Laurus is the definitive collection of writing and visual art created (and edited) by University of Nebraska–Lincoln undergraduates. The magazine accepts poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and scripts, as well as photography and other artwork. Laurus is supported by the UNL Department of English and the Orin E. Stepanek Memorial Fund from the University of Nebraska Foundation.
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Editors
Web Designers
Social Media/Marketing Staff
Our History
Founded in 1983, 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 Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Martin in 1992. Faculty advisors over the years have included James Roberts, Marcia Southwick, Judith Slater, Anthony Hawley, John Chavez, John Schulze, Michael Page, Rachel Cochran, Scott Guild, and Pascha Stevenson.
Professor Emeritus of Poetry Greg Kuzma had the longest tenure as faculty advisor, through much of the 1990s and 2000s, and this is what he has to say about the experience: “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.”
Today, Laurus continues the tradition of being an undergraduate magazine and has increased its efforts to become a presence on campus, organizing a public scary story night with the creative writing club in the fall as well as another read aloud in the spring. The magazine has also made plans to begin a book drive at the end of the spring semester in order to gather supplies for a booth bookstore that will be set up periodically throughout the year.
The biggest current project of the magazine, however, is their new website. In 2022, membership was expanded not only to those interested in being editors but those who wished to be in web design as well. As of now, it is still in its preliminary stages, but eventually the site will host an online store for purchasing issues, online submissions, resources for writers, and event calendar as well as an updated staff and book suggestion page that can be explored through favorite coffee shop drinks.
If you would like to purchase previous issues of Laurus, please contact us at laurusmagazine@gmail.com.