Poets with trembling hands lift their voices and let their words fill the room.

Clapping bounces off the walls.

The crowd gasps at photographs on the screen, plates full of treats and snacks in hand.

On Fri., Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room, the staff of the literary magazine Chrysalis plans to hold the reveal for this semester’s edition of the magazine. This event happens at the end of every semester and officially reveals to the school and community the contents of the magazine, page-by-page.

“The Chrysalis Reveal is one of the highlights of the semester because it showcases work by Ferrum College’s writers, artists, and photographers. While I’m always proud of Chrysalis, I’m especially excited about the Fall 2022 Reveal because of the wide variety of work in this edition,” Katherine Grimes, English Professor and adviser of Chrysalis, said. “I don’t want to give spoilers, but I will say that there is work in more than one language, and there are photographs from at least five countries.”

The broad intent of the Chrysalis reveal is to celebrate the community of creatives who live, teach, study, and work here, to provide a platform to share their art with the larger community, and to come together to create something beautiful. Because of that, magazine contributors will be invited to read their writing or talk briefly about their art and photography as it appears in the magazine.

“I am looking forward to see all of the work that people submitted showcased in one place,” said senior Celeste Burnett, Chrysalis staff member. “I’m happy that I get to show my work to my family, and I know others will have something to be proud of.”

At the event, the staff of Chrysalis will also announce the winners of the contests in each category (poetry, prose, photography, art) and discuss how prizes will be provided.

Usually at reveals, printed copies of the magazine are passed at out, but this edition of the magazine is not yet back from the printer, so it is thus far uncertain when the campus will receive hard copies of the magazine.

Refreshments will be provided in the form of cupcakes, fruit and dip, cheese and crackers, and fruit punch.

The entire campus is invited to this event, and contributors are encouraged to bring friends and family along to watch the reveal and support. The staff of the magazine hopes to see a full room as they prepare to share this newest magazine with the school.