NATCHITOCHES – A joint event, the launch party for the 50th Anniversary edition of Argus, and the reading for the winners of the 2026 NSU-Argus Award for Excellence in Creative Writing, will be held on Wednesday, April 22 at 6 p.m. in the Friedman Student Union. The public is invited to attend.
Argus is Northwestern State University’s award-winning campus literary magazine. This year’s issue is titled “Serendipity.” Rebecca Scott is the editor-in-chief.
“When choosing a theme for Argus’ 50th anniversary, our editorial team knew that ‘Serendipity’ was the perfect choice,” said Scott. “This edition invites our readers to find meaning in the unplanned, celebrating the happy discoveries that define both the artistic process and the human experience.”
Scott said this anniversary is more than a celebration of a number.
“It is a tribute to fifty years of incredible student editors, writers, and artists who have poured their entire beings into these pages,” said Scott ‘“Serendipity’ perfectly captures the magic of how this milestone issue came together from a culmination of decades of talent meeting at the perfect, unplanned moment.”
Argus is open to all NSU students and includes original works of fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, photography, fine arts, mixed media and play manuscripts.
Winners of the NSU-Argus Award for Excellence in Creative Writing were Anja Moore of Vivian, Gabrielle Williams of Keithville and Katie Grace Rion of Lake Charles.
The contest judge was Angela Giaimo, a queer Latine writer and artist from Colombia. They received an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine arts, and their work has appeared in Witch Craft Magazine, Cotton Xenomorph, and Write or Die Magazine. Giaimo lives in Maryland. To learn more about Giaimo go to their Substack at angelagiaimo.substack.com or visit Instagram at @demonrising.
Moore is a sophomore liberal arts major and the current president of Demon Writers’ Guild. She loves music and poetry.
“This poetry collection is stunning,” said Giaimo. “Each piece conjures sensory images and handles the visceral aspects of its many themes with care and precision. I was especially moved by part IV of ‘Roman Children.’ The collection as a whole is a great example of using a deliberate approach to curate an aesthetic experience for the reader, and it delivers each piece with a artistic dedication.”
Williams has been writing since 2017 and began to share publicly in 2024. Her work focuses on grief, love, religion and identity. She is a senior psychology/addiction studies student and research intern at NSU. You can view her work on Instagram at @wwwthelavendercollection.
“This poetry collection felt raw and unfiltered, while still maintaining the art of crafting beautiful words and sculpting away at themes of religion, violence, and conflicting intimacy,” said Giaimo. “The poems ‘You Better Believe It’ and ‘You Dance Over the Bones of My Children’ were particularly breathtaking considering the current religious tensions and the political climate we are living in. Reading this felt like walking into a fully committed state of artistic vulnerability.”
Rion is a junior at Northwestern studying English and creative writing. Her work has previously appeared in The Quatrain and most recently The Bloomin’ Onion. On top of literary fiction, she has a deep appreciation for horror.
“Weightless Again” is an impressive story,” said Giaimo. “What I love so much about this piece is how grounded and relatable the characters are. We see Fran, Xavier, and Michael briefly before crisis strikes, and by that point, we are invested. This writer’s use of voice displays great instincts and an understanding of how human emotions and motivations can be stacked to build tension along an intriguing narrative.”
Past issues of Argus are available online at https://nsutraditions.com/digital-archives.
Photo caption
Winners of the NSU-Argus Award for Excellence in Creative Writing will be recognized at an event on Wednesday, April 22 at 6 p.m. in the Friedman Student Union. The winners are, from left, Katie Grace Rion of Lake Charles, Anja Moore of Vivian and Gabrielle Williams of Keithville.