Northern undergraduate students looking to have fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry or even artwork published have a new outlet to do so. The Lightkeeper is NMU’s official literary journal for undergraduates, published online once a month.

“We just got off the ground and our first issue was published in late January,” said senior Matt Mallum, editor in chief of The Lightkeeper.

The editorial board is comprised of 10 undergraduate students and meets every month to discuss which of the submitted pieces they would like to publish.

“We really try to publish the best work we can find, so not everything will be published, but we accept submissions from all undergraduates,” Mallum said.

Short stories, poems, nonfiction, literary critiques and even artwork can be submitted by undergraduate students of any major online through The Lightkeeper’s website.

“The main reason that we decided to start a journal like this is because previously there was no university venue for students like us to get our work published here,” Mallum said.

Mallum said that this is a good chance for students to get  publication credit, and that it’s one of the only opportunities at Northern for creative writers.

New this semester, The Lightkeeper has the official endorsement and funding of the NMU English department.

“This journal can be great if everyone takes it seriously and also if the whole student body works together to make it a great collaborative effort,” Mallum said.

The first issue features the winners of the Creative Writer’s Contest, along with fiction, poetry and artwork.

The Lightkeeper can be found online at nmulightkeeper.com, which is also where entries can be submitted.