Ad Aster

Hey Asterisks! 🎧 This special senior edition of Ad Aster brings together host Judy with guests Kate, Joyce, and Emma as they reflect on the chaos, beauty, and transformation of senior year and the transition to college. From academic burnout and childhood nostalgia to candid college advice and emotional resilience, this episode is an honest, heartwarming look at growing up. 🌐 Learn more: https:/...

Hey Asterisks! What do you think happens when there is a collision between mental health and creativity? In this episode of Ad Aster, your host Zara Siddiqui is joined by Aldrin Badiola, Aster’s newest associate editor and podcast team member, for an open-hearted conversation about writing, burnout, stigmatization in the literary community, and overall emotional honesty.  Join us as we explore the...

Hey Asterisks! Have you ever submitted to a literary magazine and wondered what happens next? Who reads your pieces? Are they even real, or are they just highly literate robots running on caffeine? In this episode, Zara Siddiqui and Judy Khaled discuss what it's like being a teen editor. Join them on this lighthearted, real, and somewhat crazy episode! Timestamps: 00:00 – Welcome & Introdu...

Hey Asterisks! 🎧 Join us as we dive into the art of storytelling through photography and literature! Our host, Zara Hafeez Siddiqui, Podcast Director and Managing Editor at Aster Lit, is joined by two incredible guests: Emma Zhang, Co-Editor-in-Chief, and Tony Pan, Managing Editor. Together, they explore the power of photography, how it connects to writing, and the role of perspective and interpr...

Hey Asterisks! Join us as we explore Asterlit’s 2024 summer internship program. Our host, Judy Khaled, a podcast team member and Associate Editor at Asterlit, is joined by three incredible guests: Celina Simone, our Editor-in-Chief; Angie, an Associate Editor and Events Team Member; and Naomi Ferraro, a Managing Editor and Social Media Team Member. Together, they’ll share their inspiring journeys...

We’re joined by our host: Zara Siddiqui, the Podcast Director and Managing editor at Aster, as well as two fantastic guests: Emma Zhang, our Editor-in-Chief; and Judy Khaled, an Associate Editor and podcast team member. They’ll share their unique journeys from interns to key team members at AsterLit, offering invaluable insights and personal experiences along the way. Whether you’re curious about...

Our summer interns are back with another episode of Ad Aster! Join Aster Lit interns Judy, Angie, and Nabeeha for a deep dive into all things writing routines—the famous, the personal, the pros and the cons. Like our last episode, this episode was produced from start to finish by our summer interns. Thank you to our hosts for their hard work, to Joyce for the episode transcript, to Elizabeth for e...

Welcome to our first-ever summer intern edition of Ad Aster! Join Aster Lit interns Judy, Angie, and Zara for an eye-opening and laughter-filled episode on some of our favorite children’s stories (and their darker histories). Learn about Disney favorites and classic tales as we celebrate the stories that have inspired us since childhood. This episode was produced from start to finish by our first...

Join Emma and Sara for a dive into one of our favorite genres at Ad Aster: magical realism! In this episode, Emma and Sara discuss all things magical realism, with—in true Ad Aster fashion—tangents galore. How is magical realism uniquely powerful for processing difficult realities? How does it intersect with other genres? Who are some of our favorite magical realism authors and their stories? Tune...

In 2024, how do we want to redefine the role of writing in our lives? According to co-hosts Kate and Emma, “I write, therefore I think, therefore I am”—as in, writing is the most fundamental catalyst and medium of new thoughts, ideas, and interpretations of the world. Join them as they explore writing as a mindset (a philosophy for directing attention and intention), set new year's resolutions...

Join Daniel and Sunny as they explore their friendship in the teen writing community—from their friendship origin story to being founders and Editors-in-Chief of teen writing magazines to meeting writers as people after reading their works intimately. Navigating the constellations of online competition, college matriculation, plagiarism, and gaining confidence in their work,  Daniel and Sunny have...

Join poet, editor, and translator Poupeh Missaghi as well as Ad Aster hosts Emma and Celina to reflect on her work. We discuss Missaghi’s book trans(re)lating house one , what it means to be a writer and reporter during times of violence and crisis, and how to subvert traditional narratives of backwardness and victimhood with aesthetics, form, and emphasis of questions over answers. ad as•ter ep•i...

In part 2 of our series on writing competitions, Emma, Ari, and Daisy talk about how to find competitions and opportunities, submitting strategies, and introduce some international writing competitions in poetry, short stories, and more, with input from guest Anna Feng on her own experience winning a Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award .  In addition to the international contests mentioned in the...

Join Emma and Daisy as they explore the application process for upcoming (U.S. based*) writing competitions! Listen to first hand advice and experiences from Bennington, YoungArts, and Scholastic Winners ad as•ter ep•i•sode 22 /ˌad ˈa-str ep ˌ-sōd 'twen-ty /to͞o/ /n. Mosaic of tips and reflections from past Bennington Young Writers Awards, YoungArts, and Scholastic winners Joanna - Meaningful...

Join Editor in Chief Emma Zhang and Managing Editor Celina Naheed as we discuss our literary magazine theme for fall 2023: Lacuna.   Originating from the latin etymon Lacus , meaning “lake,” the word Lacuna is defined as an unfilled interval, or gap; as in, a gap filled with water, like the ones in history, or like our perception of the world, translation, black-out poetry, the editing process, an...

Join Emma and Fiona as we talk to Lucy Zhang about hybrid writing, growing tech implications for the literary arts (or the lack thereof), self-teaching writing from works we admire, and how to have creative freedom in a competitive world and economy. ad as•ter ep•i•sode 20 n. An interview with the incredible Lucy Zhang Hybrid form (aka the undoing of form), writing + technology meditations: the au...

In this interview with the incredible poet & translator Sean Zhuraw, we discuss Zhuraw’s experience translating The Starchild and The Starlit Path by German poet Theodor Däubler. We explore linguistic, cross-cultural, and generational identities and connections, especially as they are enriched or represented through translated literature. We also examine experience vs. expression and ways in which...

Ariana Thornton is a teen poet, artist, and environmental activist whose many awards include being recognized as the poetry theme winner for Issue 5 of Aster Lit ! Today we chat with Ariana about her journey as a storyteller, how she self-published her chapbook Creation Stories while in high school, and her advice to young writers wanting to get their work published and shared with a wider audienc...

Do we write to remember or do we remember in order to write? To what extent do we change our memories to write better stories? How does writing filter and dictate what matters enough to be remembered? Join Zara and Emma for an episode of reminiscence and existential musings as we explore the relationship between writing and memory, inspired by our Fall 2022 theme: remembrance.

Join Liz and Caroline as they traverse a conversational journey that transcends space (Caroline is currently in Oregon and Liz is IN NYC, which are sadly not within driving distance), and the titular topic (Time); coming of age during the pandemic and beyond, the time-bending nature of love, and our favorite literature on time. If you’re a fan of heart-wrenching New Yorker poems,  hopeful romantic...

Hi Asterisks! We hope that you're all doing well! In this episode, Maddy, Abby, and Emma discussed their experiences on the teen writing world and reflected on some lessons they've learned. Whether you're just beginning to enter competitions and programs or a veteran of the teen writing community, this episode will definitely have something you relate to. 

If you ever want to have an incredible conversation about having incredible conversations, Sophie Beren is your girl! She is the founder and CEO of The Conversationalist , a multimedia digital platform empowering 15,000+ Gen Z leaders to break out of their echo chambers, have difficult conversations, and unify together. Through The Conversationalist's Gen Z Talk Show, "POVz"; their digital network...

Hello Asterisks, long time no see! We hope you've had a great 2022 so far. In this episode, Caroline, Hesandi, and Maddy shared their New Year's Resolutions and plans they hope to accomplish in the new year. Join us as we discuss how to balance all of your goals (and provide some tips for your resolutions too!) 

Hi Asterisks, and welcome back to the 11th episode of Ad Aster! Today, Maddy and Liz discussed productivity and writing, fall, English classes, and college applications (dun dun dun!!) Join us as we discuss how to avoid writer's block and burnout or if you want some tips to remain engaged and in love with writing. 

Hey Asterisks, and welcome back to Ad Aster's tenth episode! Today, Maddy and Liz were joined by Binaka Norris, the Director of Marketing for Diversify Our Narrative, an organization seeking to increase anti-racism curricula and representation in schools. Join us as we chat about all things diversity and inclusion (as well as some #PublixLove). As we turn our lens onto the youth writing community,...