Welcome to The Edge, the University of Southampton’s magazine dedicated to all things entertainment!
Whether you study humanities or computer science, we want to hear from you. To write for The Edge, the only criteria is that you’re a University of Southampton student with a love for entertainment – whether that be film, theatre, literature, or even podcasts! No experience is required, and we all started a little messy when we began writing for The Edge, so please don’t let fears about your writing ability put you off. Passion is what we’re interested in, and that will shine through no matter your experience!
Here at The Edge we cover all aspects of entertainment writing, from reviews and interviews, to critical feature pieces and the latest news within the industry. We’ve covered big releases, such as an early album stream of Lady Gaga’s Chromatica, a private screening for Parasite, and an interview with beabadoobee, right through to local university news like the Share the Sound Festival put on by our Music department, and shows put on by our theatre societies such as Be More Chill and The Trial of Dorian Gray. We’re also hoping to expand on our Art section in 23/24, from the Tate Modern to John Hansard, Winchester School of Art and other local artists. If Art is a passion of yours, then we would definitely love to hear from you!
The main aim of the 23/24 committee is to introduce more diversity, inclusivity and criticism into the magazine. Having access to the platform that we do, it is our duty to educate readers, and discuss those often ignored throughout the entertainment industry, opposed to only focussing on what mainstream media already covers. As such, we aim to celebrate these marginalised groups, shown in pieces such as Genre in Focus: Grime, Billboard ‘Woman of the Year’ Controversy, Hollywood’s Queer History: An Overview, Disney’s Queer History: Ursula, Elsa and Onward, and Introducing: New Mexican Cinema to name a few. Alongside increasing the magazines diversity, we also want to bring in more investigative journalism in pieces such as our upcoming critique of R Kelly and Michael Jackson’s acceptance within the industry, despite their actions. If this sounds like something for you, then you should consider joining our News Team – a writers group set up in 20/21 dedicated to sharing all entertainment news, especially that which is overlooked or hidden by mainstream media.
The Edge is now well-past its 10-year mark of independence from Wessex Scene, the university’s newspaper dedicated to lifestyle, sport, politics, science and more! If this is more your thing, then be sure to check out their website and get in touch about writing for them. Throughout the year, we create 7 magazines (which this year will sadly be mostly online opposed to print), one of which is a collaboration with Wessex Scene. You can check out our full collection on ISSUU, or read a recent Pride Edition here.
Outside of writing, The Edge is one of the most welcoming societies you can join. Membership is free, you don’t even have to write to join us, but we can often be found debating who will win the latest series of RuPaul’s Drag Race in The Bridge. The Edge is an inclusive society, which means we ensure our socials don’t revolve around drinking as this excludes many from university culture. So, if you want to join a book club, go to gigs and festivals for free, visit art museums, and of course the odd pub crawl, then The Edge is the perfect society for you!
If you have any questions, are nervous, or just want to know more, then don’t hesitate from contacting us. If you’re keen to get writing straight away, then fill out the new writer document and we’ll get back to you straight away. We love newcomers, and can’t wait to read all your articles soon!
Important links to get you started:
Need help navigating our website for the first time? Our ‘how to write an article’ guide will help you there!
Our 2023-24 Writers Handbook can be found here. This goes into a little more detail.
Our sign-up form can be found here, fill in the details and we’ll get an account set up for you ASAP!
Design Credits to Rebecca Ormsby.