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The Lantern Literary Magazine

The Lantern showcases the best of Ursinus student poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and artwork. It has been a staple of Ursinus since 1933. 

Lantern 2023The Lantern, which is devoured each spring by faculty and students who find it in serendipitous places about the campus, has its origins as an eight-page literary supplement in Ursinus Weekly newspaper in the 1900s. In 1933,  however, a note in the first stand-alone publication was produced.

From then on, literary expression has thrived in The Lantern. The name honors the top of Pfahler Hall, and symbolizes “the light shed by creative work,” according to the first issue. Professor of English Jon Volkmer, who heads the Ursinus Creative Writing program, is the longtime Lantern faculty advisor. “I have seen so many works such of courage and beauty and humor that I can only shake my head in amazement,” he stated in a 2008 Ursinus Magazine article about the Lantern. “The students gladly take on the work and responsibility, and …. produce a wonderful literary journal.”

The Lantern showcases the best of Ursinus student poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction and artwork. The works span the gamut from tearful to hilarious, scary to sublime, stark to baroque.

The Lantern is devoted exclusively the the work of Ursinus students. Submissions month is October for the issue that appears the following April. Sorry, we will not consider submissions from non-Ursinus students. For more information about The Lantern and creative writing at Ursinus College, contact Jon Volkmer, Professor of English jvolkmer@ursinus.edu.

Submitting to the 2023 The Lantern

  • Submissions Open for the Lantern

    Submissions to The Lantern literary magazine are open until midnight on Tuesday, November 1st. Current students are able to submit their Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, Drama, and Visual Arts pieces. All submissions are automatically entered into consideration for prizes (the Prose Prize, the Poetry Prize, and the Creager Prize), from which you could earn some cash!

    Submission instructions can be found in your Ursinus email from The Lantern. Questions should be emailed to lantern@ursinus.edu or Lantern editor Kate Foley kafoley@ursinus.edu.


Acceptance letters to authors who submitted this year will be sent individually in December. The issue will be available to the public in April of 2023, and details about the Lantern Launch event will become available later in the spring.

View guidelines for written submissions
Poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, strange hybrids—anything that’s words on pages.

View guidelines for photo and artwork submissions
photography, painting, drawing, print-making, sculpture—anything that can be digitally put on a page.

Questions? Contact editor Kate Foley kafoley@ursinus.edu.