By: Erik Pedersen, Senior Communications Manager
BALTIMORE – The 2021-22 edition of Damozel, a creative literary magazine produced annually by Notre Dame of Maryland University’s English Department, was selected as the third-place winner of the Outstanding Literary Arts Journal Award by Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society.
Damozel is a student-run magazine which showcases any form of creative writing, art, or photography by current NDMU students and alumni. The latest issue was produced by senior literary editors Lindsey Pytrykow '22 and Rochelle Thompson '22; editors April Boss '24, Maia Giafes '22, Eden Lewis '22, and Cassandra Thompson '25; alumna editor and advisor, Micah Castelo '18; and faculty sponsor Dr. Jeana DelRosso. It contained 30 submissions created by a group of 14 NDMU community members.
“Creating Damozel involves a lot of students working together on their own time,” Boss said. “As editors, we read the work together, edit it and decide what to include in the magazine. We received a lot of nice material from Notre Dame students for this issue, and it’s just really nice to know that others are reading and appreciating all the work that was put into it.”
Sigma Tau Delta was founded in 1924 and currently contains over 900 active chapters located in the United States and abroad. Any literary arts journals coordinated and supervised by Sigma Tau Delta chapters were eligible to be considered for the organization’s Literary Arts Journal Award.
“The awards committee indicated that the competition was particularly strong this year, with many outstanding journal offerings, and they complimented our efforts to cultivate the creative arts within the NDMU community, both in the production and reading/reception areas,” Dr. DelRosso said. “Congratulations to all of our literary magazine editors for their fantastic work on this issue!”
This is the second national award in as many years for Damozel, which was first published on campus in 1931. The 2019-20 and 2020-21 issue was honored as a Merit winner in the National Council of Teachers of English REALM (Recognizing Excellence in Art and Literary Magazines) Awards.
Boss and Tahreem Haq ’23 are currently working as editors for the 2022-23 edition of Damozel, which is expected to be released late in the spring semester. Submissions for the issue are being accepted until February 20, 2023. Submissions should be sent to damozelndmu@gmail.com, and those submitting are asked to include their first and last name, preferred pronouns, class year, major/minor, the title of the work and the submission type. Poetry, short stories or non-fiction essays should be sent as a .docx, .doc, or .gdoc file. Images or artwork should be sent as a .jpeg, .jpg or .png file.
“Working with Damozel is inspiring because it’s a contribution not only to the school but to Sigma Tau Delta nationwide,” Haq said. “And the work that appears in Damozel will be there forever. Every year has a different theme, and I’m very excited to see all of the work that the students put into this year’s issue.”
Established in 1895, Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) is a private, Catholic institution in Baltimore, Maryland, with the mission to educate leaders to transform the world. Notre Dame has been named one of the best "Regional Universities North" by U.S. News & World Report.
