Creative students at UK now have another opportunity to get published on campus.

A new literary journal will soon be available to UK students, as well as college and high school students from across Kentucky.

The ARK Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine will open for submissions for its inaugural edition on Nov. 1. The deadline is Feb. 1, 2018.

Founder and editor-in-chief Kyle Robert Alvey said that he has always been intrigued by fantasy and science fiction.

“I think some of the best fiction stories are those of fantasy and sci-fi,” Alvey said.

Alvey said he has contemplated starting this magazine for a while, but he took action only weeks ago. He and some of his friends will be the volunteer editors, and they are looking to recruit one or two more editors.

He said the magazine was inspired by Lexington-based Apex Magazine, which is “a magazine of science fiction, fantasy, and horror,” according to its website.

The magazine will be online as a way of keeping costs down. Alvey said he does not want people to have to pay submission fees.

He said he and his editors are focused on everyone involved having fun and having freedom.

“There’s really no constraint on the stories we want people to submit, which is really the point,” he said. “There is a max word limit, but other than that it’s really open to interpretation.”

He said he wanted to create something new that was strictly dedicated to these genres.

“Sci-fi and fantasy is a big part of the literary world,” he said, referring to Harry Potter, George Ordwell, and Jules Verne.

He said he is excited that the English department is offering a science fiction course next semester, and the philosophy department already has one, “which is awesome.”

Alvey said his goal is to publish stories from writers who would normally not be published, either because they are too young or have written stories that are not what publishers want.

The first edition will have 15 to 20 stories in it, he said, but he feels it will be hard to choose which ones to publish.

“I think everyone deserves a chance, if they want, to have their stories read by others,” Alvey said.

Alvey is a senior English major, with history and creative writing minors. He has been published in Shale, another literary journal on campus, and he has published short stories in science fiction and fantasy magazines. In 2018, he plans to move back to Ashland, Kentucky, where his family currently lives, to pursue a Master of Arts in English program, most likely from Morehead.

To submit to ARK, email Alvey at [email protected]. The limit is one submission per person with a maximum word limit of 4,500 words. Those whose work is accepted will be notified in mid-February.