A collection of art across all mediums is open for the people of San Marcos and Texas State students alike to showcase their work.
Sybil, an online literary journal, was launched last year by three San Marcos community members. Sybil has given artists of all mediums a platform to display their talents. It allows them the opportunity to submit their work for publication, free of the pressures that come with attempting to publish with larger journals.
San Marcos locals Stephen Spencer, Jake Buckholz and freelance writer Rudy Martinez created Sybil a year ago from the comfort of a local coffeehouse they worked at.
Martinez said they realized there were a lot of talented people in San Marcos but no space for them to showcase their work.
“We just decided we wanted to archive everything and take submissions,” Martinez said. “I think anybody can write the next great essay or novel, it’s just a matter of those tools being handed to you and you seeing an opportunity.”
What sets Sybil apart from most journals is that it is purely donation based. Artists’ work are posted for free along with a tip jar where patrons are encouraged to donate what they can. The site acts as a host to visual, auditory and literary art.
Spencer said he gets a great deal of fulfillment from Sybil.
“(For a lot of people) it’s the first journal they’ve ever been accepted to,” Spencer said. “It takes on a different meaning for them and it boosts their confidence. When you’re a writer, the big literary journal scene can be intimidating. We’re giving validation to local artists, and hopefully it’s giving them the courage to maybe send their work elsewhere.”
Sabrina Chapa, environmental research management senior, has been published on Sybil. Chapa said she found the style of it very human.
“You (see) people’s handwritten stuff, people’s actual words, (people) that are involved in the San Marcos community, a lot of which is pretty radical in essence,” Chapa said. “I felt the realness of it. It wasn’t watered-down and ambiguous.”
Chapa said she found comfort in the fact she saw people she knew posting on Sybil too.
“Everyone should create art and contribute their voice to some grandeur scheme,” Chapa said. “We should be creators.”
Sybil acts as a curated ever-growing pool of work open to anyone looking to publish their work on a platform. There is no age limit or medium preference. All artists are welcome to share their work.