Our Story
Serafina and Julie met at the SUISS Creative Writing summer school orientation at the University of Edinburgh where both were seeking a community of authors to hold them accountable in their goals to preserve the sanctity and sanity of the literary world. When Julie asked Serafina if she'd attend a Hozier and Lord Huron concert with her, they instantly bonded.
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One day, following classes, the two retreated into the Meadows to write (and yap). Both realized they had the yearning to create a literary journal. First came the logo; a slightly confused seagull, inspired by the many that swarm Edinburgh. Second, came the name. The Gently Mad Magazine was inspired by a local bookshop in Edinburgh called The Gently Mad Book Shop & Bookbinder. Many other titles were considered, but none seemed to encapsulate the mission of this magazine: to provide a sanctuary of beautiful words that seek to salvage the importance of art for sanity's sake.
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Now, although the idea for Gently Mad originated at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, it is run partly in Windsor, Canada and Savannah, Georgia, allowing for a wide audience all over the world. Gently Mad is the perfect place for people who wish to share their art to like-minded individuals across the globe.
Meet The Team
Serafina Piasentin
Editor-in-Chief​​
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Serafina is an author, poet, and journalist from Canada. She is currently pursuing a Master's in English at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. She already holds a BA(H) in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor and has studied at Keele University and the University of Edinburgh in the UK.
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An intern for three years at Black Moss Press, Canada's oldest publishing company, a TA for grammar courses, and a copyeditor and cover designer through the Editing and Publishing Practicum at UoW, Serafina has vital experience in both editing and publishing. She currently works as a journalist at Windsor Life magazine.
A writer at heart, she has poems published in both Canada and England. You can find her work in poetry collection, Where The Map Begins as well as journals like Inventio, and anthologies like Catch the Whispers Anthology Of Verse - Young Writers of Canada.
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When she's not writing, you might find Serafina travelling the world. She is grateful to have visited over 50 countries, each of which have inspired poems and stories in turn.
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You can follow her at:
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Juliana Allan
Editor-in-Chief​​
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​Juliana is an author, artist and researcher currently pursuing on her BFA in Illustration for Publication design at the Savannah College of Art and Design. She has also studied Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and earned a Roman Art and Archeology certificate from the University of Arizona. She is currently enrolled at the New School for a Masters in Creative Publishing and Critical Journalism.
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She has worked as a Writing tutor, Book Club Coordinator, and Student Ambassador at SCAD. Outside of school, she also works as a freelance writer for art history magazines, having published three articles this year at Polyptych and ArtHerstory magazines.
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In her work as an Illustrator and book designer she has worked in two books and the anthology I Never Wrote Your Name by Alice Winters.
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You can always find her at her favorite coffee shop working on her book, or at the Library doing research. She focuses her work in Historical Fiction and Historical Narrative.
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You can see some of her work on her website or follow her on social media:
Caprice Strgar
Publicist
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Caprice Strgar is a student, writer, publicist, and program coordinator originally from Ontario. She is currently pursuing a literary odyssey of a journey in the University of King’s College Foundation Year Program!
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Caprice has been published by Gently Mad Literary Magazine and Cherry Venus Magazine. In 2024, she was one of 16 students selected from across Canada for Poetry In Voice’s FutureVerse writing intensive program and was published on their website as well as in their annual Voices/Voix journal. Recently, Caprice’s was selected by the German literary magazine, Pigeon Publishing for their ‘On Intimacy’ publication, and a recording was played at a UNESCO Cities of Literature event in Heidelberg.
Caprice is dedicated to cultivating opportunities for students to engage with the arts/humanities. She has successfully created and managed a grant project connecting high school students with artistic opportunities at a local retirement home. She has been an editorial intern for Cherry Venus Magazine, and is currently thrilled to be spreading the word about Gently Mad as the magazine’s publicist! She has done many presentations and workshops with Poetry In Voice materials as a poetry ambassador and currently works as a coordinator.
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Sarah Murphy
Social Media Manager
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​Shortly after having being published in Issue 2, Sarah applied for and was hired as the Social Media Manager at Gently Mad Magazine! With passions for music, reading, writing, and of course, her day job, marketing, Sarah has a hard time finding a second to spare, but she jumped at the chance to contribute to a magazine that she was quickly falling in love with. Writing from Waterloo, Ontario, in Canada, she has been published in Windsor Public Library’s Pagination Zine, Waterloo Public Library’s Inkling Teen Magazine, and the first two issues of The Gently Mad Magazine. You can often find her curled up with a good book, watching a subjectively good show, laughing at her own jokes, or posting on Gently Mad’s Instagram!
Sarah Murphy is a graduate of the University of Windsor and is passionate about music, reading, writing, and, of course, her day job, marketing. She has been published in Windsor Public Library’s Pagination Zine, Waterloo Public Library’s Inkling Teen Magazine, and the first three issues of The Gently Mad Magazine. Sarah’s writing is often inspired by a feeling or an image she aches to find the words for or a string of words she feels deeply in her soul.
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