apply today
applications are rolling, due on September 23rd.
what’s included
Your application should be a single pdf consisting of the four parts outlined on the right. The total application should not exceed 20 pages.
Please feel free to express your answers however you see most fit - be creative! We welcome all sorts of experimental application “essays”.
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Why do you want to join cortex? Please let us know in 100 words or less.
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Answer one of the following in any way you see fit:
Pitch us a story based on something on our website.
Tell us about an artist who inspires you in a genre you’re applying for, and why.
What is a quote that is meaningful to you, and why?
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Answer one of the following in any way you see fit:
Tell us about a paradox, mystery, enigma, or inexplicable concept that intrigues you.
What’s something you found beautiful today?
Given infinite time, money, resources, ability, etc., what would you create or invent and why?
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Please attach a sample of creative work specific to the genre(s) you are applying for. Written samples may not exceed 14 pages in total, but do not have to be complete works; audio and video samples may not exceed 7 minutes in total. Visual artists may link to a portfolio or submit 5-10 images. DS papers are not allowed.
Responsibilities of a CORTEX editor
Attend all-staff meetings (once a week for 1-1.5 hours).
Attend and participate in semesterly showcases.
Meet regularly with your LGE and collaborators.
Draft, revise, and submit one piece for your genre per issue (you may optionally submit more pieces in any genre).
Stick to deadlines, and be communicative about your needs and commitments.
Maintain timely correspondence; respond to emails and fill out required forms in a timely manner.
Take initiative in collaborating with other editors and experimenting with your genre’s work as a whole.
Uphold an open, creative, passionate and kind environment. Be present in our community.
We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.
– Ray Bradbury
The universe is as beautiful as an echo – expansive, but microscopic. Blades of wheat whispering against each other in the yellow sun, the corona radiata of white fibers fanning out like a ray in our skulls, pulsing with the careful electric puzzles of life, the parallax angles of stars that poke through the wispy blue water of night. We seek those who are fascinated by these images, but are curious about the stories they might hold – of grief, anger, loss, love, and sacrifice, of the tender lobe of a mother’s ear even as wires curve into her mind. Like these.
ULTRAVIOLET - Kayla Feng
The Great Silence - Ted Chiang, Allora & Calzadill
All Summer in a Day – Ray Bradbury
Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin
Oryx & Crake – Margaret Atwood; the Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood