Submission Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in Kitaab!
We want to provide a platform to Asian writers as well as to writers of any ethnicity writing on Asian themes (no matter where you live). As such, we welcome you to submit your work for publication here.
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What are we looking for
- Short Stories
- Essays on literary criticism
- Poetry
- Non-fiction – Travelogues, Memoirs, Personal essays
- Book Reviews
- Author Interviews
Short Story Submissions
We are looking for stories which are set in Asia, are about Asia or Asians anywhere in the world.
We invite unsolicited submission of short stories including excerpts from novels in progress (if they stand alone as stories) no longer than 3,000 words.
We request writers to submit only one story at a time and no more than two stories a year.
Poetry Submissions
*** Currently we are not accepting Poetry Submissions till further notice***
Please submit 1 to 4 poems of moderate length at one go. They should not be of more than 60 lines each.
Non fiction Submissions
Literary Criticism – We are looking at literary essays which are more than a book review and a little less than an author interview. We want to know about literary pilgrimages, the stories behind the book, or the confessions of a heartbroken book-lover after their favourite character died.
Essays (Musings/ Memoirs) – Write your heart out about the most personal memory or share a part of your childhood through this essay.
Travelogues – Make us travel to your favourite destination or allow us a peek into your favourite holiday moment.
Books Reviews and Author Interviews
Book-Lovers &/ Reviewers – If you want to review a book for Kitaab, please send us your suggestions with a brief note on yourself and links to any previous work.
Authors &/ Poets – If you would like to submit a book (or books) for us to review, please drop us an email at editor@kitaabinternational.com.
Please note book reviewers are not paid any honorarium but they get to keep the review copy. They are also given the honorary title, Kitaab Dost (Friend of Kitaab).
Author Interviews : If you would like to interview an author for Kitaab, please drop us an email at editor@kitaabinternational.com with a brief note on the author you wish to interview and their works along with any links to their website or social media handles.
Important points for submissions
- We accept submissions only in English.
- We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
- All submissions must be exclusive, original and not previously published, in print or online
- Please include your brief bio(in about 100 words), a picture (not mandatory) and any relevant social media handles along with your contribution
How to submit?
We accept submissions via e-mail only. Send stories/poems/non-fiction pitches to: editor@kitaabinternational.com.
All submissions should be sent both in the body of the email and as a Word document, with the title and author’s name at the top of the first page.
Contributions accepted for publication may be subject to editing in collaboration with the author. Authors retain all rights but stories published here could be included in future print or e-book anthologies by Kitaab.
Payment
We are not able to offer any honorarium/compensation for your submission. However, if we accept to publish your submission, you will get annual membership of Kitaab.org free for one year.
Some of the stories will go into the upcoming anthologies / journals by Kitaab and authors will be paid royalties for their contributions.
Publishing
2013 marked Kitaab’s foray into publishing. As a publishing house, Kitaab publishes original/translated contemporary literature in English and other Asian languages which illuminates the minds and hearts of readers.
We aim to be a publishing house with titles that will serve our broad theme: empowering and connecting Asian writers and readers. However, the books that we publish must be able to travel around the world. We love short stories, and we hear that most mainstream publishers are not too keen to publish collections of short stories. Therefore, to begin with, we are paying special attention to short fiction. However, we are now open to all kinds of work: fiction, non-fiction, and poetry (both original and in translation).
How to submit your manuscript
You have to be an annual member of Kitaab to be able to submit your contributions to Kitaab. It only costs S$10 a year and shows your support for our work. If you have not subscribed to Kitaab.org yet, pls subscribe here.
Send us a pitch (2-3 chapters with a synopsis and author bio) and we will get back to you within a couple of weeks. Drop us a note at kitaab.sg@gmail.com today.
Fiction and poetry submissions are closed now until further announcement.
Queries to submit your work under our Simurg imprint (curated publishing programme) are open.
Spread the word
We invite writers to spread the word about Kitaab through social media and by recommending our weekly newsletter to your friends. Your support is important for Kitaab and for ensuring that a forum like this exists for publication of new and emerging writers.
Hi, do you consider self published as published? It is a great literary blog.
It is very pleasant that submissions are acknowledged very soon. Please keep it up.
NAR DEO SHARMA. Poet, Critic, Linguist, Translator, Reviewer, Professor of English, INDIA
Kitab is not publishing everything but concentrating on a few areas and it is expected to be achieving a near perfection result. Certainly as a poet and writer I feel it quite interesting to be in contact with it. My recent visit to Singapore has drawn me more towards it.
Hi. I would like to publish some of my work here sometime. How could I get somebody to check on my work and see if it tallies with the standards the journal sets?
hello sir i wishedto publish my work here, would u help me?
Oh! Wonderful.. this is the right place for me and author’s like me. I’ll surely submit my short story. 🙂
Hi,
I am interested in pursuing writing as my career. I write poems and can write stories, I mostly blog them.
I neend a kind suggestion from Kitaab, is there a way in which my poems can be reviewed, given feedback on and maybe published.
Awaiting your response.
Thanks,
Naina
i write short stories and poem. this is really well place to publish stories and poems.
i want know where can submit the story.
thanking you
Bishan papola
can you just tell me how to submit the poems i have written….
and in which language do you accept?
thankx…
English only. Pls see our submission guidelines
Do you reply to all the submissions? even if not accepting to publish?
We try to, sooner or later. Better to send us reminders if you don’t hear from us in 3-6 weeks. Thanks
Thanks Zafar! Looking forward to it.
Short stories are also accepted?
Yes
Umm…I just wanted to know wheather we are allowed to submit a poem also because I m a poet and probably I can not cook stories too well.
Yes, of course. See our submissions guidelines under About Us
I would love to share some flash fiction that I have written ( It is basically four lines a piece). Would it be eligible for submission?
l will be very happy if can help my dream to be actualized because l have a story to tell the world.
I really thanks the group for the help
Can we submit the manuscript of a novel?
Yes
Great work KITAAB, though i have some stories published on my own blog in hindi, may i consider them for KITAAB if i translate them into English ?
Is Kitaab not accepting short fiction submissions as of now?
Submissions of short stories are closed as of now.
Which type of stories do you want
Can i submit my hindi poems??
Sorry, we don’t publish Hindi poetry.
I write poems. I want to publish it.
Can I submit my Haiku poems for a book? They are in english.
Pls check our submissions guidelines.
Dear editor,
Do you publish Hindi/Urdu poems too? If yes please provide your submission guidelines.
Regards,
Mufazzal
Pls check our submissions guidelines at Kitaab.org
Amazing & very informative article. Thanks for the information! Love it
sory this kind plateform is not for us who are actuly urdu writers ,, but the name this plateform is kitaaab??? then why you give a name of urdu that urdu wirters are not allowed???? zafar sahab ???
Hi,
Do you publish short stories in Hindi?
No, we do not publish short stories in Hindi.
Hi,
Are you presently accepting English fiction manuscript?
Regards
As mentioned above, currently fiction submissions are closed for Kitaab publishing.