Muse releases 23rd issue

Content is rooted in personal experiences and self-reflection

Image supplied by: Supplied by Muse
The cover is visually striking.

The 23rd issue of Muse comes out Friday, Nov. 26.

Since its inception in 2011, Muse has been an outlet for creatives at Queen’s. The student-run magazine releases a print issue once per semester—the wide variety of topics covered includes fashion, writing, music, and visual arts. 

Megan Fanjoy, editor in chief of Muse, spoke with The Journal about all the hard work that was involved in creating the newest issue.

“For a lot of people, they might see [the pandemic] as having stunted their growth or creativity, but what’s been amazing is to watch our team members truly rise to the occasion,” she said.

As a result, the work featured in Issue 23 is highly personal.

“I really tried to push [my team] to think about ‘what can we learn from our experiences?’ and for a lot of people, that’s meant a lot of reflection, whether it’s by themselves or with their roommates or their families if they were living at home.”

Issue 23 features 16 written articles ranging from serious to speculative. Readers should expect to be challenged by moving pieces detailing writers’ personal experiences with religious trauma and sexual violence. Some of the more light hearted pieces discuss the fashion industry’s future and how TikTok is changing music. 

“I think what you’ll find with our 23rd issue is that our writers are taking everything they’ve learned and reflected on within themselves, and [projecting that] onto the art,” Fanjoy said.

“Obviously, there’s a lot there, and there’s a lot of different content, but I think that really speaks to how thoughtful everyone on our team has been. It speaks to how much growth there has been, and how our writers are willing to step up to the plate.”

As editor in chief, Fanjoy oversees the publication’s 105 staff members who are split between five portfolios: business, marketing, the print team, the online team, and, of course, the creative team. Each of these subdivisions is led by a director. 

“My five directors do amazing work to oversee all of our contributors, all of our writers, our illustrators, our creative assistants, creative directors, makeup artists, models—it truly is a whole production,” Fanjoy explained. 

Issues of Muse had a centralized theme back in its early days. However, the publication has done away with thematic restrictions over the last few years. 

“From what I’ve learned from past Editors in Chief and people involved with Muse is that sometimes [themes] are a bit of a hindrance to creativity,” Fanjoy explained. “[Now], the theme and cohesion within each issue emerge from the layout designers.”

Their process is working—Muse took home a silver medal last year in the “academic” category of the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. 

Fanjoy said Issue 23 has been pre-selected for consideration in both the academic and business-to-business divisions. 

“It is a pretty big deal for those that are hoping to get into independent publishing,” Fanjoy said. 

“The experience that people gain from working at Muse really does lend them to working the creative field post-undergraduate.” 

Follow Muse on Instagram to keep up with all their content.

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MUSE Magazine

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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