About Laurus

Laurus is the undergraduate literary journal of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, supported by the English Department and the University of Nebraska Foundation.  Laurus is a registered student organization at UNL. Laurus publishes fiction, poetry, non-fiction and visual artwork created exclusively by UNL undergraduates.  The annual issue is published in the spring.

Laurus was founded in 1983.  The 2011 issue is the 28th volume.  To see images of all the issues, click here.  Over the years, Laurus has published early work by such notable writers as Timothy Schaffert (1990), Amil Quayle (1987, 1989), Amy Knox Brown (1987, 1989), James Cihlar (1989), Erin Flanagan (1994), Rainbow Rowell (1996), and Danielle Luther-Luebbe (2005).  Schaffert was also an editor in 1991, as was Pulitizer Prize finalist Lee Martin in 1992.  Faculty advisors over the years have included James Roberts, Marcia Southwick, Judith Slater, Anthony Hawley, John Chavez and John Schulze, and Michael Page. 

Recently retired Professor of Poetry Greg Kuzma had the longest tenure as faculty advisor, through much of the 1990s and 2000s.  Greg writes, “My work with Laurus was the most important service work I did for UNL.  During the years I was advisor Laurus became entirely an undergraduate literary and fine arts magazine, printing only undergrads and edited by undergrads.  I had no hand in the choices selected to publish, although I did do a lot of the proofreading.  We worked hard to print full color covers, gained funding from the Art Department to support cover art and inside art, and reached out across campus to try to become a campus wide magazine.  We published literary criticism, stories and poems, plays, panel discussions, essays on science and sociology, book and film reviews. For many years Laurus was the most exciting thing I did at UNL.”  Through Greg’s efforts, Laurus has become an important institution within the UNL English Department. 

If you would like to purchase a copy of the 2011 issue of Laurus, click here for details.  Laurus is also available at the English Department office and at the University Bookstore and other area bookstores.  We also have a number of back issues available, click here for a full list.

2011-2012 Editors

Madison Hager, Emily Wallinger, Alex Lierz, Katy Mulinix, Joseph Kozal, Tim Lundy, Tom May, Michaela Montgomery, Sarah Munson, John Schwaninger.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Michael Page

(Click here for editors’ bios)

To contact the editors about questions or queries, email us at laurusmagazine@gmail.com.  To submit your work, go to laurusmagazine.submishmash.com. You must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Submission details can be found on the Submission guidelines page on this website.

New editors’ application

Laurus will be seeking 4-5 new editors for the 2011-12 editorial staff.  To apply, prepare a letter of application detailing your interest in Laurus, any past experience you have had with editing, your understanding of the time commitment it takes to edit a literary magazine, and why you would make a good addition to the editorial team.  Also include a curriculum vitae or resume that includes your academic background, accomplishments, and involvement.  Drop off your letter to Professor Michael Page’s mailbox in Andrews Hall, Room 202 after August 15, 2011.  If you have any questions about the application process, please email Professor Page at mpage3@unlserve.unl.edu

Submission Guidelines

1.  Laurus publishes work only by undergraduate students enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln during the current school year.  All others are ineligible to submit.
2.  Laurus publishes an annual issue in the spring.  The submission deadline will generally be in late January, however, we are open to (and encourage) writers to submit their work throughout the year.
3. To submit your work, go to laurusmagazine.submishmash.com and download your manuscript or visual artwork under the appropriate category. Please provide a brief cover note to accompany the download. We prefer that submissions are in Microsoft word, but will accept other formats.  For visual artwork, please submit your work as a JPEG or GIF file.
4. No more than five submissions per author per academic year.
5. Prose writers please submit only one piece per file.  Poetry writers may submit up to five poems in a single file.  If you do this please use the title of the first poem in the file as the title of the submission. 
6. Submit finished work!  The Laurus editors will most generally not provide feedback on your work.
7.  By submitting to Laurus you are granting us permission to publish your work in the annual Laurus print magazine.  Upon publication all rights revert back to the author.  If a piece that you have submitted to Laurus is accepted for publication elsewhere, notify us immediately so we can remove it from our submission pool.
8. Please acknowledge that you accept these terms in your email.