Advisers and students of Art New Media 359 and Creative Writing 450 held an open house at college hour to discuss what it is like to select artwork for the upcoming edition of the American River Review.

American River College English professor Michael Spurgeon and Art New Media professors Craig Martinez and Jeff Rochford discussed the classes they teach before asking current members of the American River Review to recount their experiences as part of the literary magazine.

The Review consists of two classes of Art New Media 359 and one class of Creative Writing 450.

Tashelle Miller, a student of the art new media class, said the class is involved in debates over which art pieces will be featured in the literary magazine.

“It is a long process, because there is a clash of personalities,” Miller said.

Students are given three days to take photos of submitted art pieces. Each literary magazine is the product of three semesters of work.

Miller said that she is humbled by the fact artists trust their artwork to them.

The magazine is broken up in three different genres: poetry, nonfiction and fiction.

“It changes your perspective of good writing,” said Bethanie Humphreys when discussing what it was like to be working on an editorial board.

Throughout the event, it was stressed by everyone that a student does not need prior knowledge to attend any one of the courses that are involved with the Review.

Literary submissions forms for students to submit a art piece to the review will be placed around the ARC campus next semester.

During the event, Chris Chavarria, a student of Creative Writing 450, said that being on the Review is a good way to learn how to become a better writer because it forces the student to look at bad writing.

Chavarria said the worse thing he read while he was a part of the editorial board was a story about necrophiliac nazis. “We get some pieces that was straight up porn.”

The new edition of the Review will have a release party on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. in Raef Hall 160, and will be available for purchase at the ARC bookstore next semester.