An interview with Slovo Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Dudakova
Posted by Slovo on 2023-06-17
Now that our Spring Issue launch is just around the corner, Online Editor Phoebe Hardingham sat down with Editor-in-Chief Ekaterina Dudakova to ask her about the process so far, and her vision for the journal going forward. We hope you enjoy!
PH: Why did you apply to be editor-in-chief of Slovo?
ED: I applied to be an Editor-in-Chief of Slovo because I am generally interested in the publishing industry and really wanted to give it a go! I also thought that the Journal could grow further in engagement with students personally which is why our team is currently working on enhancing social media posts and interactions, as well as potentially producing printed versions of the journal to be shared later in the year.
PH: What is your vision for Slovo?
ED: Slovo is an interdisciplinary journal that looks for original, bold and innovative submissions. Looking at our Spring Issue, I am proud to say that every piece represents every one of these adjectives. We are not stopping on this, however, and are working towards making the journal as accessible as possible and are planning to provide audio versions of the articles and a podcast in the future.
PH: What are you most excited about in the upcoming issue?
ED: I am very excited to finally be able to have guests and authors meet in person at our launch event! I think it is so exciting that we can finally be together in the room to share ideas, passions and interests with each other in an informal environment. I am definitely excited to hear the readers’ opinions on the published pieces and any feedback they have to us as an editorial team.
PH: What surprised you about the process of putting together the spring issue?
ED: I was (pleasantly) surprised by how diverse the subjects and topics of submitted pieces were. All submissions were original and concerned topics, not frequently discussed in academia. I think many of them could potentially inspire more people to investigate those subjects further in-depth.
PH: Now that the spring Issue is completed, what are you looking forward to about working on the autumn issue?
ED: Now that we, as a new editorial board of Slovo, have had an opportunity to get used to the process of working in the journal, I am looking forward to realising further projects that we wanted to put forward with the team, such as a podcast about young people and their research in academia, inclusion of artworks in the edition and others. I am also so excited to read the new submissions and see what other topics are going to be explored in the journal!
PH: What advice do you have for anyone thinking of submitting their work to Slovo?
ED: If you have a certain passion among the topics that surround the region of our journal, go for it and submit your piece! Publishing with a student journal is a fantastic opportunity for you to get hands-on experience of the publishing industry, as well as receive valuable feedback. Please make sure to check all the requirements that we state in the advertisement, such as the MHRA referencing (if you don’t abide by it, we will have to reject the piece!) and word count for different types of submissions. These are technicalities but they are extremely important in the editing and publishing processes.
Our team is looking forward to receiving your submissions!
The Spring Issue of Slovo will be published on 20th June. We hope to see you at our launch event from 5-7pm in the Masaryk Room at UCL SSEES (16 Taviton Street). More information available here.