“I . . . enrolled as a graduate student in the Anthropology Department of the University of Chicago. But I didn’t want to be an anthropologist. . . . I only hoped to find out more about human beings. I was going to be a journalist!”

                                                                                                                                 --Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box 

At Shortridge High School in Indianapolis between 1938 and 1940, a young Kurt Vonnegut wrote for the student paper, The Shortridge Echo. Vonnegut continued to follow the path of journalism at Cornell University, where he served as managing editor of The Cornell Sun. Later, while studying anthropology at the University of Chicago, he worked for the Chicago City News Bureau. He would be influenced all his writing life by the simple rules of journalism: Get the facts right, compose straightforward declarative sentences, know the audience. He also didn’t hesitate to point out flaws he saw along the way. 

The So It Goes Year of the Journalist issue recognizes stories of journalists making the deadline, keeping us informed, and carving out a meaningful life's work in a profession that has changed significantly in the last century, in large part, due to technology. 

Need inspiration? Here are some works that have explored journalism to jump-start your creativity: 

The Atlantic

The End of News: Legacy media has a trust problem, but it’s not too late to solve it. 

Jeyla Bryer

Elements of Style: A Century-Old Grammar Icon 

CBS News

JFK Assassination: Cronkite informs a shocked nation 

The Journalist’s Resource

Code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists 

Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 

The National World War II Museum, New Orleans

Ernie Pyle: The Voice of the American Soldier in World War II 

The Pangean

A Contemporary Deep-Dive into Embedded Journalism 

PBS American Masters

Edward R. Murrow: This Reporter 

USA Today 

23 women who changed journalism forever from past to present (warning – full of annoying pop up ads) 

Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Suzanne McConnell

Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style

__________

Submission Requirements 

• The submission period for our fourteenth annual edition of So It Goes journal opened February 1, 2025, at 12:00 am EST and ends April 1, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST. 
• Please do not submit “Vonnegut fan fiction,” as such material will be disqualified. Submit creative work related to the them of "The Year of the Journalist," or it will be disqualified.
• Submissions are limited to one work of prose (fiction & nonfiction) that is 1,250 words max, OR two works of prose (fiction & nonfiction) that are a combined total word count of 1,250 words max, OR up to five poems that are 1,250 words max for all five, OR five photographs or artworks. 
• You may submit both written and visual work. Those submitting written and visual works should complete the separate forms. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be automatically disqualified. 
• Employees of KVML and KVML Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members are not eligible to participate in the 2025 issue.  
• Everyone else is encouraged to send in a submission(s): Students; amateur or professional writers, poets, artists, and photographers; young or old; and current/retired military veterans. The veteran community was important to Vonnegut—a veteran and POW—so we imagine he’d love to see literary representation from current and former military personnel. 
• We will accept new and previously published work (simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification) and will credit the original publisher. If your submission(s) has been published elsewhere (even if it is your own work), you may need permission to publish it in this issue of So It Goes. If this is the case, you must obtain  written permission from the rights holder(s) and include this written permission with your submission(s). Please request worldwide rights for print and electronic formats in all languages and editions.
• Please use 1.5 spacing for prose and single spacing for poetry. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font. Group multiple poems into ONE document. 
• Do NOT group artwork. You will have access to upload up to five works. Artwork must be labeled with titles. If one or multiple are untitled, label as “Untitled 1,” Untitled 2,” etc. DO NOT SUBMIT A PDF, or it will be disqualified. Please include additional information–year of work, size, and whether it’s done in oil, acrylic, pen and ink, etc. 
• All submitters must include a cover letter with a biography (no more than five brief sentences). 

Thank you in advance for your submissions to our fourteenth issue of So It Goes. The journal will launch in Fall 2025. Selected contributors will receive one free hard copy. Previous issues of So It Goes journal are available in the library’s online gift shop through kvmlshop.org.  

Shop Now 

If you have any questions, contact us at SoItGoes@vonnegutlibrary.org.

“I . . . enrolled as a graduate student in the Anthropology Department of the University of Chicago. But I didn’t want to be an anthropologist. . . . I only hoped to find out more about human beings. I was going to be a journalist!”

                                                                                                                                 --Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box 

At Shortridge High School in Indianapolis between 1938 and 1940, a young Kurt Vonnegut wrote for the student paper, The Shortridge Echo. Vonnegut continued to follow the path of journalism at Cornell University, where he served as managing editor of The Cornell Sun. Later, while studying anthropology at the University of Chicago, he worked for the Chicago City News Bureau. He would be influenced all his writing life by the simple rules of journalism: Get the facts right, compose straightforward declarative sentences, know the audience. He also didn’t hesitate to point out flaws he saw along the way. 

The So It Goes Year of the Journalist issue recognizes stories of journalists making the deadline, keeping us informed, and carving out a meaningful life's work in a profession that has changed significantly in the last century, in large part, due to technology. 

Need inspiration? Here are some works that have explored journalism to jump-start your creativity: 

The Atlantic

The End of News: Legacy media has a trust problem, but it’s not too late to solve it. 

Jeyla Bryer

Elements of Style: A Century-Old Grammar Icon 

CBS News

JFK Assassination: Cronkite informs a shocked nation 

The Journalist’s Resource

Code of ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists 

Stephen King

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft 

The National World War II Museum, New Orleans

Ernie Pyle: The Voice of the American Soldier in World War II 

The Pangean

A Contemporary Deep-Dive into Embedded Journalism 

PBS American Masters

Edward R. Murrow: This Reporter 

USA Today 

23 women who changed journalism forever from past to present (warning – full of annoying pop up ads) 

Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Suzanne McConnell

Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style

__________

Submission Requirements 

• The submission period for our fourteenth annual edition of So It Goes journal opened February 1, 2025, at 12:00 am EST and ends April 1, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST. 
• Please do not submit “Vonnegut fan fiction,” as such material will be disqualified. Submit creative work related to the them of "The Year of the Journalist," or it will be disqualified.
• Submissions are limited to one work of prose (fiction & nonfiction) that is 1,250 words max, OR two works of prose (fiction & nonfiction) that are a combined total word count of 1,250 words max, OR up to five poems that are 1,250 words max for all five, OR five photographs or artworks. 
• You may submit both written and visual work. Those submitting written and visual works should complete the separate forms. Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be automatically disqualified. 
• Employees of KVML and KVML Board of Directors and Advisory Board Members are not eligible to participate in the 2025 issue.  
• Everyone else is encouraged to send in a submission(s): Students; amateur or professional writers, poets, artists, and photographers; young or old; and current/retired military veterans. The veteran community was important to Vonnegut—a veteran and POW—so we imagine he’d love to see literary representation from current and former military personnel. 
• We will accept new and previously published work (simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification) and will credit the original publisher. If your submission(s) has been published elsewhere (even if it is your own work), you may need permission to publish it in this issue of So It Goes. If this is the case, you must obtain written permission from the rights holder(s) and include this written permission with your submission(s). Please request worldwide rights for print and electronic formats in all languages and editions.
• Please use 1.5 spacing for prose and single spacing for poetry. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font. Group multiple poems into ONE document. 
• Do NOT group artwork. You will have access to upload up to five works. Artwork must be labeled with titles. If one or multiple are untitled, label as “Untitled 1,” Untitled 2,” etc. DO NOT SUBMIT A PDF, or it will be disqualified. Please include additional information–year of work, size, and whether it’s done in oil, acrylic, pen and ink, etc. 
• All submitters must include a cover letter with a biography (no more than five brief sentences). 

Thank you in advance for your submissions to our fourteenth issue of So It Goes. The journal will launch in Fall 2025. Selected contributors will receive one free hard copy. Previous issues of So It Goes journal are available in the library’s online gift shop through kvmlshop.org.  

Shop Now 

If you have any questions, contact us at SoItGoes@vonnegutlibrary.org.