September 22, 2000 SELINSGROVE, Pa. - Essay, a new non-fiction magazine written, edited and produced entirely by Susquehanna University students, makes its debut this month with a free, public reading, Monday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Shearer Weber Dining Rooms of the Degenstein Campus Center. The annual magazine is the brainchild of Dr. Gary Fincke, professor of English and director of the Susquehanna University Writers' Institute. Filled with essays designed around a particular theme, it will complement The Susquehanna Review, the student literary magazine and replace Liminal Spaces, the quarterly newsletter of the Writers' Institute. The theme chosen for the premiere issue is Burning the Veil. "Once we picked the theme, we selected essays that we felt would fit and were well done," says Branden Pfefferkorn, Fincke's undergraduate assistantship student who is helping to guide the project. The 68-page magazine will be published each fall. Stephany Duncan Gormley, a senior writing major from Lewisburg, Pa., and Albry Montalbano, a junior English-secondary education, and writing major, from Andover, N.J., have been named editor and assistant editor, respectively, for the 2001 edition. Essay is funded in part by a $30,000 SU President's Fund for Excellence award given to the Writers' Institute in June in recognition of the creation and growth of the writing curriculum and the outstanding accomplishments of student writers. The magazine is designed to showcase the writing, editing and production talents of Susquehanna students. The works were chosen by the editorial board which includes: Sarah Farbo, a 2000 graduate in writing from Pequea, Pa. and editor-in-chief; Erin Aults, a junior writing-secondary education major from Tyrone, Pa.; Sarah Blagg, a sophomore communications and theatre arts major from Woodhull, N.Y.; Michael Bobish, a senior English-secondary education major from Point Pleasant, N.J.; J. Eric Fisher, a 2000 graduate in English from Millersville, Pa.; Roxanne Halpine, a senior writing major from Hatfield, Pa.; Mark Martelli, a junior writing major from Reading, Pa.; Cori Martin, a senior writing major from Westminster, Md.; Albry Montalbano; Catherine Pierce, a 2000 graduate in writing from Wilmington, Del.; and Jesse Wright-Fitzgerald, a junior applied music major from Stillwater, Pa. Selections include contributions by current and former students, including Farbo, Montalbano, Pierce, Gormley, Jennifer Klink, a senior English major from Meyersdale, Pa.; Alma DeRojas, a junior English major from Dallas, Pa.; Susanna Lamey, a 2000 graduate in writing from Huntingdon, Pa.; Jen Rock, a senior theatre arts major from Greensburg, Pa.; and Kristina Torres, a junior biology major from Centereach, N.Y. Amy Knauff, a junior liberal arts major from Towson, Md., contributed most of the photography. Artwork from Susquehanna's own collection is featured in the magazine as well. Monday's public reading is partially sponsored by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. It is free and open to the public. Copies of Essay will be available for sale after the reading. For more information, please contact Dr. Gary Fincke, professor of English and director of Susquehanna University's Writers' Institute at (570) 372-4164. Contact: Betse Humphrey 570-372-4119 #bh/404#