FAQs

The Mockingbird is the annual literary magazine produced by East Tennessee State University students. Although the Department of Literature and Language provides advisors for the magazine, students create the magazine. The magazine enjoys the sponsorship of the College of Arts and Sciences, and it also enjoys the generosity of the ETSU Honors College.

A search through the archives indicates that the magazine has almost always borne the name The Mockingbird, with only a couple of instances where the cover reads Mockingbird and one odd instance where it reads Mockingbirds.

Any currently enrolled ETSU student is welcome to submit material to The Mockingbird, including part-time students, students at our satellite campuses, and students enrolled only in online ETSU courses. Since we accept submissions during the fall semester, even students who graduate in the December of the academic year are eligible to submit during their final semester of enrollment.

The Mockingbird accepts a wide range of material. Literary submissions include poetry, fiction, nonfiction prose, and short drama. As far as subject matter goes, university students create the magazine for an audience that consists primarily of a university community, and the subject matter (and treatment of that subject matter) reflects the interests of the creators and audience.

The Mockingbird seeks literary submissions during the fall semester. Calls for literary submissions usually appear in mid-September, with a deadline of late October.

The Mockingbird usually appears in mid- to late April. We hold an annual Jack Higgs Reading to promote the magazine and honor the magazine's first faculty adviser. The Mockingbird is designed by the ETSU Press.

You can find instructions for submission on our submissions page.

We have a limited number of current issues and back issues available. Please contact us about specific back issues to determine their availability; issues, both current and back issues, cost $6 each to cover our shipping and handling costs. Recent issues are available for download on our Archives page.