FERRUM, VA (May 18, 2026) – “Chrysalis Literary and Arts Magazine” hosted its spring publication reveal on April 30, in the Blue Ridge Mountain Room at Ferrum College. Editor-in-chief Mattie Green announced the prizes for writing, art, and photography before calling on contributors to present their work published in the spring 2026 issue.
“Chrysalis” is both a club and a practicum course for students who submit their own work and earn course credit for compiling, editing, and laying out the magazine each semester. They sponsor open mike nights several times a year for the college community, as well as the end-of-semester reveal. They encourage students, faculty, and staff to submit original work each semester and to read from their work and discuss visual artwork at the end-of-semester reveal.
The student prizes for outstanding work in poetry, prose, art, and photography are listed below. All submissions are judged anonymously by professionals who are not current faculty or staff, so the same student can win more than one prize, if they are in different categories.
The cover art, titled “The Young Man,” is a photograph by Green of a page of poetry with editorial marks on it. Her picture of a rusted train in downtown Roanoke won second place for photography. Green graduated with a B.A. in Art: Graphic Design and a B.S. in Business Administration: Marketing at the commencement ceremony two days after the reveal. At the Academic Awards Ceremony on April 17, she received an Editor Commendation and the “Chrysalis” Staff Member of the Year award, as well as the Outstanding Student in Art & Design Award and other honors. Green’s senior art show, titled Pixels and Pages, was a multimedia storytelling exhibition in the E. Taylor Greer Art Gallery on campus. Some of the photographs and selections of writing included in the exhibit had been published in “Chrysalis.”
Commenting on the new issue, Green praised the “wonderful submissions this semester and a really dedicated staff. They truly came together and as a team we created an amazing magazine. I’m really proud of all their hard work and their willingness to pitch in to get everything completed on time. It was an honor working with them as editor-in-chief.”
The magazine’s advisor, Professor of English Katherine Grimes, commended Green for teaching her classmates so much about magazine layout and InDesign while she served as editor-in-chief this semester. Grimes also praised the staff’s hard work and collaboration, adding, “There’s a great deal of talent on this campus, and ‘Chrysalis’ showcases it. We’re fortunate that the administration continues to support the students in this important way.”
Green told “The Iron Blade” in January, “This magazine exists to celebrate student creativity in all its forms…. We want students to know their work matters and deserves to be seen.” This issue includes photographs of artworks in several media, including fabric art by Sarah Gallagher ‘26, another prolific contributor who won second prize in art for “Shining Star.” The art judge, Miranda Banks ‘13, who studied art at Ferrum College, works as an elementary teacher and artist. Beth Crow ‘79, who studied photography at Ferrum College and Hollins University, was the photography judge.
The prose was judged by John Hardt, a former English professor at Ferrum who retired in 2022 after serving in a variety of administrative roles at Ferrum and other institutions. Aaron Fagan, who judged the poetry, is the author of five poetry collections. Having also published poems and served on editorial staffs for other publications, he was a featured speaker in the program The Work of Hearts and Hands when he visited Ferrum in February.
At the reveal, every page of the magazine was displayed, including the traditional butterfly image on the title page and a centerfold of animal photographs. The audience enjoyed refreshments and copies of the newly printed issue of “Chrysalis.” Free print copies are distributed on campus, and a digital copy is available, along with past issues, at this link.
First Place Prose: Mattie Green for “Cracked”
First Place Poetry: Maeve McCulloch for “Matchmaker? Purgatory”
First Place Art: Ashley Cutliff for “Stirrups at Sea.”
First Place Photography: William Purdie for “Silent Channel”
Second Place Prose: Daniel Jackson for “Hall of Bulls”
Second Place Poetry: Daniel Jackson for “Tulips Bloom in Winter”
Second Place Art: Sarah Gallagher for “Shining Star”
Second Place Photography: Mattie Green for “Relic of the Past”
About the photograph: members of the “Chrysalis” staff and other contributors who were present at the reveal display their pages in the magazine, with advisor Dr. Katherine Grimes in the middle.
