Tributaries is a student-produced journal of creative work published at Indiana University East that offers invigorating and multifaceted fiction, nonfiction, poetry, reviews, and visual art. Our central mission is to celebrate and encourage student writers. So, we exclusively publish the work of emerging writers and artists from colleges and universities in the state of Indiana.
Tributaries is edited by undergraduate and graduate students at Indiana University East. We accept submissions on a rolling basis and publish on an annual schedule. Each edition is edited during the academic year, which culminates with a release party in the spring. Awards are given to the best pieces submitted in the fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual art categories.
Editorial Staff
Jake Ott, Editor-in-Chief and Poetry Editor
Jake is currently pursuing his MA in English at Indiana University East, where he previously earned a BA in English with a focus on Professional and Technical Writing in 2022. His main areas of literary interest are fiction, plot structure, and hard-boiled crime novels. Professionally, he works as a website and SEO copywriter for LocaliQ, a digital marketing company. In his free time, Jake enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters, working on his own novels, playing board games, reading Raymond Chandler, and taking care of an unreasonably large hot pepper garden.
Elizabeth Hannah, Managing Editor and Social Media Editor
Elizabeth Hannah is currently a student at IU East University and is pursuing a bachelor’s in creative writing and a minor in Technical Writing. She enjoys reading various genres of writing but primarily fantasy and literary fiction. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys writing, reading, and knitting while binge-watching her favorite shows.
Brian Brodeur, Faculty Advisor
Brian Brodeur is the author of four poetry collections, most recently Some Problems with Autobiography (Criterion Books, 2023), which won the 2022 New Criterion Prize, and Every Hour Is Late (Measure Press, 2019). New poems and literary criticism appear in Hopkins Review, Gettysburg Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, Southern Review, and The Writer’s Chronicle. Brian lives with his wife and daughter in the Whitewater River Valley. He teaches creative writing and American literature at Indiana University East.
Cadence Wright, Creative Nonfiction Editor
Cadence Wright is a junior at IU East, majoring in English Creative Writing with a minor in Technical Writing. She is also working part time as an administrative assistant at her local vet clinic. Cadence spends most of her free time reading, cooking, and listening to country music. She hopes to one day use her degree to become a fiction copy editor.
Taylor Hartman, Fiction Editor
Taylor Hartman is an undergraduate student at IU East working towards a Bachelor of Arts in Literature as well as minoring in Creative Writing. Though this student’s free time is limited, they may be found reading, catching up on favorite TV shows, or daydreaming about potential writing ideas. (Error 404: motivation to write has not been found.)
Ross Ferguson, Reader
Ross Ferguson is an undergraduate student at IU East majoring in English Creative Writing. He is a full-time science teacher in Wayne County looking to expand his creativity. Ross spends most of his free time writing fiction, attending sports events, and grading papers.
Liz de Villiers, Designer
Liz is a South African concept chaser, design thinker, educator, and forever learner with an integrated mindset. As a typical communications creative, she has an interest in (almost) everything: From Schitt’s Creek to black holes and the beautiful art of kinstugi. Design thinking is a natural way of life, Valentino makes the most beautiful dresses known to mankind and she adores: everything Japanese, stories, animals, series, trees, British humor, Korean trendsetting, psychology, Native American philosophy, sci-fi, fantasy, shoes, reading, cheese, and succulents. Liz loves children’s books and wrote a preschool book series in 2019, based on her late, beloved miniature pincher pup, Tjoppie. She has a hunger to learn and believes that being a learner is more important than being a teacher. Liz believes South Africa’s multicultural society gave me the ability to look at learning and problem-solving through various lenses. Her Master’s degree in Design investigated the youth’s relationship with visual meaning through co-design, she lectured for eight years at two award-winning creative brand schools in Cape Town. Her industry experience includes global brand agencies Saatchi, FCB, and Ogilvy where she worked as an Art Director and Graphic Designer.
