By Lucy Vincent and Alana Norris. Featured image: Bradley Sansom

In each print issue, aAh! Magazine interrogates a single word which runs as a theme throughout our published submissions. The theme of our next issue is LEGACY.

“We want YOU to be part of our LEGACY.”

This latest issue marks the celebration of Manchester Metropolitan University’s 200th anniversary and the tenth print issue of aAh! The magazine provides a space for student voices to be heard, exploring a wide range of themes throughout its previous issues. We want to hear your interpretation of our latest theme: LEGACY.

Our legacy shapes our future, influencing the lives of generations yet unborn. Our legacy is what we have created and achieved. Our legacy is now. Perhaps legacy is a person with a lasting impact; maybe it’s a tradition or the accomplishments of a community or individual. Maybe legacy is the change that you want to see in the world.

Why did you get that bee tattoo? Is the curry mile even that long? How did terraced streets in Salford inspire the world’s longest-running television soap? Have you been inspired by our city’s streets? What first you have experienced in our city? Could this be your first concert, Pride parade, or protest?

Maybe you are getting ready to leave Manchester; did the city meet your expectations? How can other students make the most of their experience here? What legacy have you created? While Manchester’s past is rich with history, we are equally interested in the present moment. Are there any teachers or mentors leaving a lasting impact on our community? Who are the people tackling future global issues? If you have written for aAh! magazine in the past, where are you now?

Writers and Journalists – Call for submissions

We are looking for features, interviews, reviews, opinion pieces, creative prose, poetry, artwork, and photography that offers a critical, insightful and creative slant on the theme of LEGACY. We would like inventive and thought-provoking perspectives to create a magazine that opens conversation and breaks convention.

aAh! welcomes all student writers and journalists to pitch ideas to be considered for print publication. Have an idea for a feature, interview, review, opinion, listicle, how-to, profile or Q&A you’d like to pitch? Email the team at aAh.Editor@gmail.com to discuss your ideas using the subject line ‘LEGACY’. Chat to the team to discuss a working deadline for your specific idea.

Check out our previous themed print magazines to see how student journalists, creative writers and artists have explored the given theme, and explore our editor’s ‘LEGACY’ themed prompts below to support you to generate ideas for this issue.

LEGACY Prompts

News and Features: The legacies of people in power; The individuals making a change and righting wrongs; Legacies passed down through generations; Legacies found in everyday allyship

Arts and Culture: Separating the art from the artist; Is a complicated legacy enduring? Digital footprints and the legacy we are leaving online; Innovation and digitisation in creative industries; Architectural heritage

Fashion and Beauty: Fashion icons; Nostalgia and trends; Timeless appeal; Manchester’s place in fashion; A sustainable futures

Lifestyle: Preserving family traditions; Recipes passed down through generations; Achieving your potential; Staying motivated and on track

Community/Experience: Exploring the legacies of unrecognised people or underrepresented communities; Lasting impact; Collective memory, skills and traditions

Music: Reflecting on our city’s rich music history; Future legends; The individuals people powering Manchester’s independent scenes; Tribute bands; Sound tracks of our lives

Environment: Leaving no trace; Protecting our future; Right to Roam; Sustainable wins

Literature: Authors who have had a big impact; Revisiting classics; Legendary works and their place in modern society

Featured Artist Brief

A spotlight on a visual artist – submit up to ten images and we will pick our favourites to be featured throughout the magazine. Fine artists of all practices welcome, illustrators, photographers and graphic designers. Send us a brief bio and explanation of how your work relates to the theme LEGACY.

Eligibility

Artists and designers are welcome to submit works in any medium: painting, drawing,
sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, photography, textile, installation, any mixed media, digital, performance and film (jpg still image and a link to video) etc. All visual art mediums are welcome. Submit your visual work in a digital format in the highest possible resolution you have available – not below 300 dpi.

Visual Guidelines

We will accept work and visuals in JPEG, PNG or TIFF formats. Artwork must be at least 300 dpi or more. All artwork must be at least 210 x 297 mm to fit in the magazine, and should fit comfortably on a page of this aspect ratio.

Our Featured Artists work will be published alongside a range of features, interviews, previews, opinion, creative prose, poetry, artwork, and photography that offers a critical, insightful and creative slant on the theme of LEGACY.

We are looking for inventive and thought-provoking perspectives to create a magazine that opens conversation and breaks convention.

To submit a piece to be considered for publication, email your submission to aAh.Editor@gmail.com with the subject line ‘LEGACY Featured Artist Submission’.

Creative Writing Brief

We are accepting works of prose, poetry, flash fiction and art on the theme of LEGACY. All work will be considered for publication, but only work under 300 words in length will have the opportunity to be featured in our print magazine. Longer pieces of poetry and prose will still have the opportunity to be published in our online magazine.

To submit a piece to be considered for publication, email your submission to aAh.Editor@gmail.com with the subject line ‘LEGACY Creative Submission’.