Hello Faithful Readers!

Yes, I know I haven't posted anything in a while. So shoot the bird. (No, don't please!) Your editor has been at AWP where she hopes to gain insightful knowledge about how to get Toucan lit mags fully off the ground. Also, we have been steadily accumulating a trickle of submissions. Here is some news for you all.

• The magazine is slowly coming together. We might not be out on March 1st, but somewhere around that date for sure. Therefore, if you are interested in submitting, please do so quickly, preferably by next Sunday or so. As a heads-up, we are pretty good on prose but we are always in need of good poetry! Be aware that if you submit, you may be accepted but deferred until our next issue, which (yes, I'm thinking about it and haven't even laid out this one yet) would be in early May, before the end of the semester. The email is thetoucanmag@gmail.com and submission guidelines can be found in a post on this blog.
• We are now in the English Department Office on the third floor of the Congress building! This is still the old December issue, but if you want a paper copy and haven't gotten on, there's quite a few in there on the rack with all the Columbia flyers. Haven't seen too many Toucans fly away. Tsk, tsk, English Dept.
• There's one or two flyers up about submitting--perhaps that's why you're here. I admit I hate putting up flyers, but I'll try to do some more next week, although I may not because I'm almost full with pages.
• I would like to change the cover. I like my Toucan, though he looks a bit like a parrot, but I want to open it up to greater creativity, especially since I don't plan on having art in the mag itself. If you have a good Toucan design, send a jpeg to our email at thetoucanmag@gmail.com. Black and white preferred!
• And finally...I would like to hold a release party for the magazine this time, and because I am admittedly a bit of a party pooper, I need suggestions for venues! Criteria should be that they are around Columbia College and that they are non-alcoholic, as some of us are not 21 yet! I was considering the Underground Cafe in the 600 Michigan Building but haven't investigated yet. It would be a reading/get-together, preferably with FOOD! Please post comments with venue suggestions or email them if you'd like.

Thanks everyone, and remember, good things come to those who wait....

Liz