After nearly two years of preparation, the student-produced LandEscapes Literary Journal can finally unveil its latest accomplishment: a new website.

LandEscapes publishes a journal annually that focuses on the creative talent of WSU undergraduate students. The journal publishes fiction, non-fiction, poetry, art, photos, graphics, music, and more.

Faculty Adviser Peter Chilson said the journal has progressed immensely.

“Years ago we used to have to publish LandEscapes with a CD of student’s work, and it was a little awkward,” Chilson said. “Progressively, we’ve done a better job at showcasing students’ art in photo, drawing, comic novel type stuff.”

The LandEscapes editors will launch their new website with the release of the 2015 journal. The release party will be held at 5 p.m. today in the Holland and Terrell Libraries’ Atrium. All can enjoy free Ferdinand’s ice cream, an open mic, and an art gallery.

Website editor Mara Almanzor said she was hired last year with the intention of redesigning LandEscapes’ current website. Almanzor said the previous site was “visually boring and difficult to navigate.”

“Things didn’t really get set into motion until his year,” Almanzor said. “And it wasn’t that it was a lot of work or hard to get things in motion, we just weren’t sure where or how to start.”

One challenge Almanzor faced was deciding how to design the website while maintaining creative freedom.

“We went through a couple drafts, which were all visually appealing, but didn’t feel right,” Almanzor said. “Then, when we finally found the right look, building the site had its usual kinks and troubleshooting that come along with designing and building a website.”

Almanzor said she is most excited for the website to finally go live to the public. Showing off her hard work is going to be a great feeling, she said. When viewers visit the site they can expect a clean and easy-to-navigate design.

“The design has been inspired by the cover design work from the last two years,” she said. “Visitors will be able to flip through the pages of each piece rather than just scrolling through a PDF, and view it from their cellphone.”

In the future, Almanzor said she hopes to have the website updated frequently as submissions come in, while possibly featuring a new a submission every month.

Chilson has advised the LandEscapes journal since he was hired in 1998 and said the students really run the magazine.

“I just help them cut the red tape and make sure they always have the resources they need,” he said. “They make the decisions, decide the content. I’m a glorified publisher-type.”

Chilson said the journal editor, Ana Schmidt, has also been an extraordinary help for the past two years. She’s a very special person who works very hard, he said.

“What started out as exclusively a literary journal with some art in it now has digital components, and it’s very much turning LandEscapes into a journal of the arts,” Chilson said.

Reporting by Brookelynn Graditi