University of Iowa student publications are now housed in the Adler Journalism Building.
This move comes after the recent establishment of the University of Iowa’s Office of Writing and Communication, which opened on January 1. Already a national leader in writing, the university hopes to “unify, amplify, and expand the university’s rich legacy as a global leader in writing and communication” with the office, said the Office of Strategic Communication in a 2025 press release.
With this development, the Magid Center for Writing, which formerly housed the student publications, was dissolved, and the physical space and staff support dedicated to student publications moved to Adler.
Current and back issues of student publications are now available in the Student Center in Adler. They are free for all students to browse or take home.
Lynne Inouye, the assistant publisher for the publication Ink Lit Magazine, is looking forward to attracting a larger audience in Adler.
“I feel like in Adler, all the literary magazines are much more accessible because we have a lot of foot traffic, and we have a lot of people coming in here to study,” she said. “I think we’ll get a lot more copies being taken and being taken home, which is the point of literary magazines.”
As one of the few upperclassmen behind Ink Lit, Inouye teaches much of her staff—who are all first-year students—how to create a magazine. She supervises the entire publishing process, from reading submissions to magazine promotion and planning a launch party.
In addition to Ink Lit, University of Iowa students run over a dozen publications on campus. These range from broad literary and art magazines to publications focusing on a single genre or subject, such as creative nonfiction or LGBTQ+ voices. Any student can submit their writing to these publications, regardless of major or path of study—in fact, Inouye encourages students from various majors to submit.
“We have a very robust English and creative writing program, but writers are everywhere, you know?” said Inouye. “We have work submitted by STEM majors, by people in pre-med, by journalism, by [communications], so on and so forth.”
Tracy Meginnis, the Student Publications Coordinator, also anticipates that the resources available in Adler will benefit these publications.
“A valuable [resource] is the Student Center, which already has a really great infrastructure to support student publications. They have peer tutors who have a lot of knowledge of the programs that are used for publishing,” Meginnis said. "There are dedicated Mac Labs, so that if students need to access the Adobe Suite, they have these spaces available to them.”
Meginnis stresses that these publications are student-managed, which gives each staff member as much experience as possible. However, students from these publications can come to Meginnis's office in Adler for mentorship, financial and budgeting questions, and inquiries about the editorial process.
Positions in student publications range from leadership roles like executive editors and creative directors to more relaxed positions like genre editors and social media managers. Inouye says that her role as managing editor for Ink Lit in her first year was “really valuable” in forming the person she is today.
“Coming to Iowa, I was an out-of-state student. I was really nervous that I wasn’t going to make friends,” she said. “I lacked a lot of confidence, and I found a lot of that [confidence] within Ink Lit, being given that leadership position.”
Students gain real-world experience by hiring their own staff, reviewing submissions, arranging meetings, and promoting their publications.
“Sometimes, students who are active on the literary magazines have gone on to work with presses or get really cool internships with the big five publishing houses,” Meginnis said. “It often looks really good to have that experience with running everything, from gathering and designing the content to just the administrative work of producing a student publication.”
Both Inouye and Meginnis are excited to see how creative writing and journalism interact with the move to Adler. Inouye hopes that in the future, Ink Lit Magazine continues to welcome more journalism majors onto its staff, while Meginnis is interested to see how working in the same building as The Daily Iowan, an active newsroom, inspires the publication process.
Applications for positions on student publications typically open at the end of the spring semester or at the start of each semester, depending on their publishing schedule. These positions are open to any undergraduate student with an interest in the publication.
Students can follow each publication on social media, particularly Instagram, to hear updates about submission deadlines, launch parties, and special events.