The Adroit Journal, at its foundation, is a print literary publication offering young writers from around the world the unique opportunity not only to submit work for publication alongside established adult writers, but also to participate in this evaluation process themselves, as part of the journal’s staff of readers and editors.
But the journal has not always been bustling with incoming submissions and eager staff members. In fact, for almost the entire first year of the journal’s existence, I was the sole staff member. There was no How to Start a Literary Magazine When You’re Still Too Young for Adults to Take You Completely Seriously tab on Wikipedia, and I wasn’t about to author one. After all—not many fifteen-year-olds aspire to create literary magazines, especially those that strive to play in the same ballpark as the most established ones. And even fewer succeed. What was the probability that this somewhat crazy idea of mine would actually take off? Very small—too small to worry about.
With this logic, I hid the journal from everyone—including my parents, my close friends, and my high school teachers—and thus did not realize that I was undertak- ing the most monumental project of my life, and that I would soon be confronted with success, but also accompanying responsibilities and opportunities that I never could’ve imagined.
Since my sophomore year of high school—when, in November 2010, I founded The Adroit Journal—the journal has been noticed and recognized around the world for its dedication to community service and emerging writers, but the largest impact of the journal—I feel—has been its devotion to the promotion of human rights causes.
In Spring 2012, I was fortunate enough to work with exiled Cuban poets from all around the world to construct a “Cuban Dissident Feature” for the fourth issue of The Adroit Journal. With the help of a few fellow staff members, the initiative (originally a mere project for Spanish class) became a seventy-page feature of translated poetry and fiction, and ultimately a call for change. I feel that this has had the most impact because the journal was directly able to not only make work originally pub- lished in a different language available to a new audience, but also give a group of repressed people a platform on which to speak and make a difference.
And with these features and distinguishing characteristics, the word has gotten out! After a conscious promotional effort, the journal is affiliated with twelve literary corporations/publications—some as large as Scholastic, the National YoungArts Foun-
dation, Figment.com, and Acumen Fund; some as fledgling as Zimbabwe Poets for Human Rights. With each of these groups, a unique bond has been created, and specific opportu- nities have been unlocked. The journal’s progression so far is merely the tip of the iceberg when compared with the potential opportunities supplied by these organizations.
Of course, The Adroit Journal would not be The Adroit Journal without the hardwork- ing, talented, and diverse staff I have been fortunate enough to gather over the past two years. This staff has unquestionably allowed the journal to grow, as some days we receive over one hundred submissions of writing and art for consideration. As of January 2013, the journal has received approximately 4,000 submissions, and maintains a sub-10% acceptance rate—the lowest in the journal’s history.
The staff is certainly more than a staff, however. I have formed some very strong friendships and professional relationships with staff members, and feel that the Adroit Staff family includes some of tomorrow’s most prolific poets, fiction writers, playwrights, visual artists, and novelists.
But the staff itself has also taught me a thing or two outside of the writing realm. I have had the humbling opportunity to converse and collaborate with young writers from not only the United States, but also the United Kingdom, Canada, India, Israel, Hong Kong, China, and Mauritius. This opportunity has completely opened my eyes to new cultures and new perspectives, and has unquestionably changed me as a person. I can confidently say that, without the journal, I wouldn’t appreciate time zone synchronization, I wouldn’t be able to point to Mauritius on a map let alone correctly pronounce it, and I wouldn’t be able to find Indian or Spanish poetry on my Facebook newsfeed without scrolling considerably down through past events.
In short, thank you for contributing to the Adroit Dream, whether you are viewing this as a contributor, a prospective submitter, a high school teacher, or merely as someone in- terested in the journal’s initiative. I urge you to strongly consider becoming more involved with the journal—if not by submitting or purchasing an issue through Lulu Publishing, by reaching out and saying hello at theadroitjournal@gmail.com. With your support, the jour- nal will likely continue to grow in terms of submission rate and breadth, but also in terms of staff cohesion: united under one passion, one plan, and one goal.
-Peter LaBerge, Founder/Editor-in-Chief
Have a question or comment? theadroitjournal@gmail.com.