Students share their published works at Washington Square Review reading
Hope Tury performs a reading of her work, “The Light,” which is published in the Washington Square Review Star Edition during the spring reading event in the Dart Auditorium. Photo courtesy of Caitlyn Barshaw.
By Nicole Wadkins
Staff Reporter
On March 20, the Washington Square Review held its spring reading in the Dart Auditorium, which was free and open to the public. The formal reading featured categories of fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction (essays). The student readers were Caitlin Barshaw, Hope Tury, Rebecca Garcia, Joseph Esper, Elizabeth Benson, Madeline Konieczny, Finney Clarkson and Sawyer Nischan.
The journal is part of the college’s creative writing community and is tied to LCC’s Associate of Arts degree in creative writing. This gives students opportunities to showcase their works through events like the spring reading. Students in the program take courses like Creative Writing I and II, Writing the Novel and Prose Style. Those who graduate with this degree are also able to satisfy the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA), which ensures students their credits will transfer smoothly to another university in Michigan.
Student reader Sawyer Nischan performs a reading of their works, “Club lights,” “there
is nothing to write about.” and “The Red Kitchen” in the Dart Auditorium. All of their
works are also published in the Washington Square Review Star Edition. Photo courtesy
of Elizabeth Benson.
The Washington Square Review publishes two editions each year. The Star Edition is released in the spring, which features the creative work of LCC students, alumni, and sometimes LCC faculty. The works in the Star Edition are selected by faculty editors. The Worldwide Edition features the creative work from those all around the world. This edition is edited by the college’s creative writing students and is released during the summer.
Beyond public readings, the journal also offers students opportunities. One of the editors of the Washington Square Review is Melissa Lucken, an English professor at LCC. “Students have opportunities to participate in performance reading events and gain real world editorial experience,” Lucken said in an email.
Additionally, Lucken stated that students in the advanced creative writing class are the commissioning editors for the Washington Square Review’s Worldwide Edition. “Students learn how to use Submittable, the industry standard software for writing submissions to literary journals and learn how to evaluate and select work based on editorial standard,” she said.
The college also supports the journal through its Washington Square On-Air podcast. This is also hosted by Lucken, who interviews creative writing students and authors that were published in the journal. Students who participated in the readings are invited to appear on the podcast near the end of the semester.
Students interested in submitting their own work should look out for the call for submissions, which are announced at the end of the spring semester and remain open until the beginning of the fall semester. Submissions can be sent to WSR@star.lcc.edu.
The Washington Square Review Star Edition: Spring 2026 is now available on Amazon in either paperback or eBook format. Read the works published by your classmates!
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