This has been quite the year, no? Heroes have been born, heroes have been lost, and heroes have come and gone as stray cats on doorsteps. I thought this year deserved a special commemorative post, so I’m very pleased to present these thirteen adroit moments. Some events have brought us long-lasting smiles, and some have pulled at our hearts, but each has had a direct and significant effect on who we are as a publication, and where we’re headed. So, without further ado…
1. We released our Winter 2013 Issue.
Featuring cover art by Brannon Dorsey, and contributions from Michael Tyrell, D. Gilson, Francesca Bell, Claudia Cortese, Gregory Lawless, Kyle McCord, Garth Greenwell, Bruce Bond, and many, many more established and emerging writers.
2. Eight Adroit staff members were named 2013 YoungArts Writing Finalists (out of 24 total writing finalists!), and countless more were named Honorable Mention and Merit Award Winners.
And they’re good.
Oh yes, they are.
3. Adroit’s very own Luisa Banchoff and Kathleen Radigan received two of seven 2013 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold Medals for Writing Portfolio.
…and got to meet Sarah Jessica Parker (pictured above with Luisa) and Usher (pictured above with Kathleen). Yeah, we’re jealous.
4. We nominated Summer 2013 Contributors Nora Almeida and Phillip B. Williams for inclusion in the 2013 Best New Poets Anthology.
…and ended up with Summer 2013 Contributor Rochelle Hurt selected!
5. The Adroit Journal Staff High School Class of 2013 graduated.
Hearty congratulations to the Class of 2013, who chose to attend the following undergraduate institutions: American University, Connecticut College, Harvard University (2), Northwestern University, Princeton University (4), Rice University, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania (2), University of South Carolina (2), University of Southern California, and Yale University.
6. We released the Summer 2013 Issue.
Featuring cover art by Will Erwin, and contributions from Marlin Barton, Matthew Rohrer, Claudia Cortese, Ned Vizzini, Michael Chitwood, Bruce Holland Rogers, Ellen Bass, Jacob Oet, and many, many more established and emerging writers.
7. Adroit visited the 2013 New York City Poetry Festival in July, and the Two Moon Art House & Café in August.
We featured the talents of Francesca Bell, Claudia Cortese, Russell Bogue, Elizabeth Ballou, and Jane Springer in July as part of the 2013 New York City Poetry Festival—online at our Youtube page. We featured Issue Seven contributors J. Scott Brownlee, Michael Tyrell, Denver Butson, and Yasmin Belkhyr at the August 2013 Adroit Journal Brooklyn, New York Reading (pictured above).
8. Prose Reader Nathan Cummings was named a 2013 National Student Poet by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
For more information on that spectacular designation, and Nathan’s achievement, click here.
9. Issue Seven contributor and Best New Poets nominee Phillip B. Williams was named a 2013 Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellow.
We’re so proud to call him a member of the Adroit Journal family! More info here.
10. Poetry Reader and Cinematic Correspondent Eliza Moley released “Wide Open Mic,” a documentary featuring exclusive Adroit footage.
11. Seven Adroit staff members were named commended Foyle Young Poets of the Year by the Poetry Society of London.
And countless more poetry, fiction, and photography contributors!
12. Eight pieces from the Winter and Summer Issues were selected for plain china: Best Undergraduate Writing of 2013, edited by Bennington College.
It is with tremendous joy and pride that we congratulate the eight undergraduate students selected for this year’s anthology: Lily Fishman (Barnard College, ’16), Canese Jarboe (Pittsburg State University, ’14), Charles McCrory (University of Mississippi, ’16), Da’Shawn Mosley (University of Chicago, ’16), Jacob Oet (Swarthmore College, ’16), Amber Rambharose (Hollins University, ’13), and Lathan Vargason (Maryland Institute College of Art, ’16).
13. We hit 8,000 submissions of art and writing received for consideration.
A true landmark, and a wonderful way to conclude the year. (Pictured above, from left to right: contributor Lydia Weintraub, prose reader Amelia Nierenberg, founder & editor-in-chief Peter LaBerge, contributor Yasmin Belkhyr, and poetry editor Talin Tahajian.)
Honorable Mention: Eight Adroit poetry and prose readers were nationally recognized at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
Best wishes from the Adroit Staff for a happy and healthy New Year holiday. Sayonara, 2013!
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