Dear Reader,

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Welcome to the online version of The Archive, Northwestern’s literary arts magazine. Alumni may remember the former department publication, The Spectrum, which printed its final issue in 2020 after 41 years.

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We hope this new version remains for forty more while intentionally acknowledging the legacy that has made a publication like this possible. Stories, no matter when written, are stories that should be shared.

 

As we planned to revive the literary arts magazine and considered additional modes of publication, we determined that a magazine with both print issues and an expanded digital format would serve our students in new ways: the editorial staff would gain experience with both print and digital media, the writers would have more ways to share their writing with the world, and the creatives who float throughout the other many ways to tell stories could have a space for their stuff, too. Make sure to check out the comics in the "For Fun" section of this website. 

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The name, The Archive, is meant to celebrate this idea. Lauren Derscheid, our Junior Scholar working on this pilot version of the magazine, created the online publication style by incorporating archival photos from Northwestern’s past to go along with work from Northwestern’s present. Our online presence will also have digitized access to past works from The Spectrum so that NWC voices can intermingle across time and platform.

 

Since this publication has been a couple years in the making, this issue features student work submitted in the 2025-2026 academic year, as well as winners of Re: a 200-word writing contest held in Spring 2025.

 

We hope you enjoy the fruits of our students’ labor as writers, artists, and designers.

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Sincerely, 

The Archive Staff