AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought


Type Of Publisher
Magazine
Genres Published
Essays, Fiction, Poetry, Reviews, Visual Art
Year Established
2015
Address
BROOKLYN, NY
Mission Statement / Editorial Focus
Lazuli Literary Group is a platform dedicated to fostering the delight of the literary imagination through a small publishing press, writing contests, and an online/print literary journal, AZURE: A Journal of Literary Thought. We are a two-person editing team with diverging tastes (one classic and one contemporary) that harmonize in a third, uncharted space. We are particularly drawn to writing that broadens the concept of "literary" to one that pulls from a global pedigree of storytelling technique. We seek authors who revel in the rhythmic possibilities of the poetic line, who contemplate the flavor, the shape, and the history of every word they use; who are so committed to the pyrotechnics of the written word that they comprehend the beauty of classical forms and yet feel compelled to constantly re-invent their craft. Our goal is to support underrepresented styles of writing, specifically within a genre that we imagined, which we call otherworld realism. We like work that generates an eclectic mix of literary, lyrical, experimental and witty reading experiences; as such, we publish works that may not be suited for mass consumption, due to their raw yet polished innovations in content and form. Lazuli Literary Group and AZURE are co-founded by Diana McClure and Sakina B. Fakhri. AZURE is currently edited by Sakina B. Fakhri.
Accepts Unsolicited Submissions
Yes
Contest Guidelines
on
Do You Have Any Cover Letter Advice?
We assess solely based on the quality of the writing and its suitability for AZURE; we don't look at the cover letter until after the fact, when we become curious as to what sort of mind has wrought the compelling piece that appears before us.
What Do You Look For In A Submission?
We love work that is linguistically, intellectually, and emotionally demanding of the reader. We want literary fiction that grows in complexity upon each visitation; we enjoy ornate, cerebral, and voluptuous prose executed with thematic intent.
What Advice Do You Have For First-time Submitters?
Writers we admire are Zadie Smith, Virginia Woolf, Tom Wolfe, Charles Dickens, Toni Morrison, Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, Tom Stoppard, Vladimir Nabokov John Keene, and James Baldwin.
Who Is Your Ideal Reader?
Writers we admire are Zadie Smith, Virginia Woolf, Jorge Luis Borges, Tom Wolfe, Charles Dickens, Toni Morrison, Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, Tom Stoppard, Vladimir Nabokov, John Keene, and James Baldwin; the ideal reader might be similarly inclined.