No. 24 applications are now live here.

Applications close Friday, January 24th @ 11:59 p.m. CST.

1/ This issue’s steering themes.

2/ Visual & literary inspirations.

3/ Sample writing pitches.

4/ How to join
No. 24 staff.

5/ SPARK’s Zero-Tolerance Policy.

GUIDE TO NO. 24

Pivoting away from MOTOR’s focus on driving forces, Issue No. 24 fixes its gaze on the end of the highway — the place where that drive has led us. In this newfound stillness, a new space unfolds: one in which we may experiment with themes of disembodiment, sensation, and somatic experience.

No. 24 is a collection of the many forms the body can assume and the various ways in which we may exist — the physical, the emotional, the sensational, and all that lies beyond.

LITERARY INSPIRATIONS

LA COLUMNA ROTA BY FRIDA KAHLO / PLACES I’VE TAKEN MY BODY BY MOLLY MCCULLY BROWN / JENNIFER’S BODY / ON BEING ILL BY VIRGINIA WOOLF / LOVE LIES BLEEDING / THE WHALE / POOR THINGS / FRANKENSTEIN BY MARY SHELLEY / PRISCILLA / I SAW THE TV GLOW / CARRIE / THE EDIBLE WOMAN BY MARGARET ATWOOD / THE CANCER JOURNALS BY AUDRE LORDE / MILK FED BY MELISSA BRODER / HUNGER BY ROXANE GAY / HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADO / A LITTLE LIFE BY HANYA YANAGIHARA / THE SUBSTANCE / TIMECODE OF A FACE BY RUTH OZEKI / DETRANSITION, BABY BY TORREY PETERS / TANGERINE / REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES / THE IRON CLAW / THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS BY REBECCA SKLOOT / WHERE I SLEPT BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT / PREACHER’S DAUGHTER BY ETHEL CAIN / TURNING RED / LIVE THROUGH THIS BY HOLE / LUNGS BY FLORENCE & THE MACHINE / PARABLE OF THE SOWER BY OCTAVIA E. BUTLER / WRITTEN ON THE BODY BY JEANNETTE WINTERSON

VISUAL INSPIRATIONS

HAUTE COUTURE / SCHIAPARELLI / MAISON MARGIELA / MEDICINAL HISTORY / ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SS 1998 / ART HORROR / H.P. LOVECRAFT / COSMICISM / BASQUIAT / TATTOO CULTURE / LOBOTOMY / BODY HORROR/ GOTHIC LITERATURE / MUTATION / HUMAN / UNVEIL / PERFUME ADS

SAMPLE WRITING PITCHES

For Print writing applicants — try to not pitch stories too similar to these pitches. They are meant to serve as inspiration for your own pitches, both in terms of format and guiding themes.

Photo: Petra Collins

My Body is a Mobile Home

I stare at my own reflection as I wait for my group therapist to send me her latest list of insurance-approved nutritionists. I allow the email to sit, unopened, in my inbox for days, then weeks, until it goes stale as the bread that I’ve never bothered to turn into the decadent double-decker sandwiches and avocado toasts I see in my Pinterest board dreams.

When I read, I lose myself in stories of waifish women who barely remember what they’ve had for breakfast. I’m sure that by reading about them I will become more like them, but by nighttime, I sit awake and shove calorie-dense, packaged brownies into the thin slit between my lips. I don’t think as I do this. I barely feel my fingertips, but I open my notes app and swipe through running tallies of grocery orders I’d like to make and meals I dream of preparing.

They’re great feasts — chickpeas, feta, sundried tomatoes, Hot Cheetos and cream cheese. Sometimes, I cave — drive the ten minutes to go to the grocery store, and fill my cart with a hundred dollars of foodstuffs. I’ll eat half as much in one sitting, then swear myself to abstinence the next day.

My Body is a Mobile Home examines the limits of my living in my body — a temple I’ve never gotten around to worshipping, only pivoting between idolatry and debasement.

By Senior Print Editor Andreana Joi Faucette

Photo: Gabrielle Schmelzle on Pinterest

Contracontrol

I imagined taking a pill daily and gaining half my body weight. I imagined getting a tiny rod implanted in my arm, and silently sobbing on a table as a doctor attempted to cut it out. I imagined a piece of metal getting adhered to my cervix without any pain medication, and feeling what many had described as the “worst pain of their life.” I imagined looking at myself in the mirror, and not seeing me, not feeling excited to be myself, feeling numb.

I wanted to be myself. I wanted my body to function as is. That is what makes birth control so tricky: if you don’t give a pill the chance to ruin you, a baby just might.

Contracontrol will dwell on the fears that already commonly arise around birth control. It will venture into the nightmare scenario many people with uteruses must contend with: to prevent a loss of autonomy entirely, you must give away control of your body and mind to lab-made hormones.

By Associate Print Editor Danielle Yampuler

Photo: Zachary Chick

Dining for One

In front of me sits my death row meal: an English muffin, cold from the fridge, slathered in lukewarm Nutella. It comes with a rerun of an old doctor show and an apartment kitchen that has run out fresh produce. I find myself lying on the carpet, socks shucked off, because I can.

I chew. My teeth and my tongue feel like my own.

With my roommates gone, my meals have become inspired — or perhaps deranged. Dining for One will explore my journey as a chef alone in my apartment, my very own crooked teeth, and the way that pure self-indulgence brings us back to earth.

By Associate Print Editor Ariel Barley

Photo: Ali on Pinterest

can i borrow your kidney?

When someone donates a kidney, one is sent into overdrive to make up for the other’s absence. The kidney was donated as an act of good — a sacrifice made to cure another person’s hardship. It’s the rare sacrifice that doesn’t take away much value from the host – only of course if the other kidney is willing to pick up the slack and deal with the aftermath.

The sedentary kidney becomes defiant and jealous. Why does its brother get to be made a martyr?

can i borrow your kidney? explores the decision of who gets to leave and who keeps a system going. It seeks to examine the clash between your responsibility to the people you choose, your identity and your family. It struggles with how much we are supposed to maintain the system we were born into, how much we are supposed to maintain those we chose, and when it is ethical to break free.

By Associate Print Editor William Beachum

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE THEME?

Keep an eye on our social media for posts about in-person tabling and info sessions during the week of August 26th. You can also contact us at the following emails:

For creative application questions, contact directors at
creative@sparkmagazinetx.com

For writing application questions, contact editors at
editorial@sparkmagazinetx.com

For design application questions, contact directors at
design@sparkmagazinetx.com

For business application questions, contact directors at
business@sparkmagazinetx.com

For general inquiries, contact Divya Konkimalla at
managing@sparkmagazinetx.com

To reach the Editor In Chief, contact Vi Cao at
editor@sparkmagazinetx.com

BECOMING A PART OF NO. 24 STAFF

How to Apply:

1/ Complete the application here. You may only apply to three departments and if accepted, can hold a maximum of two positions.

2/ Before you submit, ensure that all Google files have been set to “Anyone with the link can view.” Due to the volume of applications we receive, any application we cannot fully access is automatically disqualified.

3/ Applications close Friday, January 24th @ 11:59 p.m. CST. No late submissions will be considered. If offered a position, keep an eye out on your email inbox for an acceptance letter and immediate next steps by Monday, January 27th.

Terms of Eligibility:

1/ You must be a registered undergraduate or graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin.

2/ You do not need prior editorial experience, but may be asked to produce a portfolio depending on the department-specific application.

3/ Upon acceptance, you must consent to signing a Work Release Form and Liability Release Form. This is so you can work on photoshoots and we can publish your work in print and online!

4/ You must be 18+ years old at the time of application submission.

5/ You must agree to uphold SPARK’s zero-tolerance policy and understand that failure to comply with our standards will result in immediate dismissal from staff.

To offer a broad range of opportunities, SPARK is divided into four branches — EDITORIAL, CREATIVE, DESIGN, and BUSINESS — that all together house 13 departments. You can apply to any three of them and hold a maximum of two positions.

EDITORIAL

Departments: Print, Web.

Writers concept, pitch, and draft stories for our website, biannual print issues, and sometimes serve as ad hoc copywriters throughout the semester.

CREATIVE

Departments: Modeling, Photography, Styling, Set Styling, Videography, Hair & Makeup.

As members of SPARK’s largest branch, creatives work on- and off-set to produce editorial-level visual assets published on the website and in biannual print issues.

DESIGN

Departments: Layout, Graphic Design.

Designers are in charge of magazine layouts, digital art, front-end web development, and producing other mixed-media assets for print and online publication.

BUSINESS

Departments: Social Media, Marketing, Events.

Business branch members plan and host events, manage our newsletter, create and organize SPARK merchandise, work with big fashion/makeup brands, and keep our social media up-to-date.

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY

SPARK does not and will never tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, class, national origin, religion, age, or disability. As a non-UT affiliated organization, SPARK’s Executive Board reserves the right to permanently dismiss any leadership or staff member whom it feels has failed to uphold SPARK’s standards of fairness, equity, and inclusion. We are under no obligation to facilitate an accused member’s defense or obtain permission from the university.

For more information about applying to SPARK, refer to our FAQ or contact us.

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