Mesa Visions, Mesa’s newly revived student-run literary magazine, will be published this semester for the first time in more than five years.

Winners of the school-wide poetry and short fiction contest that ended on Oct. 8 will be featured in the magazine. Notifications to authors of prize-winning submissions will be sent no later than Oct. 29.

A ceremony will be held for the winners at the new art gallery on campus on Dec. 10. In addition, winners will also receive cash prizes.

“I think it’s wonderful that Mesa Visions is being started again,” said Patricia Vine of the Art Department, who collaborated with English Department Head Chris Sullivan on the last issue of Mesa Visions.

Currently, the magazine is in the process of being edited by the students of Honors English 249, Introduction to Creative Writing, who are assembling the magazine and holding the awards ceremony as part of the honors component of their class. Seven students in the class are part of a panel that will work with faculty judges to decide on the winners of the contest. Mesa Visions will also include submissions from students in the class.

Graphic artist Carol Beilstein of the Communication Services Department on campus will be in charge of the layout of the magazine.

Funding for the magazine will come from several sources. Elizabeth Armstrong, the Vice President of Instruction, has offered to fund 200 copies. Other funding will come from the Academic Senate, faculty, and the Associated Students. The San Diego Community College District Honors Program is also funding the class and the magazine.

The magazine was previously published by Mesa College more than five years ago but at that time was not part of a class.

The class and the contest are headed by professors Jennifer Cost and Wendy Smith of the English Department, who decided to revive Mesa’s literary magazine and recast it as a student-run publication after noting the success of City Works, a similar magazine published by students of City College.

“We really liked the idea that it was student run,” said Cost. “We also liked that it represented the voice of the students and was a really good way for our students to get involved in publication and that aspect of creative writing.”

Students of the class, in addition to working on the magazine, write creative pieces and review each other’s work.

“The students are so intense in this class,” said Smith. “They love to write, read [their work] out loud, participate in workshops, and give feedback. They respect each other and I like that a lot.”

Cost and Smith plan to offer this course every fall semester.

“We’re happy that Mesa College has a literary magazine again,” said Smith. “We hope to continue to have this course and to continue to refine it.”

Mesa Visions will go on sale for $6 at the end of the semester and its proceeds will be used to enable the class to publish future editions of the magazine.