Covert Literary Magazine is a yearly publication of literature and visual art for Black, Asian and ethnically diverse writers and artists of colour. The magazine is based in Brighton, UK and was established in 2020.  We publish fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, hybrid forms and artwork, with future issues embracing more experimental, journalism and audio visual content. Our aim is to provide a platform for new and underrepresented diverse talent for whom mainstream publishing opportunities are inaccessible, whose work is reviewed, edited and published alongside more established names. 

With each issue, we welcome Guest Editors and an Editorial Board of writers, creatives and artists from across England and the UK. Previous Guest Editors include Umi Sinha, Dean Atta, Mohammed Z. Rahman, AFLO. the poet, Jessica J. Lee, Sean Wai Keung, Titilayo Farukuoye and Elaine Chiew. The Editorial Board is led by CEO/Founder Amy Zamarripa Solis with invited guests. Our previous Editorial Board has included Sharon Duggal, Katy Massey, Jasmine Isa Qureshi, Akila M. Richards, Zita Holbourne FRSA and Tammye Huf. Covert Literary Magazine is published by Writing Our Legacy CIC.

In our sixth issue of Covert Literary Magazine, we explore water in people’s lives, supported by an all-star Guest Editorial team: Roy McFarlane FRSL, Fawzia Muradali Kane, Gemma Weekes, Remi Graves, and Alinah Azadeh. This issue generated the biggest response we’ve had to date, with contributors from across England, the UK and globally: we published 90 pieces by 48 Black, Asian and ethnically diverse contributors, with some hailing as far as the Philippines, Nigeria, Singapore, Iceland and Guam.

With the climate emergency at the forefront of our minds, the theme draws on our work as part of the Downs to the Sea programme, led by South Downs National Park Authority and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, focusing on wetlands restoration in Sussex and Hampshire.

This issue includes an introduction from Writing Our Legacy CEO/Founder, Amy Z. Glass and is also accompanied by a sister zine publication, Textured Issue 2, which can be downloaded and read for free from https://writingourlegacy.org.uk/.