Call for submissions: The Best Asian Travel Writing 2019

The Best Asian Travel Writing series is the first of its kind, showcasing Asia’s finest travel writing. This second edition of TBATW is due for publishing in 2019.

We are looking for submissions from travel writers. The edition will choose the best twenty or so pieces from the submissions. By ‘Asian travel writers’, we mean all travel writers who belong to the continent of Asia, including the Middle East (West Asia).

We aim to amplify the voices of Asian writers in the field of travel writing and while priority will be given to authors who come from Asian countries, non-Asian authors who have resided in and written extensively about an Asian country will also be considered.

TBATW will include a wide variety of work that will capture the wonder, humour, fear and joy that greets us all every time when we travel. Importantly, it will also capture the frisson of excitement and uncertainty in the air when we embark on a journey to a new place, or even to a familiar one.

TBATW aims to corral stories on nature/conservation, cultural history, sociological and anthropological manifestations, the outdoors and adventure, gastronomy, and any other compelling idea you think that would meld into the edition and add to its freshness.

We believe there are a legion of stories in the region waiting to be told through the eyes of all you Asian travel writers. We understand there is no single graspable form that defines travel writing. Submit whatever you define as travel writing. But, we are certainly not looking for the 10 best beach resorts in Krabi and why we should go there.

We are looking for arresting pieces, brilliantly written, from writers who have taken the risk of travelling to the heart of the matter for the reward of a discovery or an epiphany. Or just compelling storytelling.

TBATW aims to be fair and representative. Submissions should be new and not previously published. They can be based within or outside the region. Stories should be non-fiction.

Contributors will be entitled to two free copies of the book, plus two free copies of any other Kitaab titles.

The edition will edited by travel writer and editor, Elen Turner.

Elen holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the Australian National University; her thesis examined the contemporary Indian feminist publishing industry. After her stint in academia, she moved into travel writing, and her work focuses on Nepal, India, and other Asian destinations (although the whole world is her playground). Her Asian-themed travel writing has been published in The Best Women’s Travel Writing Vol. 11 (ed. Lavinia Spalding), LiveMint, IQ: Indian Quarterly, and other places. She is the editor at Pink Pangea, an online community of women who love to travel, and Inside Himalayas, a magazine focusing on travel in the Himalayan region.