Call for submissions | Jaggery DesiLit Journal

12 June 2013
Call for submissions | Jaggery DesiLit Journal
Deadline: 31 July 2013

Jaggery, a DesiLit arts and literature journal, connects South Asian diasporic writers and homeland writers; we also welcome non-South Asians with a deep and thoughtful connection to South Asian countries, who bring their own intersecting perspectives to the conversation. (By South Asia we mean Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.) Our hope with Jaggery is to create a journal that offers the best writing by and about South Asians and their diaspora. Dark, complex, intense — and totally delicious. For more information on the journal, visit: http://jaggerylit.com/

We publish ART, ESSAYS, FICTION, POETRY, REVIEWS, and an advice column. We prefer original, previously unpublished submissions; we solicit reprints only in exceptional cases. We accept simultaneous submissions, provided you let us know immediately if it is being published elsewhere. We’re purchasing ongoing worldwide digital rights, for use in web and possible downloaded forms (ebook, PDF, etc.). Six months after publication, you may request to have your work removed from our online archive. We follow a blind submission review process and pay $25 for prose/poetry/art.

The deadline for submissions for the inaugural issue is July 31st, 2013.

When you are ready to submit, please visit our submission system at https://jaggery.submittable.com/submit. Submittable will securely send Jaggery’s editors your work and e-mail you a confirmation that it has been received. Submittable will also allow you to include a short cover letter with your work; to facilitate our blind reading process, please omit the cover letter. If your piece is accepted, we will contact you to request a bio for publication. Once you have submitted your work, you can check the status of your submission by signing onto your Submittable account. We aim to respond to all submissions within three months.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

FICTION: Jaggery seeks engrossing, entertaining, and enlightening fiction from or about South Asia and its diasporas. We wish to showcase fiction that moves minds and hearts, that takes risks in shedding new light on our lives, and is a pleasure to read and reread, from both emerging and established voices. We accept all types of stories, including excerpts from longer pieces. An excerpt should, however, stand alone as a complete work. We strongly prefer stories under 5000 words, but will consider longer pieces. There is no minimum length requirement. Payment is $25 / piece.

ESSAYS: Non-fiction contributions are invited for publication in Jaggery. Publishable pieces consider the changing, dynamic nature of South Asian society as reflected in its literature and other cultural productions such as art, film, and theatre, as well as more experimental genres and installations. We welcome innovative writing that finds new ways to see traditional issues. We are interested in reflections on identity and process, as well as contemporary ethical, spatial, or social concerns. We encourage an inter-disciplinary approach to cultural productions, reflecting the eclectic ways in which South Asia can be viewed: opinion pieces, literary criticism, interviews, editorial journalism, travel writing, memoir, and creative non-fiction. WORD LIMIT : 1000 – 5000 words. Payment is $25 / piece.

POETRY: Jaggery seeks poems inspired by South Asia and its diaspora that challenge, celebrate, ruminate, and advocate. Poets submitting pieces for consideration need not identify as South Asian or South Asian hyphenates; however, the poems submitted should. Jaggery welcomes original unpublished poems as well as translations of poems written in South Asian languages. SUB LIMIT: 3 poems (10 pages maximum total). Payment is $25 / piece.

REVIEWS: Jaggery solicits reviews of books on a wide range of subjects pertaining to South Asians, South Asia and South Asian diasporas. We seek fair and unbiased reviews of academic/popular-cultural books (creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry), film, music, and theater. Each review should be addressed to the general reader and should include a description of contents and a critical appraisal. WORD LIMIT: 1000 words. Payment is $25 / piece.

Again, please submit via Submittable, but specific questions may be directed to the following:
  • General: Mary Anne Mohanraj, editor-in-chief, editor.jaggery@gmail.com
  • Art: Laura Hsieh, art.jaggery@gmail.com
  • Essays: Fazeela Jiwa, essays.jaggery@gmail.com
  • Fiction: Anjali Goyal, fiction.jaggery@gmail.com
  • Poetry: Gowri Koneswaran, poetry.jaggery@gmail.com
  • Reviews: Ravi Shenoy, reviews.jaggery@gmail.com
CONTACT INFORMATION:

Submissions: via Submittable

Website: http://jaggerylit.com
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