Each year, UNC Charlotte's literary arts magazine, Sanskrit, represents the University around the world. The national award-winning magazine has received a number of awards since it started.

However, many UNCC students have no idea what Sanskrit is.

The Sanskrit name was first introduced to UNCC in 1969. Prior to the naming, the literary magazine had no name, and was simply referred to as the University's literary magazine. The 2005-'06 publication of Sanskrit will mark the 37th volume to be printed.

Sanskrit is a well-known magazine that received an award for best cover design in spring 2005, awarded by the College Media Advisers Best of Collegiate Design.

The magazine has also won 13 Gold Crown Awards since 1987 and several Gold Circle Awards, both which are awarded by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

Sanskrit has also won the Pacemaker Award, presented by the Associated Collegiate Press.

In these competitions, Sanskrit faces feature and literary-arts magazines from all over the United States.

Sanskrit is published every spring. The magazine features all forms of art media, paintings, drawings, short stories, poetry, photography, digital and graphic creations, sculpture and other 3-D art, sent from all around the world.

Pieces selected for publication are also often displayed in the annual spring gallery show in the Cone University Center art gallery.

Anyone is eligible to be part of the literary magic. However, there are some guidelines that check to make sure work is eligible for printing.

First, the work submitted must be previously unpublished. Also, include a cover letter introducing not only yourself, but also the artwork. Next, include a self-addressed envelope so the magazine can mail the results of their selections.

All literature submissions should be on 8.5-by-11 inch paper, and include your contact information and word count of the piece. Include the title and page number on each page that is being submitted.

Short stories should be typed, double-spaced and no more than 3,500 words. Students are limited to five short story entries.

Poets are asked to submit no more then 15 individual entries. These pieces can be any kind of poetry, whether they are free verse or lyrics.

All art entries must be accompanied by a completed submissions form, which can be obtained at http://www.nineronline.com, and must be on 35 mm slides.

Another option for entering art is through burning digital files from the computer or camera onto a CD as a joint photographic experts group (.jpg) file or in tagged image file format (.tiff). They need to be in at least 300 dots per inch (dpi) quality.

In addition to the exposure you will receive from people all over the United States, Sanskrit editor Denise Anetrella believes there are other benefits. The publication makes for a good asset to one's portfolio or resume.

Anetrella adds, "I think it is also a personal satisfaction when you see your work in print."

Sanskrit is a juried publication; works are judged by a jury of students and a jury of professionals in the field.

First, the Sanskrit staff reads the literature and observes the art carefully, either accepting or rejecting the piece. During round two, remaining pieces are looked at a second time, narrowing down the selection even more.

Items that withstand the first two filters are sent to a student reader group to gather a wider view on works and a better opinion of the piece.

The last step of the elimination process is a professional jury usually made of UNCC English professors. This jury selects the final pieces that will then go to the magazine's editor for final vote because of his or her ability to veto decisions made by the professional jury.

In the end, there are usually approximately 20 poems, 15 pieces of artwork and three to five short stories.

Each year, the staff members of Sanskrit typically change. This year's staff includes Editor in Chief Denise Anetrella, Associate Editor Samantha Webster, Lead Designer Michael Kerr, and the arts and literary team made of Debbie Archer, Melanie Jansen and Kirsten Martin.

"I think when we have returning staff, it gets easier to figure out what deadlines need to be set so production can run smoothly," Anetrella said. "You are always going to run into problems though. It is unavoidable. The dynamic changes every year because of the people we have on the staff, but we are always a close group because of the nature of our working environment."

The deadline for submitting any art media in the 2005-'06 Sanskrit is tomorrow by 5 p.m. in the Cone University Center, 168.

For more information on the general requirements for submitting or an art submission form, visit http://www.nineronline.com.

If this deadline is too short of a notice, you can always get started on preparing something for next year's edition.

Adds Kerr, "People should submit because the worse thing that could happen is not being accepted."