API Month 2024

This year’s theme for Asian & Pacific Islander (API) Heritage Month is “Identities in Bloom, Identities Taking Root”, which celebrates the various and diverse ways in which API diaspora have built community, fostered resiliency, and created their own path to “blossom” where they’ve been planted.

Please check back on this page later in the semester to learn more about the programs for APIHM 2024. To get involved with the planning process, read on below.

API Month Planning Committee 2024

The API Month Planning Committee is a group that is selected in Fall of each academic year to collaborate with the CREDE and other campus partners in planning Elon’s annual API Heritage Month celebration, which happens from April 1st – 31st of each year. The committee meets regularly during J-term and the Spring semester to plan events and support the marketing/promotion of APIHM.

To be involved in the planning committee this year, please contact George Dou, Assistant Director of the CREDE at gdou@elon.edu.

API Month Zine

Since 2023, the CREDE has created pamphlets to accompany our celebration of API Heritage Month. You can view last year’s pamphlet here.

This year, the CREDE is looking to emulate a zine-format with submissions and stories from the API community around this year’s theme for APIHM, “Identities Taking Bloom, Identities Taking Root.” Students, faculty, and staff who are interested in learning more about zines can visit the CREDE and contact George Dou to see copies of zines from the Silk Club and Slant’d collection.

We are looking for submissions from Elon’s API community to populate each section of our zine/pamphlet. For written content, please make your submissions no longer than 750 words. Submissions can be entered using this form.

Submission Guidelines

What is a zine?

From AGOInsider: “A zine is usually a non – commercial, non professional publication, kind of like a magazine but with a twist. The main difference between a magazine and a zine is that zines are not out there to make a profit but, rather, to add other, often unheard voices into the mix. Zines are usually made out of interest and passion and are often self-published by the writer/artist/creator.”

For APIHM 2024, we hope to use a zine format to highlight the voices, stories, and art of our Elon API community.

What types of works can I submit?

We have no restriction for what type of work you can submit. Short stories, personal essays, list articles, art, photography, poetry are some examples of works that are typically seen in zines. Written works should be no longer than 750 words. For artwork submissions, the zine will be printed on dimensions of 5.5″ x 8.5″ by page, so artists should keep that in mind.

What topics can I write about?

Our intent with this zine is to highlight and celebrate the voices of our API community. We invite members of our community to write on any topic that they want to share with the community. Additionally, our theme of “Identities in Bloom, Identities Taking Root” celebrates the various and diverse ways in which API diaspora have built community, fostered resiliency, and created their own path to “blossom” where they’ve been planted. We highly encourage submissions that may touch on this theme directly.

Lastly, our zine is split up into several sections with different suggested topics for each section. The sections and their recommended topics are:

Section 1 – “What is APIHM month?”, “Identities in Bloom”

  • What does “APIHM month” mean to you?
  • How do you want others in the community to celebrate?
  • What does it mean to “blossom” in your identity, and in your community?

Section 3 – Stories from the API Community

  • Exploring Identity/How have you “grown” or “blossomed” into your identity?
  • Resiliency in Asian/Asian American communities
  • Sharing culture/cultural practices
  • Cross-cultural, cross-racial dialogue
  • Featuring an API community you are a part of

Section 4 – “Local & Community Organizations”

  • Creating or finding community as an API person at Elon/in general
  • How has your specific community/student org helped you bloom?

Section 6 – “Recommendations”

  • Famous Asian artists, activists,  influencers, figures – what is their impact on you, personally?
  • Asian American media/film/art recommendations – what is their importance/significance to you?
  • Food/recipes and their personal significance

Can I submit something even if I don't have writing experience?

Yes! We welcome any and all submissions from the community, no prior experience with writing is required.

How do I make a submission?

Please use our form here to submit your work. For written works, please note what section you are submitting your piece for. If you are not sure where your piece best fits, you are welcome to submit it under Section 3.

 

When is the deadline, and when will I hear back?

We will aim to review submissions and notify creators within a week of their submission. During this time period, we may ask creators to make adjustments to their work to fit the size and format of the zine.

Our timeline/deadlines for submissions is as follows:

  • February 15th – deadline for priority consideration for submissions. We will continue to review submissions after this date, but cannot guarantee their inclusion depending on the committee’s availability and volume of submissions.
  • March 1st – final deadline for submissions, all works must be submitted by this date to be included in the final copy of the zine.
  • March 1st – 8th – committee will review last submissions and work with submitters for any final touches or changes.