Hello! I’m Juno

Hello! I’m Juno the Unsweetened Coordinator, and I’m doing a Bachelor of Arts with an English and Film Double Major.

What is the best media you have watched/read this term?

I recently watched all four of Christopher Reeve's Superman movies, spanning 1978-1987. I loved them!! Campy movies from the 80s are a guilty pleasure of mine, and superhero movies are too, so this series was absolutely up my alley. Apologies to all my professors who’ve been showing me amazing literature and films over the term; I fear this still ended up being my favourite of them all. You truly can’t take the nerd out of me.

What’s a song that summarises your term 1

The Girl from Ipanema - I’ve done a LOT of walking around campus this semester. It’s the perfect song for long walks on sunny days. 

What’s your go-to snack while editing or reading submissions?

Everything. I’m an intense snacker; if it’s available to me, I’m eating it. Mini M&Ms have recently become a particular favourite. 

(Personal Interjection from Blitz Editor here) I just recently discovered that our favourite manager, Thierry, was an unsweetened coordinator themselves! Is it helpful to have their knowledge on board, or do you find it more stressful?

It’s comforting to work under someone who’s been there, done that, and survived it. I get a good mix of creative freedom, general guidance, and support from someone who’s familiar with the process.

What’s been your favourite part so far about being the Unsweetened Coordinator? (Besides Ineke, Walter and I obviously)

Getting to work with some of the coolest people on campus. All my vollies are such cool, lovely, creative people. It’s amazing to build a vision, have people be inspired, and work together to turn an idea into a real, substantial thing. I love that we come together to help each other navigate the experience of making a literary magazine happen, and use our knowledge to open that door for others. 

What do you think makes Unsweetened different from other student journals?

Well, we’re the coolest ones around. Mainly because of how much we focus on student voices! I like to think of Unsweetened as a place for students to unleash their creativity and gain real-world publishing experience fully. Unsweetened is open to any student work; we want to see what you make and perfect it for publishing. The creative freedom is fantastic. The people are amazing too. We build a real community throughout the year, and I’ve met some of the coolest people by working alongside them for this magazine. 

Why archive?

I got told I was an ‘old soul’ too much as a child, 

And now have a relentless affinity for old-fashioned things. I’m definitely not the only one. So many people love the aesthetics of eras gone by, 80s music, dark academia, and Y2K fashion. I wanted to celebrate this interest in our past and push people to look deeper into it. I also thought it was fitting for a literary magazine that’s been around for over 25 years to start considering its legacy and the importance of our collected student work history.

If you had to describe this year’s theme without using the word “archive,” how would you explain it?

Write about old things. That’s the most succinct way I can think of. Ideally, I’d send out a Pinterest board to everyone, in lieu of that, I have a bunch of keywords I came up with to summarise the vibes I wanted. Key-words: • Think about, archives, museums, dark rooms, natural history, taxidermy, archival fashion, Y2K, the 50’s, the 80’s, the 90’s, old school ads, old school tech, times gone by, forgotten memories, our childhoods, nostalgia, haunting.

If you could get any author to submit to Unsweetened, dead or alive, who would it be?

Heather Fawcett, author of the Emily Wildes’ Encyclopedia of Faeries series. She’s one of my favourite authors, and the Emily Wilde series takes a very academic approach to the familiar lore of Faerie mythology. I love her fun, semi-academic approach to fantasy, character writing and world-building. I think her work would fit great with this year’s theme, and I would read her grocery lists if she let me. 

What advice would you give to a writer friend, who you don't know and totally isn’t sitting in front of you, if they wanted to submit to the unsweetened journal?

To quote Nike, “JUST DO IT.” Unsweetened is one of those on-campus things you must do while you have the chance. There’s nowhere else like it. Take the opportunity, we’d love to read whatever you’ve got and have you on the team!

As we know, Blitz and Unsweetened are collaborating at SWF this year! - Who are you excited to see at SWF?

I’m really hoping to see Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time. I read it over summer break and thought it was so much fun. I love books that aren’t afraid to mix and mess around with genres, and the romance subplot had me squealing. I also have some opinions and questions about the ending that I NEED answers to. 

Finally, how does it feel to be Blitz’s younger, slightly cooler sister?

Amazing, I’ve never been the slightly cooler, younger sister before. I’m honoured to have the position.