The Adroit Journal Explained

The Adroit Journal is an American literary magazine founded in November 2010.[1] Published five times per year by founding editor Peter LaBerge, The Adroit Journal is currently based in Philadelphia. The journal was produced with the support of the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House from 2013 to 2017 and was based in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City from 2017-2019 and 2020-2023 respectively.[2]

Contributors and staff

Authors featured in The Adroit Journal include Fatimah Asghar, NoViolet Bulawayo, K-Ming Chang, Chen Chen, Franny Choi, Alex Dimitrov, Mark Doty, Rita Dove, Terrance Hayes, Sarah Kay, Dorianne Laux, Lydia Millet, D. A. Powell, Diane Seuss, Danez Smith, Arthur Sze, Ned Vizzini, and Ocean Vuong.

The journal has published numerous United States Poet Laureate selectees, MacArthur Fellow honorees, Pulitzer Prize winners, and National Book Award winners, and contributors are regularly recognized by the Best American Series, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowships, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, Stanford University’s Wallace Stegner Fellowships in Poetry and Fiction, the Whiting Foundation’s Whiting Awards, and many more organizations that offer industry-leading funding and support.

Previous or current staff members of The Adroit Journal include Anthony Veasna So, Kinsale Drake, Leila Chatti, Aria Aber, Jim Whiteside, Rhodes Scholars Russell Bogue[3] and Aaron Robertson,[4] and Michele Selene Ang of 13 Reasons Why.

Anthology and press presence

Pieces from the journal have been selected for inclusion in The Best American Poetry,[5] Best New Poets,[6] The Best American Nonrequired Reading,[7] Verse Daily,[8] Poetry Daily,[9] and Best of the Net,[10] and have been awarded the Pushcart Prize.[11]

Work first published in The Adroit Journal has also been discussed and featured in or by the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Paris Review, American Life in Poetry, the Slowdown, Teen Vogue, PBS NewsHour, NPR, and College Board.

A video recording of Jim Parsons reading Max McDonough's poem "Egg Harbor", originally published in The Adroit Journal, was featured by The New York Times in February 2018.[12]

The Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program

The Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship Program is a free, online program that pairs experienced writers with high school and secondary students. Mentees have been recognized through the National YoungArts Foundation & United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts designation, the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and the Foyle Young Poet of the Year Awards. Participants have also been featured in Teen Vogue[13] and NPR, among other publications.

The Gregory Djanikian Scholars Program

Gregory Djanikian was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and came to the United States when he was eight years old. He has published seven poetry collections, the latest of which is Sojourners of the In-Between (CMU Press, 2020).[14] The Djanikian Scholars Program recognizes six emerging poets each year, beginning with 2018.

YearGregory Djanikian Scholars[15]
2024Aliyah Cotton, Majda Gama, Melissa McKinstry, Quinton Okoro, Edythe Rodriguez, & Syd Westley
2023Erik Jonah, Willie Lee Kinard III, Emily Lawson, Sarah Fathima Mohammed, Kelan Nee, & Gabriel Ramirez
2022Sarah Ghazal Ali, Leyla Çolpan, Jordan Escobar, Tennessee Hill, Anni Liu, & Avia Tadmor
2021Jari Bradley, Donte Collins, Jane Huffman, L. A. Johnson, Natasha Rao, & Brandon Thurman
2020Bryan Byrdlong, Steven Duong, Sara Elkamel, Matthew Gellman, Ae Hee Lee, & Gabriella R. Tallmadge
2019Gabrielle Bates, Bernard Ferguson, Aidan Forster, Dan Kraines, Alycia Pirmohamed, & Leslie Sainz
2018K-Ming Chang, Robin Estrin, Paige Lewis, Brandon Melendez, Michael M. Weinstein, & Keith S. Wilson

The Anthony Veasna So Scholars Program

Anthony Veasna So (1992-2020) was an American writer of short stories that often drew from his upbringing as a child of Cambodian immigrants. His debut short story collection, Afterparties, was published posthumously by HarperCollins in 2021 and was named a New York Times Bestseller and a winner of the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize for Best First Book.[16] The Veasna So Scholars Program recognizes six emerging fiction writers each year, beginning with 2023.

YearAnthony Veasna So Scholars[17]
2024C. Adán Cabrera, Allison Field Bell, Cristina Fries, Devon Halliday, Lu Han, & Basmah Sakrani
2023Vincent Chavez, Ani Cooney, Kelly X. Hui, Gracie Newman, Tierney Oberhammer, & Marguerite Sheffer

The Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose

The Adroit Prizes are awarded annually to two students of secondary or undergraduate status "whose written work inspires the masses to believe beyond feeling the work."[18]

YearGenreGuest JudgeRecipientInstitutionRunner(s)-UpInstitution
2023PoetryNatalie DiazKinsale DrakeYale UniversityN/AN/A
2023ProseOcean VuongKelly X. HuiUniversity of ChicagoN/AN/A
2022PoetryArthur SzeEthan LukPrinceton UniversityNatalie JarrettNorthwestern University
2022ProseKali Fajardo-AnstineNandita NaikStanford UniversitySofia MillerDenison University
2021PoetryCarl PhillipsStephanie ChangKenyon CollegeDelilah SilbermanBennington College
2021ProseSamantha HuntEnshia LiStanford UniversityAmal HaddadSwarthmore College
2020PoetryJericho BrownTariq ThompsonKenyon CollegeStephanie ChangKenyon College
2020ProseKristen ArnettYasmeen KhanGrand Oaks High SchoolCoral Bello-MartinezFranklin & Marshall College
2019PoetryFranny ChoiFiona StantonInterlochen Arts AcademyDaniel BlokhAlabama School of Fine Arts
2019ProseJamel BrinkleyAngelo Hernandez-SiasColumbia UniversityJason LalljeeUniversity of Chicago
2018PoetryAlex DimitrovTheis AndersonUniversity of CambridgeLauren SandersonColgate University
2018ProseRachel HengPolina SolovyevaNew York UniversitySarah FengPinewood School
2017PoetrySafiya SinclairSafwan KhatibColumbia UniversityChristina ImSunset High School
2017ProseAllegra HydeCharity YoungPrinceton UniversityAidan ForsterSC Gov. School for Arts & Humanities
2016PoetryCorey Van LandinghamRachel CrueaOhio Northern UniversityTheophilus KwekOxford University
2016ProseKevin MoffettBrynne Rebele-HenryHomeschoolWalker CaplanYale University
2015PoetryTarfia FaizullahIan BurnetteKenyon CollegeBrynne Rebele-HenryHomeschool
2015ProseAlexander MaksikLydia WeintraubPrinceton UniversityJohn StegnerUniversity of Virginia
2014PoetryRichie HofmannNathan DurhamKenyon CollegeIan BurnetteKenyon College
2014ProseWendy RawlingsIsabel DeBreBrown UniversityMadeleine CravensOberlin College
2013PoetryGarth GreenwellShelley WhitakerHollins UniversityJacob OetSwarthmore College
2013ProseMarlin BartonElizabeth MartinPrinceton UniversityLily FishmanBarnard College
2012PoetryChloe HonumStephanie GuoCanyon Crest AcademyNicholas PierceTexas Tech University
2012ProseN/APhoebe NirBrown UniversityFlora CollinsVassar College

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Adroit Journal - Young Poets Network. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  2. Web site: The Adroit Journal . LinkedIn. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  3. Web site: UVA's Russell Bogue Among 2016 Class of Rhodes Scholars. UVA Today. November 23, 2015. en-US. 2017-12-30.
  4. Web site: Princeton senior Robertson awarded Rhodes Scholarship. Princeton University. en-US. 2017-12-30.
  5. News: Nkosi Nkululeko Selected for Best American Poetry. 2018-01-22. en-US.
  6. News: Best New Poets. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  7. News: The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 2014. 9780544129986. 2017-12-17. en-US. Handler. Daniel. October 7, 2014.
  8. Web site: Verse Daily: Web Weekly Archives. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  9. Web site: Poetry Daily. Poetry Daily. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  10. News: 2016 Best of the Net Anthology. 2017-12-17. en-US.
  11. Web site: Literary MagNet: Alex Dimitrov. Poets & Writers. April 12, 2017. en-US. 2017-12-17.
  12. News: Chee. Alexander. 'The Boys in the Band' Cast Reads Queer Poetry. The New York Times. February 26, 2018. 27 February 2018.
  13. News: These 9 Young Poets Are Actually Making the Genre Cool Again. Dwyer. Kate. Teen Vogue. 2017-07-07. en.
  14. Web site: Gregory Djanikian. Gregory Djanikian. 23 March 2020.
  15. Web site: Kristin Chang '20 Named a 2018 Gregory Djanikian Scholar in Poetry. Sarah Lawrence College. 13 May 2018.
  16. Web site: Anthony Veasna So . Anthony Veasna So . Afterparties . www.harpercollins.com . 5 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220527161800/https://www.harpercollins.com/products/afterparties-anthony-veasna-so?variant=39696421224482 . May 27, 2022 . en . June 7, 2022 . live . 9780063049895.
  17. Web site: Kristin Chang '20 Named a 2018 Gregory Djanikian Scholar in Poetry. Sarah Lawrence College. 13 May 2018.
  18. Web site: Patience and Commitment: ONU junior Rachel Cruea is the recipient of the 2016 Adroit Prize for Poetry.. Ohio Northern University. en-US. 2017-12-17.