Each semester, students at UW-Eau Claire produce the only literary and fine arts magazine on campus. This semester’s edition of the book, known as NOTA, will be unveiled Thursday at its release party at the Volume One Gallery.

NOTA Editor in Chief, senior Charlotte Kupsh, said the party is to celebrate the publication and those published in it and it’s open to the public.

“Volume One does a great job of supporting people in our local community and we like to bring the community into it as well and showcase our artists off campus … because during the semester it’s always on campus,” Kupsh said.

She said two versions of the book will be released. Pocket NOTA features a few long-form prose pieces, while the full book has prose, poetry, art and even music. Each issue features bands and a mix CD.

Lindsey Quinies, program director at Volume One, said it has hosted the event for the past few years. She said even though NOTA is in print form, the release party gives it a chance to come to life.

“It’s like an art reception set up with some open mic and some readings (from contributors) and some music mixed in,” Quinnies said.

Kupsh said having the party at an off-campus venue allows for a realistic experience if the contributors were published in a non-univerisity publication and garners them more exposure.

“It’s nice to … celebrate that in a way that’s different from the everyday,” she said. “It’s nice to show that what they did was significant and this is a professional publication.”

She said the book itself is a great way for students to break into the publishing and art worlds and is a great resume booster.

“It is a professional publication, and we do have our student committees who vote on their work so it does say that your work got reviewed and selected from a wide range of submissions, and that’s not something students get to do a lot as an undergrad,” Kupsh said. “It’s a fun thing to be able to say you’ve done and to see your work in print.”

Senior Erin Stevens was on a selection committee and has three pieces featured in the book. She said she’ll be attending the event for the first time this year, but there’s a lot she’s looking forward to.

“Just listening to everyone else’s work who was published in NOTA because I haven’t seen who else is in it, so I’m looking forward to hearing everyone’s pieces,” Stevens said. “It gives students something free to do, and also eat food and support their fellow students, even if the don’t necessarily know the people in it, it’s just supporting the community they’re a part of.”

Stevens said NOTA marks her first time being published.

“Even though it’s undergrad, it’s still giving students experience and exposure and it’s helping foster our creative community on campus and I think it’s also helpful for the community to see the work that students are producing,” Stevens said.

Quinnies also said NOTA is a valuable platform for students.

“It gives talented students a platform to publish their work … it gives them a more comfortable platform to work off of before they’re released into the real world,” Quinnies said. “The fact that it’s a student-made, student-run, student-featured publication  highlights how talented a lot of the university students are.”

Kupsh said anyone can attend and enjoy the event.

“They don’t have to be a connoisseur of art and literature to come,” she said. “It’s just a fun time to hang out and see people and hear what people have been doing.”