Deadline: 15 April and 15 October
Papercuts is the bi-annual literary magazine of Desi Writers Lounge – an online workshop for writers of South Asian origin and writing on South Asia. Both DWL and Papercuts are run entirely on a voluntary basis.
The magazine has traditionally provided a space to showcase work by members of DWL. Volume 7, the Winter 2011 issue, is the first in which guest contributors have been featured. From the next issue, we will be soliciting submissions from the general public. Click here to see our submission guidelines and the theme for each issue.
Submission guidelines
1. Submissions are open to the public. This is a not-for-profit venture, therefore we do not pay for submissions.
2. Please note that there is a theme for each issue. The theme for Vol. 8 is Forbidden.
3. Writers who wish to write articles or do features for the magazine must contact us with ideas for submissions/expressions of interest before submitting their final work. All initial correspondence must be sent to editor.papercuts@desiwriterslounge.net. Please clarify in initial correspondence whether you are a member of Desi Writers Lounge, making sure to include your forum name.
4. For the January issue, submissions must be received by 15th October. After one-on-one editing with a designated member of the editorial team, your submission must be ready for selection by 15th December. Submissions for the July issue must be received by 15th April and work with the editors must be completed by 15th June. Authors will be expected to correspond with editors punctually and make a conscious effort to meet the deadline. Please note that submission and editing does not guarantee publication – final inclusion will be determined by editors.
5. You may submit as many entries as you wish, but please note that no more than two poems or two prose pieces per person will be published in a single issue, unless the work is deemed exceptional enough by the editors to merit inclusion. Each submission should be emailed separately to editor.papercuts@desiwriterslounge.net with ‘Submission: [specify poetry/prose/article] - [insert title]’ in the subject header. The file should be named clearly with the title of the submission plus the name of the author.
6. Each document should have the title clearly written at the top of the first page. No page numbering, headers or footers, please. Text must be received in the following format: a single-spaced, left-aligned document in MS Word with Georgia size-12 font. If there are any special formatting requirements for presenting a poem, please state them clearly in your email and we will try to accommodate them.
7. There is no strict word limit, but it is recommended that articles and features not exceed 1000 to 1500 words. Similarly, it is recommended that stories not exceed 3000 to 3500 words.
8. Author bios are an essential requirement for any piece to be published. Ideally, the bio should be a brief, two- to three-line intro that covers at least some of the following points: (a) educational or professional area of specialization (b) interests apart from writing (c) publications in which your work has been featured before (if applicable) and (d) current location. Any issues with anonymity should be discussed with the editor in initial correspondence.
9. All work submitted must be original. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in immediate removal of the author’s work from the magazine, and blacklisting from further publication in Papercuts.
10. In the event that a poem or story is submitted simultaneously to this magazine as well as another, please indicate this clearly and notify us immediately if you are taking up an offer of publication elsewhere. Writers are, however, requested to respect the editing team’s time and not to withdraw material once the editing process has begun. Articles and features that have been commissioned according to a theme after consultation between the author and the Papercuts editing team will be considered to be the property of this magazine and must not be submitted elsewhere.
More information here.
Papercuts is the bi-annual literary magazine of Desi Writers Lounge – an online workshop for writers of South Asian origin and writing on South Asia. Both DWL and Papercuts are run entirely on a voluntary basis.
The magazine has traditionally provided a space to showcase work by members of DWL. Volume 7, the Winter 2011 issue, is the first in which guest contributors have been featured. From the next issue, we will be soliciting submissions from the general public. Click here to see our submission guidelines and the theme for each issue.
Submission guidelines
1. Submissions are open to the public. This is a not-for-profit venture, therefore we do not pay for submissions.
2. Please note that there is a theme for each issue. The theme for Vol. 8 is Forbidden.
3. Writers who wish to write articles or do features for the magazine must contact us with ideas for submissions/expressions of interest before submitting their final work. All initial correspondence must be sent to editor.papercuts@desiwriterslounge.net. Please clarify in initial correspondence whether you are a member of Desi Writers Lounge, making sure to include your forum name.
4. For the January issue, submissions must be received by 15th October. After one-on-one editing with a designated member of the editorial team, your submission must be ready for selection by 15th December. Submissions for the July issue must be received by 15th April and work with the editors must be completed by 15th June. Authors will be expected to correspond with editors punctually and make a conscious effort to meet the deadline. Please note that submission and editing does not guarantee publication – final inclusion will be determined by editors.
5. You may submit as many entries as you wish, but please note that no more than two poems or two prose pieces per person will be published in a single issue, unless the work is deemed exceptional enough by the editors to merit inclusion. Each submission should be emailed separately to editor.papercuts@desiwriterslounge.net with ‘Submission: [specify poetry/prose/article] - [insert title]’ in the subject header. The file should be named clearly with the title of the submission plus the name of the author.
6. Each document should have the title clearly written at the top of the first page. No page numbering, headers or footers, please. Text must be received in the following format: a single-spaced, left-aligned document in MS Word with Georgia size-12 font. If there are any special formatting requirements for presenting a poem, please state them clearly in your email and we will try to accommodate them.
7. There is no strict word limit, but it is recommended that articles and features not exceed 1000 to 1500 words. Similarly, it is recommended that stories not exceed 3000 to 3500 words.
8. Author bios are an essential requirement for any piece to be published. Ideally, the bio should be a brief, two- to three-line intro that covers at least some of the following points: (a) educational or professional area of specialization (b) interests apart from writing (c) publications in which your work has been featured before (if applicable) and (d) current location. Any issues with anonymity should be discussed with the editor in initial correspondence.
9. All work submitted must be original. Any evidence of plagiarism will result in immediate removal of the author’s work from the magazine, and blacklisting from further publication in Papercuts.
10. In the event that a poem or story is submitted simultaneously to this magazine as well as another, please indicate this clearly and notify us immediately if you are taking up an offer of publication elsewhere. Writers are, however, requested to respect the editing team’s time and not to withdraw material once the editing process has begun. Articles and features that have been commissioned according to a theme after consultation between the author and the Papercuts editing team will be considered to be the property of this magazine and must not be submitted elsewhere.
More information here.
