By Georgia Jackson, College of Arts and Sciences
The USF Department of English celebrated the publication of the 20th issue of “Saw Palm, Florida Literature and Art,” on May 4, with several readings by contributing writers, marking a significant milestone in the literary magazine’s resilient history.
Ben Sperduto, a student in USF's creative writing MFA program, served as managing editor for the 20th issue of the magazine.
Managed and edited by students in USF’s creative writing MFA program, “Saw Palm” is both a literary journal with global reach and a hands-on learning laboratory that offers students direct experience with the publishing process — from soliciting submissions to evaluating and selecting work for publication. Student editors review poetry, art, fiction, nonfiction and book reviews, gaining insight into what it takes to produce a literary magazine.
Some go on to leverage their experience into professional opportunities in the publishing industry.
“The editorial team put in a lot of work to bring the 20th anniversary issue to life,” said Ben Sperduto, managing editor for the 20th issue of the magazine. “We were fortunate to have some outstanding submissions to choose from, and we feel like this is one of our strongest issues yet.
“We all learned quite a bit about the publication process along the way. Since we're all writers ourselves, it was good to have an opportunity to experience the publication process from the editorial side.”
Former editors include USA Today bestselling author Alicia Thompson, Whiting Award-winning author Jaquira Diaz, former poet laureate Gloria Muñoz and Alysia Sawchyn, who went on to edit the award-winning magazine “The Rumpus.”
Saving ‘Saw Palm’
Established in 2006 by Professor of English John Fleming, “Saw Palm” transcends the version of Florida often found in tourist brochures by capturing unique and varied perspectives on the sunshine state from native writers, transplants and visitors alike.
In its 20 years, 'Saw Palm' has continually transcended the version of Florida often found in tourist brochures by capturing unique and varied perspectives on the sunshine state from native writers, transplants and visitors alike.
In its 20 years, the literary magazine has featured creative work by Denise Duhamel, Connie May Fowler, Shane Hinton, Peter Meinke, Gianna Russo, and countless others. , published in 2016, featured Cuban-themed art, fiction, poetry and nonfiction.
For most of its history, “Saw Palm” relied on department funds to cover the costs associated with printing and fulfilling subscriptions. But in 2021 — amid a global pandemic and rising costs — those funds dwindled, putting the future of the magazine at risk.
Enter , whose deferred $3 million contribution will establish an annual creative writing retreat and an endowed fellowship in communication — all while supporting “Saw Palm” for years to come.
“Why in the world would I wait until I’m dead to do something for a thing I care a lot about?” said Rand, who earned her PhD in communication at USF and, later, took creative writing courses in the Department of English. “I just want to see something happen with the money while I can watch it.”
Contributor Sean McFadden shared his work at the launch event on May 4.
“It’s a great little publication,” she added. “‘Saw Palm’ is outstanding.”
While much of the editorial work takes place in the fall, when the student editors are enrolled in Fleming’s Literary Editing and Publishing class, Rand’s gift will allow the department to present managing editors — like Sperduto — with a course release in the spring and summer to see the issue through to completion, maintain social media presence and perform other administrative tasks throughout the year.
“Our contributors include national and international award-winners, as well as emerging artists and writers, many of whom are published for the first time here,” said Fleming. “After years of scraping by, we finally have a stable source of funding and an opportunity to raise the profile of the journal.”
The gift that keeps on giving
Rand, who spent thirty years in public relations, is supporting “Saw Palm” in other ways, too. Last year, she teamed up with a group of USF students enrolled in the Mellon Humanities Internship Program to provide them with regular trainings and, ultimately, create a network of long-term support for the literary magazine.
“My thought was I’m going to teach these students the old-school stuff that still works and how to approach it in an organized and deliberative fashion,” said Rand, who helped the students develop promotional materials for the magazine, including interviews with contributors, community outreach efforts and evergreen content.
The experience had a profound impact on the students, like Savannah Barker, who participated in the internship.
"The internship provided me with new professional experiences, including writing marketing narratives, conducting interviews and creating marketing materials with the intention of expanding the 'Saw Palm' subscriber base," said Barker, who graduated with her bachelor's degree in English this month. "Honey encouraged us to be creative and utilize our individual skill sets to create our marketing materials. She was incredibly supportive, and it was a pleasure working with her."
Learn more about and the USF Department of English.