Wartburg College’s 1948 Fall Term Creative Writing class, taught by Esther Haefner, decided to create the college’s first literary magazine. Robert Gronlund, ‘49, became the first editor-in-chief, supervising the publication of the 32-page magazine. When the first issue of The Castle Tales was released in February 1949, all 500 copies sold out within hours. A second issue was produced in May of that same year; however, publication was eventually reduced to one issue per year. In 1957, the magazine’s title was shortened to The Castle.
In 1997, under editor Amy Silver, The Castle again became a semi-annual publication.