Call for Submissions: The Best Asian Short Stories 2023

Kitaab is seeking short story submissions for The Best Asian Short Stories 2023 anthology, the latest in the annual TBASS series of anthologies, which aims to celebrate the Asian short story as a constantly evolving, innovative and vibrant mode of literary expression.

The focus of our 2023 issue is LOSS but stories on other themes will be considered too. We are looking for well-crafted literary fiction and creative non-fiction that is able to capture the attention of our readers. Everyone has a story to tell about loss and everyone knows a story of loss – be it the loss of a person in their lives, a place, a memory, or even of practices and old ways. And we all cope rather differently to the loss. Tell us your story or a story close to your heart. Show us your journey.

The anthology will be published in the last quarter of 2023.

We will also select some web-extra stories: these will be stories that were not selected for the print version of the book to be published as Web specials.

The Best Asian Short Stories 2023 anthology will be edited by – Dr. Anitha Devi Pillai.

Anitha Devi Pillai (PhD) is an applied linguist, author, translator, and poet. She has published both academic and creative work. She teaches a variety of writing courses at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, including creative writing, writing pedagogy and academic writing. She is best known for her award-winning research on the Malayalee community in Singapore which was supported by a grant from the National Heritage Board, Singapore. Many of her poems as well as short stories have made their way into the classrooms in Singapore, India, Australia, and the Philippines. Her work generally explores themes such as identity, heritage, and culture. Amongst other roles, Anitha is also the Co-Director of the ‘16th International Conference on the Short Story in English’ editor of special issue of SARE journal, and a fiction editor at PR&TA journal.

Eligibility

Asians of all nationalities living anywhere in the world are eligible. By ‘Asian writers’, we mean all writers who belong to the continent of Asia. Non-Asian authors who have resided in and written extensively about an Asian country will also be considered.

Submission Guidelines

Only one submission will be considered from each writer.
Previously published work in print or online (including blogs, magazines or other online fora) or translations will not be accepted.

Simultaneous submissions are not encouraged but will be considered. Please inform us immediately if the story is accepted elsewhere.
Submissions between 3000-5000 words should be e-mailed to kitaab.sg@gmail.com

Submission fee: None (submissions are free)

Submission Deadline: 15 April, 2023

Format – Please adhere to this strictly

Submissions must be MSWORD (.doc/.docx) attachments,
typed double spaced
Times New Roman 12 font
The submission should also be pasted within the body of the covering mail.
The subject line of the email should read as: Submission/TBASS2023/author’s name.
Do include a 200 word summary of the story before the story
Please include an author bio note of 100 words after the story
The order of submission should be: Title of story/Author’s Name/ Summary/ Narrative/ Author’s Bio.

Editor_Kitaab

Namrata is a published author who enjoys writing stories and think pieces on travel, relationships, and gender. She is a UEA alumnus and has studied travel writing at the University of Sydney.

She is also an independent editor and a book reviewer. Her writings can be found on various sites and magazines like the Asian Review of Books, Contemporary South Asia Journal of King’s College-London, Mad in Asia, The Friday Times, Daily Star, The Scroll, Feminism in India, The Brown Orient Journal, Inkspire Journal, Moonlight Journal, The Same, Chronic Pain India and Cafe Dissensus.

Her short stories have been a part of various anthologies . She has also published two short story collections of her own along with two solo titles as well. She is currently working on her debut novel. She loves travelling the length and breadth of the world and enjoys capturing the magic of life in her words. She is always in pursuit of a new country and a new story.

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