ADA, Okla. – The 2026 edition of East Central University’s long-standing literary journal, “Originals” will mark the sixty-ninth volume of the popular journal. An open-mic and introduction to the 2026 student editors will be held on the first floor of the Linscheid Library, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m.

The open-mic will offer ECU students, faculty and the general public an opportunity to not only meet the editors for the upcoming 2026 edition of “Originals” but also learn about the submission process for students and share their own original writing and visual art pieces.

The event is free and open to the public. Open-mic preference will be given to current students.

“Originals” is an annual literary journal that has been a fixture of ECU since the 1950’s. The journal offers students from any department across campus an opportunity to submit their writings or artwork for potential publication.

"This will be our 69th year of publishing Originals at ECU, but only my 2nd as Faculty Advisor,” said ECU English Professor and current advisor for Originals, Dr. Joshua Grasso. “I've been working with the student editors to comb through decades' worth of Originals to really get a sense of what this publication has meant to the university, and to capture a sense of the old and the new in our next issue.”

Submissions in poetry, short stories, novel chapters, lyrics, artwork and more are considered and accepted. Thousands of students have been featured in Originals over the decades.

Each year, students are chosen to serve as editors for the journal. For the 2026 edition, Sarah Christensen (English major) from Pauls Valley, Jayde Landreth (English major) from Byng and Megan Moss (English major) from Kingston, have been chosen.

“We hope it will truly represent what it means to be a student in the 20's so that, 20 years from now, students can look back on it as the ultimate time capsule of their lives and friendships at ECU,” said Grasso.

Information about submitting to “Originals” will be available at the open-mic, along with copies of past editions for browsing. Previous volumes may also be accessed on the Linscheid Library website at ecuoriginals.wixsite.com/ecuoriginals.

For more information on “Originals,” contact Grasso at jgrasso@ecok.edu. For information about the ECU English Department, contact Dr. Stephen Pedersen at spedersn@ecok.edu.   

Cutline: ECU English Professor and current advisor for Originals, Dr. Joshua Grasso.

-ECU-