The People Behind and on the Pages of Capilano University’s Own Literary Magazine
Mayumi Izumi // Contributor
Celia PR // Illustrator
For the first time in it’s over thirty-year history, Capilano University’s (CapU) student-run literary magazine The Liar has received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. This comes after their funding was cut by CapU this year.
“A lot of the times the arts are brushed aside. I think they’re not given the priority that they should be,” said The Liar’s current Editor-in-Chief, Sofia Navarro.
The grant money enabled the magazine to host a writing and design contest with $1500 in prize money. First-place winners in each category will win $500, second place $150, and third place $100. The deadline for the contest was December 10. The winners are to be announced
The Liar has been in print for 32 years, evolving from being a single-paged flyer named Thursday to the magazine it is now. Big names like Margaret Atwood, Charles Bukowski, R. Scott Bakker and CapU’s own Anne Stone have graced its pages. Despite being strongly connected to the Creative Writing program at the university, anyone can submit to the magazine.
“I like to publish mostly marginalized voices as [much as] I can and I like to focus on new writers and people who don’t necessarily get that opportunity all the time,” said Sarah Rose, The Liar’s former Editor-in-Chief who is now mentoring its new team. “It’s weird because I consider myself a perpetual student—and how am I supposed to mentor someone in something I basically taught myself how to do,” Rose added.
The Liar accepts submissions across various genres, including poetry, prose, scripts and screenplays, and visual art. Those interested in publishing their work in The Liar’s 2020-2021 annual issue can submit up to three pieces per medium (writing and art) by January 31st, 2021, and can submit for the Fall/Spring 2021 issue by March 14th, 2021.
To read more about the Liar and view their submission guidelines, visit their website.
Hello Sofia,
Along with Dave Gillis, I was the founding editor and publisher of The Liar. It’s wonderful that it is still ongoing. I think we were given $150-200, from the English dept. for the 1st year.
Just one note. In your history section about the mag, it says that it was initially called Thursday. That is incorrect. From the get go, it was called The Liar, which was Dave’s idea.
Keep up the good work,
Pieter