Department of English

Thistle: The Undergraduate Literary Arts Journal of the University of Idaho

History and Mission

Thistle, an imprint of the University of Idaho’s revered national literary magazine Fugue, was founded in 2022 by undergraduate Fugue interns, the MFA Program in Creative Writing, and the Department of English. Its mission is to publish the finest original undergraduate student fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and hybrid forms each year and to give aspiring editors hands-on experience with all facets of literary publishing, from acquisitions and editing to design and marketing. The journal, published in beautiful print editions at the end of each Spring semester—and distributed to the university community free of charge—is produced and edited exclusively by and for students.

Current Leadership

The current Editor-in-Chief is Victoria Rowles. Victoria may be reached at thistle@uidaho.edu between December 2024 and May 2025. Professor Michael McGriff serves as Faculty Advisor.

Availability

Physical copies of Thistle are available to students in the seating nook outside the Department of English Main Office (Brink Hall, Room 200) and in the There There student lounge (Brink Hall, Room 226). Thistle is professionally printed in a paperback edition of 400. Copies are distributed to the university community for free on a first-come, first-served basis.

ENGL 486: Thistle Editing and Publishing

English 486 is offered for 3 credits during the Spring semester of each year. You may take ENGL 486 up to two times (6 credits, max). Enrollment in ENGL 486 is by permission only. If you wish to enroll in ENGL 486, please reach out to the current Faculty Advisor Michael McGriff during course registration and express your interest. Due to the limited space, experienced students and Juniors and Seniors may be given preference. Participating in this class gives student editors hands-on experience with all facets of literary publishing, from acquisitions and editing to design and marketing. In ENGL 486, students work under the leadership of the current Editor-in-Chief. Thistle is run as a real-world literary journal, so think of taking ENGL 486 as working for a small publishing company. Students in this class will be broken into editorial groups and work collaboratively with the Editor-in-Chief to ensure that, by the end of the Spring semester, the class has published the new issue of Thistle. Participants in this course will also interface with the editorial team of Fugue, who will visit ENGL 486 to offer advice, share expertise, and lead small discussions about publishing and editing. NOTE: ENGL 486 is rigorous, demanding, and functions according to a tight, real-world production schedule. A willingness to work long hours, collaborate, compromise, solve problems in a group setting, and share ideas is central to the success of Thistle; if this sounds exciting and meaningful to you, we hope to see you in ENGL 486.

Submitting Your Writing to Thistle

For the current submission guidelines, please click the Submissions tab.

How to Get Involved

The best way to get involved with Thistle is to become part of the vibrant creative writing community here on campus. The department of English offers several courses in Creative Writing each year, all of which are taught by dedicated working writers (see the current course schedule for class offerings). Students may also gain invaluable editing experience by interning for Fugue.

Fugue internships are offered for 1 to 2 credits in ENGL 298 (for first-time participants) and ENGL 498 (for those repeating the internship). The U of I Writing Center also hosts the very popular Creative Writing Circle, an informal space for students to share work and form community. To serve on the editorial team for Thistle, you must take ENGL 486.

Serving on the Masthead

The lead editorial positions at Thistle change each year. Near the end of the Spring semester, the current Editor-in-Chief and Faculty Advisor will issue a call for the next generation of Thistle leadership. These key editorial roles include: Editor-in-Chief, Book Designer, Lead Fiction Editor, Lead Nonfiction Editor, and Lead Poetry Editor. Only one student may serve in any given role. For current editorial application guidelines, please follow the Call for Editors tab.