By Cidonia Ponce

Colorado State University Pueblo’s English department supports student writers through the Tempered Steel literary magazine. Submissions include fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays and even digital art. The magazine’s April 1 deadline is for current students and faculty of the university. 

Academic papers are not accepted. CSU Pueblo English students and professors recruit potential writers, publish and reject submissions, and proofread and lay out the completed edition.  

This year’s requirements include prose submissions of no more than 3000 words, and poetry should be in groups of three to six. Also, the artwork and visual submissions should be at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Along with the submitted pieces, students should include a short letter containing their NetID number, an alternative email address or phone number, and a concise biography written in the third person. The requirements for the biography can be fewer than three sentences about themselves, their major of study, writing experience and anything else they may want to include. 

Kyle Jackson is an English major at CSU Pueblo who has been involved with CSU Pueblo’s English department for three years. Jackson has also been published in an edition of CSU Pueblo’s Tempered Steel magazine and shared his insight on what being published means to him. 

“Getting published was really exciting and terrifying. I worked so hard, and it felt like it finally all paid off,” Jackson commented. 

Jackson shared why there was a feeling of terror, and it was only because of the vulnerability associated with the whole process. “But like everything else, that fear fades away with time,” Jackson stated. 

Although this opportunity exists at CSU Pueblo, not many students know or take advantage of the chance to be published. Jackson shared reasons why students should submit to a literary magazine and the benefits of that. 

“It’s super easy and quick. If anyone is interested in working on Tempered Steel next year, I would encourage them to talk to professor Morales. Also, take creative writing classes,” Jackson recommended. 

Tempered Steel has existed for over 20 years and was formally known as “The Hungry Eye.” When the Associate Dean of CHASS and Professor of English, Juan Morales, arrived at CSU Pueblo in 2008, the English department changed the name into something resembling what Pueblo is all about. 

Tempered Steel is not only an outside publishing source, but it is also a specific class that is offered to anyone taking classes at CSU Pueblo. Even though the course is only offered in the spring, students are still encouraged to participate and learn more about contributing to the university magazine. Interested students can search for the course “ENG 445 Magazine Editing” with Professor Morales in the Spring of 2024. 

Because of all the work that goes into getting Tempered Steel published, people interested in publishing stories are responsible for submitting the stories by a specific deadline. This is to ensure that there is still time for students to get published before the end of the Spring semester. 

This year, submissions need to be sent to temperedsteel.submittable.com/submit. For more information, students can call 719-549-2082 or email Juan Morales at [email protected].