ABOUT QUARTO

Quarto is the official undergraduate literary magazine of Columbia University’s Creative Writing Department. It is a student-run magazine that publishes the best of Columbia’s undergraduate writers from all four of Columbia’s undergraduate colleges. The Creative Writing Department provides support and a faculty advisor to the magazine, though the editorial board has representatives from a variety of academic fields across campus.

Quarto was created in 1948 and housed in the School of General Studies. In 1998, the magazine expanded to serve the entire undergraduate writing community. In 2007, with the creation of the Creative Writing Department, the magazine found its current home in an environment dedicated to excellence in writing and art.

Quarto has published Pulitzer Prize winners, the US Poet Laureate Louise Glück, best-selling authors such as Kim Wozencraft, successful playwrights like Adam Szymkowicz, poets, screenwriters, and art critics. Members of its editorial staff have gone on to start their own literary magazines and some, like Edwidge Danticat, have found literary success themselves.

What never changes is Quarto's dedication to promoting meaningful undergraduate writing and art at Columbia—and the proof can be seen every year printed in its pages.

The Quarto archives can be accessed here. The most recent issue of Quarto can be read here.

Mission Statement

Quarto is dedicated to innovation in its many forms (considering innovation’s meaning to the writer or artist) and to finding fresh voices and exploring new opportunities to recognize creatives—all in the effort to promote an  ever-changing literary landscape on campus. We are committed to uplifting a variety of voices and experiences,  as well as representing a diverse community of writers and artists within and beyond our staff. In particular, Quarto strives to center and magnify work from voices that are systemically silenced. We welcome creatives of color, queer and trans creatives, disabled creatives, immigrant creatives, low-income creatives, fat creatives, femme creatives, and multilingual creatives and promise to engage with your work thoughtfully, justly, and enthusiastically.

Contact Us

Feel free to reach out to us via email at columbiaquarto@gmail.com or via Instagram @columbiaquarto.

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