The Magazine
Mosaic is Nicholls State University’s official literary magazine, which celebrates the incredible talent of our students. The magazine is published in print and online annually in the spring—usually released in April. Mosaic consists solely of student-made works, such as short stories, flash fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, freshmen essays, and artwork. We also eagerly accept submissions of short plays and graphic novel pages. The editorial board views, ranks, and edits submissions with the creators’ names hidden. The editorial board consists of students enrolled in Publishing Practicum (ENGL 432 in the fall and ENGL 433 in the spring) and our long-time faculty advisor, Dr. Katherine Conner.
The top-ranked pieces are entered as finalists for awards in several categories:
-Albert Davis Fiction Award
-David Middleton Poetry Award
-Kat Tracy Nonfiction Award
-Anne Elizabeth Boudreaux Trahan Freshmen Essay Award
-Editor’s Choice Award
-Outstanding Art Award
Judges in each category select the winners, who are given special mention in the new issue of Mosaic, as well as a cash prize and certificate. We typically host a release party to celebrate the publication of each new issue in April, where awards are announced and prizes distributed.
Copies of the magazine are free and available on the Mosaic racks around campus. You can find these racks in the Student Union, Peltier Hall, Beauregard, Elkins, Candies, Talbot, Powell/White, the College of Education and behavioral sciences, and Ellender Library.
Submission Guidelines
Mosaic accepts submissions from all current, fee-paying Nicholls students, including graduate students. Submit your poetry, short stories, flash fiction, creative nonfiction, freshman essays, short plays, artwork, comics, etc. by filling out our submission form.
All submissions should be uploaded through the appropriate Google form. This direct upload method, as opposed to the previous method of accepting submissions via email, makes the two hundred plus files we receive each year easier to manage.
– Only current Nicholls students may submit.
– Files cannot exceed 100MB in size.
– We prefer Word documents, JPEGs, and .PNG files.
– Individual works should not exceed 5,000 words in length.
– If possible, upload all works at once to avoid submitting multiple forms.
– If possible, please consolidate works into 10 or fewer files.
Cover Art
Mosaic hires an artist each year, usually a current or former Nicholls student, to create the artwork for the cover and some internal pages of the magazine. This is a paid commission. If you are interested, please fill out the artist application. The application will require you to upload some of your best artwork so we can get an idea of your style.
Mosaic History
The History of Mosaic as Written by Dr. John Doucet in the Mosaic 2007 Issue
“First, the true history of Mosaic begins in 1949, with a side-stapled, mimeographed publication on letter-sized paper called Pencil Tracks. Some regard Pencil Tracks as the “predecessor” of Mosaic. But careful reading of the Foreword to Mosaic 1966 reveals that the two titles refer to one official student literary magazine and the same, as the student leadership decided simply to change the name. The name “Pencil Tracks” was used though 1964 for 14 editions, and the name “Mosaic” was used for the first time with the 1966 edition and until 1968-69 edition. After a decade’s absence, Mosaic re-emerged in 1979. […] Second, the emergence of a student literary magazine at Nicholls in 1949 makes Mosaic one of the oldest college student literary magazines in the state, second on to The Delta (later named Manchac and still later named The Delta again) of LSU-Baton Rouge. That magazine began publication only two years earlier but nearly a century after the doors of its institution had opened to students. Given that Nicholls only opened its doors in 1948, student literary publication is much more an integral tradition here than at any other college or university in Louisiana. […] Third, Nicholls students in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s didn’t simply establish the new series of Mosaic as their legacy. Literary magazines at other state universities depend upon grants, royalties, and donations and as a result of this uncertain funding, go into and out of publication. In 1981, Nicholls students were prescient enough to self-assess financial support of their magazine and thereby secure its continuity.”
Visit the Ellender Library Archives page for more