Camilla Keil, a third-year in arts studies, is the new editor-in-chief of Windhover, NC State’s literary and arts magazine. As editor-in-chief, she works with staff members and volunteers to publish an annual collection of art that showcases student talent.
Keil became a volunteer at Windhover as a first-year student after she was inspired to become involved with a literary and arts magazine at NC State.
“I worked on my high school literary arts magazine and it was probably my favorite thing I ever did,” Keil said. “When I got here, one of the first things I did was I looked to see if we had a literary arts magazine, and we had Windhover.”
Last year, Keil was the visual editor of Windhover. She reviewed all of the visual art submissions and conducted discussions with a committee of volunteers, who helped determine which pieces were featured in the magazine.
“Usually, there’s more good pieces than what can actually fit in the book,” Keil said. “We always are looking for innovative artwork.”
As editor-in-chief, Keil has assumed more responsibility than her previous role. She oversees the visual, literary, audio, video and design committees, plans events and sets deadlines for the staff.
“It’s a lot more big picture instead of the detail-oriented role I had [as] the visual editor,” Keil said.
Keil said that she is looking forward to working with everyone in person this year, especially after conducting virtual meetings throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She hopes that the return to in-person events will heighten student interest in Windhover.
“Trying to engage with the school population throughout COVID was really tricky,” Keil said. “I think everyone was a little sick of being online, and having to go to one more online thing just wasn’t something very many people wanted to do.”
Currently, she is focused on planning Windhover’s open mic night on Thursday, Oct. 14. The event, which occurs in the fall and spring, will feature visual and performance art. Keil hopes the night will motivate students to submit their work and support the magazine.
Above all, Keil is excited to get to know everyone involved in Windhover. Her favorite part about working in student media is interacting with people who share her passions.
“It’s really cool getting to work with people who are interested in [student media] too,” Keil said.
Keil has been developing a plan for Windhover’s 2022 edition, Windhover LVI, since August.
“We’re looking at having ‘spaces’ as sort of an abstract theme,” Keil said. “We accept all art— it’s not like it has to be tailored to that theme.”
Keil encourages students to submit their work to Windhover LVI through the Windhover website.
