WLT on Pinterest, plus the launch of our bimonthly design contest

November 7, 2012
by WLT
Pinterest WLT
Left: WLT intern Alyssa Boutelle's illustration of a quote from the September issue of WLT. Right, a screenshot of the new WLT Pinterest.

We’ve been pinning away in our new Pinterest account, and now you can follow our boards for literary inspiration, past covers of WLT, and snapshots of the many incredible authors who have been a part of WLT’s history through the Neustadt Prize or Puterbaugh Fellowship.

Among the Pinterest boards, our very newest one is empty and ready to be populated with creative artwork by you. To all of you book-reading, literature-loving artists, this is your time to design, paint, and illustrate—we are launching a new design contest that will coordinate with each new issue of WLT. Starting with the November 2012 issue, we will share an inspiring or provocative pull quote from within the magazine with the open invitation for you to design it. We want to see all of your own unique interpretations, so feel free to create any visual representation that you feel best captures the essence of the selected quote.

The finalists and their works will be featured on WLT’s official Pinterest account, and the winning submission(s) will be showcased on our blog in December. You’ll also receive a free one-year subscription to WLT in your choice of print or digital format.

The November 2012 quote is a selection by our editor in chief, Daniel Simon, used in the opening of his editor’s note in this issue featuring law-inspired literature.

In the spirit of the dead, the living, and the unborn, empty your ears of all impurities, o listener, that you may hear my story. - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wizard of the Crow (2006)

For inspiration, we’ve seen a lot of illustrations that turn writing into captivating visual art, and most recently featured some in the May issue of WLT. Check out “10 Posters That Turn Iconic Literary Quotes Into Art,” or, on our own website, a gallery of broadsides from Al-Mutanabbi Street—many that incorporate the written word with art. These pieces were created as a response to the Al-Mutanabbi bombing and powerfully represent the incredible force of visual communication when the voices of writers pair with the creative vision of artists.

We look forward to seeing all of your designs, and invite you to embark on this new form of creative interaction with us. When your design is ready, visit the offical design contest page to submit your work. The due date for the November contest submissions is Friday, December 7th.