Avery Stanley

Starting Lines Documents

Take a look at the documents I have edited as an editing intern at Starting Lines Magazine! 

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Trill Magazine Articles

Take a look at the articles I have edited as an editing intern at Trill Magazine!

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Books in Bloom: The Essence of Spring in Literature

You tend to know spring writing when you feel it. It doesn’t announce itself. There’s a stretching tone, a certain shift in temperature. The air gets looser. A sentence starts to breathe. You’ll find yourself halfway through a paragraph about gardens or weather or someone walking very slowly past a window, and suddenly you realize: ah — it’s spring.This isn’t about the date on the publishing calendar, though that too has its signals. Covers get softer. Titles begin to bloom — The Light Between A...
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In Defense of Pretentiousness: Why Big Ideas, Big Words, and Big Thinking Matter More Than Ever

In today’s culture, pretentiousness has become a quick and lazy insult. It’s what people say when someone dares to use a big word, cite a philosopher, talk passionately about something obscure, or—God forbid—sound like they might have read a book. Once a critique of shallow snobbery, “pretentious” is now a reflexive way to shut down depth, thoughtfulness, and intellectual curiosity.But here’s the thing: what we call pretentious is often just ambition. It’s the attempt to express something comple...
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Why Do All Book Covers Look the Same?

You don’t have deja vu, modern book covers all look way too similar.If you’ve seen one modern romance book, chances are you’ve seen them all. The book has a 2D, minimalist drawing of a girl and a boy, the title curled around them in a cursive font, all set on top of a colorful background. It seems like there are hundreds of books that fit this description, and they just keep coming.Book covers have heavily evolved throughout history. Images did not even appear on the front of books until near th...
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5 Fantasy Books to Get Lost In This June

Fantasy is one of those genres that has a magical ability to transport readers to new worlds. It’s exciting to see fantastical places and imagine ourselves as epic heroes with abilities we could only dream of. Fantasy books are some of the best out there for escaping reality.For a lot of readers of fantasy, escapism is a huge appeal towards the genre. Why be a regular human when you can be a morally grey rogue or the sole savior of your kingdom? I love the feeling of getting lost in a book, and...
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7 Nonfiction Books about Women to Remind You That History Doesn’t Only Belong to Men

History is often told from the perspective of the men, focused on the experiences of men and actions of men. With this tainted perspective, it can be easy to assume that women simply did not engage much in history. This is incredibly false. Women have always existed and contributed to history, but their stories have often been forgotten, erased, or neglected.When we forget history we are doomed to repeat it. Misogyny and discrimination is still present in the modern world. The first step to comb...
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5 Books You Read in High School (And Why You Should Read Them Again)

It’s a common feeling amongst high schoolers to look at the books taught in English class and think this is so boring. I thought the same when I was in high school. There would be times when I would wonder: What is the point in reading these books?But now that I’m an adult, I’ve revisited many books from my high school English class. With a new pair of eyes and a mature frontal lobe, I gave them another shot. And I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed the books!Here are five books you mi...
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The #1 Best Book Of The Century: 'My Brilliant Friend' Brings Back Realism

Since its first publication in 2011, My Brilliant Friend finally reached top place in the New York Times bestseller list in 2024. Since then, the first novel of the Neapolitan Quartet has begun to trend on social media with BookTok fans recently discovering it. Ten years after the publication of the last novel in the My Brilliant Friend series, Europa Editions launched a new edition of the whole series compiled into one book. From female friendships to the importance of education, the series foc...
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5 Banned Books to Add to Your Reading List

According to PEN American, from 2023 to 2024 book bans nationwide rose a dramatic 200%.People ban books for a variety of reasons. It can range from sexual content, offensive language, violence, racism, LGBTQ+ content, political views, religious views, and general inappropriateness. Indeed, these topics can be uncomfortable to some, but having diverse perspectives and ideas is important. They promote critical thinking, empathy, and understanding between people from different backgrounds. One of t...
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5 Non-Fiction Books That Will Make You Love Non-Fiction

Let’s face it; nonfiction is not the most popular or glamourous genre. For many Gen-Z readers, it is not their first pick compared to the romance and fantasy books dominating the market. A lot of people think nonfiction books are boring, but that is just not true!So, when I tell you, as a former nonfiction hater, that I have found nonfiction books that have changed my opinion of the genre, you better believe me. From cults to grand thefts, I’ve found 5 fascinating books to share with you and cha...
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20 Reasons To Re-Read 'Pride And Prejudice' For The 20th Anniversary Of The Film

In 2005, the acclaimed film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen came out in cinemas all over the world. Like many others, before watching the movie, I hadn’t read the book. After watching it though, I fell in love with the story and finally read Pride and Prejudice. Since then, I have reread it many times, and it never fails to surprise me. The 20th year anniversary of the film is yet another occasion to reread it, and here’s 20 reasons why you should too. Before listing my reasons, I...

Academic Documents

Take a look at the variety of works I have written and edited as a student at UC Santa Barbara!