For More Information:
Amy Kelly, College Communications Director
(218) 299-3642
W. Scott Olsen, ASCENT Editor
(218) 299-3705
SPECIAL EDITION OF ASCENT MAGAZINE PUBLISHES NOV. 1
Issue is W. Scott Olsen’s Last as Editor
ASCENT Magazine, a literary journal published at Concordia College, will publish a special issue this month to mark a change in editors. Featuring new work by New York Times best-selling authors, National Book Awards finalists, an Oprah’s Book Club author, Minnesota Book Award winners, poets Laureate from Utah, Montana, and Iowa, as well as authors in all stages of their literary careers, the special issue contains 21 short stories, 25 essays, and 78 poems.
This will be editor W. Scott Olsen’s final edition as he passes the magazine to Dr. Vincent Reusch, a fiction writer who teaches creative writing at Concordia College. Olsen, who teaches nonfiction writing and journalism at Concordia, took over as editor of the literary publication in 1996 and brought the venture to Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn. ASCENT is frequently cited in prestigious anthologies such as Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. The magazine began in 1975 at the University of Illinois with editor Dan Curley.
ASCENT has been called one of the roots of American literature by Esquire Magazine and “simply and unobtrusively one of the best” by the Literary Magazine Review. Film critic Roger Ebert was a student of founding editor Dan Curley, and Ebert’s affinity for the publication brought him to Concordia for a special presentation in 2003.
“ASCENT was an essential journal for me when I was a young writer,” Olsen says. “And it’s been a profound joy to help bring new work to light every year. Every new work is surprising and fresh.”
The upcoming issue can be found at https://readthebestwriting.com/.
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