They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.
But what about a university press that switched from newspaper to magazine format after 49 years? Please, I’m begging you: judge us by our beautiful, glossy covers.
The content behind those covers is also worthy of praise.
VIU was busier than usual this year, and I’m proud of the coverage we provided: Justin Trudeau’s town hall, the sexual harassment case against VIU, campus construction, and the lack of parking spaces—to name a few.
We published fiction for the first time, which contributed to our robust literature section. We also paid for all in-print literature, another first, including poetry (from three-line haiku to 40-line free verse).
VIU is more than just its degree programs. This year, we made an effort to encourage submissions from all departments. In this issue, for example, we have two pieces by Adult Basic Education students: Cathy Matthew’s “Residential schools live on through foster care system,” and Tony Nguyen’s “Book Analysis: Keeper’n Me”
The best part of being Navigator staff is providing a platform for students, especially first-time authors. When I had my first piece published in Navigator (way back in 2014), I sent a stack of papers home to Saskatchewan. Today, contributors tell me about the stack they sent home to their families. Not many things in this world could make me happier.
The upcoming fall semester will mark the 50 year anniversary of Navigator, and I’ll be back, once again, as associate editor. Have a story idea? A draft that needs a look over? Drop me a line at associate@thenav.ca. I’d love to work with you on a piece for our golden jubilee volume.
