SER’s Halloween fundraiser offers a festive, carnival-like atmosphere with readings, costume contest, trivia, and more

By Jaylen Forbes

October is the Halloween season, which means it is time for Southeast Review’s yearly Halloween fundraiser, one of the literary journal’s biggest events of the year.

“The fundraiser is a big undertaking and is a joint effort between graduate and undergraduate students,” says Emilio Carrero, SER’s assistant editor, adding that the staff begins planning the event in the summer with the summer undergraduate interns. “We start with the big picture, which means deciding what events and activities we want to have at the fundraiser, such as the open mic reading, the silent auction, and the bake sale.”

The summer organizing includes contact with local businesses to ask if they will participate in the event. Once the fall semester starts, the staff works on the event’s finer details: procuring donations from local businesses; developing volunteer committees for the fundraiser events; and establishing a specific time, location, and schedule for the night of the event.

“That's a very condensed version of everything that goes into it, but that's the overall timeline,” Carrero says.

This year’s fundraiser occurs on Tuesday, Oct. 17, at The Bark, 507 All Saints Street, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., giving attendees plenty of time to enjoy the scheduled activities.

“One of the main goals of the fundraiser is to offer the Tallahassee and FSU community a free opportunity to practice literary citizenship, that is, extend our enthusiasm for contemporary fiction, essays, poetry, and art to those unfamiliar with our publication, and hopefully, garner more local support,” says SER Editor-in-Chief Natalie Tombasco, who started at her position at the beginning of the Fall 2023 semester.

The event includes readings by a trio of Florida State University English professors—Ravi Howard, Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and L. Lamar Wilson—as well as student readers Havilah Sciabbarrasi, Hikari Lelani Meiya, KT, Kyle Flak, and Olivia Sokolowski. Guests should be prepared for a full hour of trivia and a supernatural, cult classic-themed costume contest.

“We wanted a theme that was supernatural themed, but we also wanted to give it a fun twist, which is where the ‘classics’ part comes in. It's a play on ‘the occult’ and ‘cult classics,’” Carerro says. "People can dress up in costumes relating to the supernatural—and/or preternatural as English Associate Lecturer Moly Hand would be quick to remind me—or they could dress up in costumes related to cult classic movies and books.”

The fundraiser has a festive atmosphere, Carrero says, an occasion where both faculty and students unite “to be Halloweeny outside of the classroom,” they add. With attendees wearing an array of imaginative costumes, the night of activities and events keep the “carnival energy high.”

We wanted a theme that was supernatural themed, but we also wanted to give it a fun twist, which is where the ‘classics’ part comes in. It's a play on ‘the occult’ and ‘cult classics. Halloween meets literary — think Guillermo del Toro vibes minus the violence.

— Emilio Carerro

“Halloween meets literary — think Guillermo del Toro vibes minus the violence,” Carerro says. “Last year was a great success thanks to our previous Editor-in-Chief Laura Biagi and Assistant Editor Amanda Hadlock, as well as our current Production Editor Gemma English, and the 2022 fall interns Ali Cardelli, Arthur Noriega, and Taylor Tieder, and many others.

“In short, it's truly a team effort—like everything at Southeast Review.”

In addition to the ongoing costume contest, The Bark will be filled with a bake sale of autumnal treats, tarot card readings by FSU English Professor Celia Caputi, and poetry-on-demand tables.

“The main event, though, is our Silent Auction, where attendees can bid on coveted donated items,” Tombasco says. “I've found that there are a lot of moving pieces that keep a literary magazine afloat and the fall fundraiser is a big part of the puzzle.”

Southeast Review is a nonprofit 501c3 organization run by graduate and undergraduate students who attend Florida State University. The fundraiser helps the magazine cover its yearly operating costs, which includes paying the authors and printing the fall and spring issues, and provides funds for editors to travel to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs Conference to represent the magazine.

“Not only do we aim to provide a stage for emerging and diverse writers, but we also champion social justice issues,” says Tombasco, outlining SER’s mission. “We are pleased to offer our incarcerated writers workshop initiative at Gadsden Correctional Facility, and we accept free BIPOC submissions.”

The entire publication is available online to remain accessible to a wide readership, she says. Affordable online workshops and the Writer's Regimen are offered throughout the summer months for writers to practice their craft with magazine staff and other authors.

“The volunteer staff juggles many external responsibilities such as taking a full course load, teaching, and working on their own writing pursuits,” Tombasco says. “While it is very much a labor of love, it is an invaluable experience for students to be part of this 44-year-old publication.”

All events the staff organize are free to the public, and the Halloween fundraiser provides a night of literary talent and engaging events to anyone interested in showing up to have a good time and contributing toward a great cause.

Jaylen Forbes is a senior who is majoring in English-Editing, Writing, and Media with a minor in communication.

Schedule for events

Faculty and Student reading: 6:30-7:30

English Professor Elizabeth Stuckey-French, Assistant Professor Ravi Howard and Assistant Professor L. Lamar Wilson will be reading. Student readers include Kudzu Review Editor-in-Chief Havilah Sciabbarrasi and graduate students Hikari Lelani Miya, KT, Kyle Flak, and Olivia Sokolowski.

Silent auction (throughout the night)

More than 40 gifts donated from local Tallahassee businesses, including Midtown Reader, Hair on Earth, Square Mug Café, Hummingbird Wine Bar, Fat Cat Books, Gaines Street Pies, the Challenger Learning IMAX Theater, and others are on the list. Click here to see the list of auction items and make bids in advance of the event.

Trivia contest: 7:30-8:30

The theme for the trivia will be Occult Classics and the contest is free to enter. Teams of four to six people can compete and test their knowledge of all things magical, literary, and beyond. Prizes will be awarded to first and second place winners.

Tarot Readings: 7-9

Resident faculty diviner Professor Celia Caputi will be delivering tarot readings (min. $5 donation) on the outside patio. Readings will last approximately 15 minutes. Click here to sign-up for an appointment time.

Poetry on Demand (throughout the night)

Graduate students KT and Noah Brown will alchemize a poem (spell) for anyone using just three prompt words.

Bake Sale (throughout the night)

The Halloween bake sale includes pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies, apple cider donuts, ooey gooey buttercake, pumpkin gooey bars, Oreo brownies, and vegan chocolate bundt cake with cookie butter frosting.

Costume Contest 8:30-9:30

The three categories are scariest, wittiest, and funniest. Prizes will be awarded to the winners.