The EEB Quarterly is a digital publication in the style of a general-interest magazine made by and for graduate students in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. The Quarterly consists of a Newsletter and a Features portion. Our mission is two-fold:

1. The Newsletter highlights recent work by EEB graduate students and gathers useful information from the three campuses in one place. This includes news like thesis defences, publications, upcoming workshops and lecture series, reminders for conference deadlines and funding, activities available to us on and around the three campuses, as well as short student interviews on matters of general interest. Our aim is to identify and highlight the news and information most relevant to us, the students of EEB, and to celebrate the achievements and personalities of our department members.
2. The Features section allows graduate students to publicly express their original ideas on tropics related to EEB and the scientific community in the form of essays and reviews; its purpose is to provide an outlet for students to practice non-technical science writing and build their portfolios. Think of this as a friendly environment in which to sharpen your writing skills. If you like to think and write about science or nature, writing for the EEB Quarterly gives you built-in access to an interested audience and the opportunity for both feedback and a line on your CV.

Throughout both sections, we highlight artwork and photography by EEB graduate students.

Affiliation

We currently have no formal affiliation with the EEB department or with the Ecology and evolution Graduate Students Association (EGSA), though this may change in the future. We want all students to feel represented by the Quarterly, but we don’t claim to represent the EEB student body in any technical manner.

How it works: volunteer editors and writers

The Newsletter portion is the responsibility of the volunteer editors. Toward the beginning of each quarter, the editors meet to pitch newsletter segments, decide on which segments to run, and make segment assignments.

For the Features portion, essays and book reviews are submitted by student writers. We solicit essay commitments at the start of each publication cycle (September, January) by email. Interested students are encouraged to respond promptly to secure an essay slot. Each piece is due one month prior to publication (i.e., 1st of November for the Fall/Winter issue). After this, our aim is to have a one-week turnaround on edits. Unlike with scientific manuscripts, essay writers will not necessarily have to submit revisions; small-scale revisions will be made by editors unless authors request to make their own. For larger-scale changes, authors will be contacted by the editor with recommendations. See the Get Involved page for more details on essay categories.

Calls for photography and art submissions are made approximately one month before publication date, but we will accept submissions at any time throughout the year. Unfortunately, we are unable to pay for submitted writing, photography, artwork, or editing. All participation is currently voluntary.

Who can submit writing and art/photography to the Quarterly?

All graduate students in EEB at UofT are eligible to submit writing, art, and photography.

GET INVOLVED!

The EEB Quarterly is intended to be a useful, amusing, and thought-provoking resource for readers and writers. It is also meant to be available to all students in the department, not a small handful. So join up! Participation in the review benefits the departmental community, your writing and CV, and ultimately benefits your career. We hope to hear from you!