on campus who will read the final publication. ”

To submit to The Shinnery Review, students should attach their file in an email to theshinneryreview@gmail.com. Multiple submissions need to be sent as separate files, and the applicant’s name shouldn’t be listed anywhere on the file. Contact information needs to be listed in the body of the email. More information about submissions can be found on their website.

Araliya Dooldeniya, senior English major with minors in History & European Cultural Studies from Austin, is the other co-editor of The Shinnery Review.

“The goal of The Shinnery Review is to promote and celebrate student arts through showcasing poetry, prose, art and photography in both an annual publication and live events to offer all at ACU a creative space for students to express themselves with the added bonus of getting published,” Dooldeniya said. 

The current officers include Maddie Edwards, Levi Cox, Micah Bryant, Anna Johnston, Abby Madera, Alli Dimmit, Dooldeniya and Spruce. The faculty sponsors are Dr. Shelly Sanders, Dr. Jeremy Elliott and Dr. Steven Moore. 

If you are interested in keeping up with The Shinnery Review on social media, their Instagram is @acushinneryreview.