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.

Covert Issue 5: Rest Yourself

What does rest taste like? How does it feel to let rest embrace you? What is it like to play and experience rest, euphoria and abundant joy? Is it remembering freedom? We challenge you to wander beyond the usual meaning of rest, beyond lying down and exhaling.

So, consider this: rest may come to you in the form of daydreams with a message. Rest may be a form of protest, a political act or a sacred practice. Or could it be that rest is a vision of the impossible or the act of travelling back to rectify or mend something – possibly something damaged generations ago? Rest may peel you back to reveal another self.

And where does rest lie – on the rest of us – who carry melanated bodies, people being targeted for stress? Is there an urgency for rest beyond surviving? When do we lie fallow? 

How do we rest collectively and for each other? Maybe rest is a guilt trip to the incessant demands on us, and we avoid it. And how dare we rest in a world that is in conflict, in a crisis, that exerts cruelty and commits genocides? What happens after rest?

Run with these ideas, and we will follow you the rest of the way!