The Spring 2023 19th edition of Obscura is now available! Click to read!

What is Obscura?

Obscura is an annual literary and art magazine that features the creative work of Red Rocks Community College students. Founded in 2004, Obscura has grown to become a staple of Red Rocks' creative culture. Send all submissions to rrccobscura@gmail.com by following the Submission Directions listed below.

Obscura's editorial staff is made up of students who take the Literary Magazine (ENG 2031) course in the Spring and a faculty managing editor from the English and Literature program. Students in ENG 2031 work as an editorial team to select poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and art for each edition. Students contribute to the designing, promotion, and overall vision of Obscura both in print and online. This is truly an RRCC student publication!

Digital editions of Obscura can be found at rrcc.edu/obscura. All former editions are archived at the Red Rocks Community College Library in Lakewood, CO.

If you are interested in joining Obscura in the Spring, sign-up or reach out to the Chair of the English Department!

How does someone get published?

Currently enrolled students at Red Rocks Community College can submit for a chance to be selected for publication.

Our typical genres for publication include fiction, poetry, nonfiction, visual art, one-act plays, graphic stories, and hybrid works such as visual poetry, photo essays, and collages.

Obscura may be open to other creative works of literary or artistic merit. Ask or send it our way!

Editors' Note: Unfortunately, we receive many fine submissions each year and cannot publish everything. We may also not be able to accept creative work that we, as editors, do not feel we are able to judge for publication.

Submission Directions:

Please read and follow the directions to ensure your best chances of being selected for publication.

• Send up to three submissions to rrccobscura@gmail.com

• Title your submission email "Submission"

• In the email, include your full name with both your student email address and a permanent non-student email address. Please state the title(s) and genre(s) of your work.

• Each submitted work must include a title or be named Untitled.

• All prose entries must be no more than 5,000 words long and must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx). Documents should be formatted with 12-point, Times New Roman font, and should be single-spaced and justified.

• All poetry entries must be no more than two pages long and must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx). Documents should be formatted with 12-point, Times New Roman font, and should be single-spaced.

• All visual art or writing must be submitted without a watermark, as an Adobe Acrobat file (.pdf), and must work for 5"x7" or 7"x5" dimensions (the size when printed).

• Due to the volume of submissions we receive, only three submissions per student per submission year are allowed.

• Upon sending work to Obscura, students agree that it may be published by Obscura as-is. It is recommended that work students do not send their work elsewhere until it has been accepted or rejected by Obscura or that students withdraw their work if it is no longer available by emailing us. Once published, all rights revert back to the authors and artists.

SPRING 2024 20th Edition Editors

Managing Editor

Elyse Marsh, Associate Professor, English and Literature

Spring 2023 19th Edition Editors

Managing Editor

Kevin Jacob Kelley, Associate Professor, English and Literature

Student Editors

Gage Barnard is a student and a writer who is often lost in the endless dream of fantasy worldbuilding. He has always had a passion for making characters and stories and is currently in the middle of writing his first novel. A night owl who spends most of his time playing video games or collecting and reading manga.

Rena Cathey is a second-year student at Red Rocks Community College, currently seeking an Associate of Arts in English. They favor creative writing, specifically poetry overfilled with metaphors no one will understand, and cannibalism. The gorier the better. When they are not frothing at the mouth writing apocalyptic love scenes, she can be found playing with or cuddling her excessive amounts of cats, gaming, or staring off into the abyss. On a good day, you may find them watching movies, documentaries, and educational videos about sharks. Rena loves long walks on the beach and is looking for single moms and dads near them.

Cy Dolph is a freshman this year and working on an associate of arts currently. With a love of arts, you can find Cy often enjoying music or podcast miniseries while working on personal artistic endeavors. When not working on projects involving their art or writing, you can often find him playing ttrpgs or video games like Stardew Valley with friends!

Audrey Donow is a concurrently enrolled senior in high school studying art at RRCC. She will graduate with an associate degree in the Spring and is going to Colorado State University next Fall 2023. She loves reading all types of genres, especially fiction and poetry. She loves listening to music, attending concerts, and making her own jewelry.

Nico Hartley is in his second year studying English with hopes of teaching someday. He has been working on two separate novels over the last few years and enjoys the process of bringing a world to life. Sci-fi and fantasy are both longtime favorites of his, and he has dabbled in poetry as well. When he is not reading or writing, he can be found pursuing his other passions such as drawing, sewing, playing piano, or learning something new whether it be computer software or bass guitar.

Carlie Kilroy is a high school student working as an editor for Obscura Literary Magazine. Carlie also goes to Dakota Ridge High School and she hopes to go to a four-year college like School of Mines. She hopes you enjoy the phenomenal talent this school has!

Chase R. Leaver is a student involved with publishing the Obscura magazine and hopes to inspire enthusiasm towards the magazine in others. He's far into writing a fantasy novel and has published a related short story in Obscura's 19th Edition. In terms of literary genres, Chase prefers stories in the vein of sci-fi/fantasy. He's an avid reader of Western literature and manga, and holds a strong interest in animal shelters. Chase aspires to learn more about the business functions of creative endeavors such as scriptwriting and tends to visit theaters or play tennis with friends in his free time.

Katrina Py is a freshman pursuing an Associate of Arts in English and hopes to move on to study Creative Writing with a concentration in fiction and poetry. She writes as a hobby as well as for-profit as a Digital Services Associate for Thoughtful Logic LLC. She contributed to a literary magazine during her senior year of high school and has also had several of her own works published in it. Beyond writing and reading, Katrina has a passion for music and plays several instruments. She is currently writing a collection of poetry she hopes to publish within the year.

Vianna Stearns (or Vivi for short) enjoys being a painter and creative writer. She writes both horror and nonfiction piece for fun and loves creating a story that gives a powerful emotion. She also enjoys painting horror pieces of different creatures that are depicted in lore. Vianna has also been an equestrian for over 11 years now and loves working with horses and creating art about them. She enjoys creating art and using it to express indescribable emotions and is currently working towards getting her master’s degree in psychology to become a therapist to help others around her.

Elizabeth Stocking is a sophomore at red rocks in their liberal arts program and is pursuing an architectural design degree. With a passion for all things literature Elizabeth has worked previously with Source Books and Harper Collins, helping to promote new releases. From 2017-2020, Elizabeth assisted in maintaining the indie book store Tattered Cover’s weekly newsletters and young adult events. Elizabeth was born and raised in Colorado; when she's not at school, she enjoys spending her days reading sappy romance books, hiking, and getting a bite to eat with friends.

Tommy Thomspon

Addie Wilson (who now occasionally goes by Addison after recently forgiving her parents for making her first and last name rhyme) is a sophomore working toward a BA in English with a Literature concentration. Regardless of the identity crisis caused by the new name pandemonium, Addie/Addison is sure of a few things: reading is the best pastime; nothing beats the rush of skiing but learning to snowboard has been a good test of patience; life is so much more fun if you are swallowed in a sweater, and poetry is meant to be read, recited, replicated, and reinvented.

Read the 18th Edition here!

Want to see some of our past published authors and artists?

Check out the links to Obscura's archived editions or could check out Obscura's YouTube channel.

Obscura Spring 2017 Issue

The 14th Edition (Spring 2017) of Obscura is now available! View or download it here.