At The Tower, we aim to showcase the best creative writing and visual art by undergraduate students at Minnesota Colleges and Universities. We believe artistic expression is necessary and has the power to enlighten, challenge, and captivate. That’s why we provide a creative outlet for those who wish to share their work.
We trace our origins to the University student newspaper The Minnesota Daily, which ran Ivory Tower from 1952 to 1969 first as a column and eventually as a regular insert. The Ivory Tower was reinvented in 2006 as an annual literary magazine staffed by students enrolled in a yearlong class offered by the English Department at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus. We shortened our name to The Tower with the 2018 edition.
We have been honored by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association with their Gold Crown Award for literary magazine for our 2021 and 2020 editions.
Our annual print edition comes out in the spring; we accept submissions in the fall of every year. Submissions for the 2025-2026 edition of The Tower open on October 10th, 2025 and close on January 5th, 2026.
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2025-2026 Staff
