Calling all writers of South Asian heritage!

Thank you for submitting to the anthology. We are currently shortlisting. We will get back in touch at the end of March 2024.

Write Beyond Borders invites writers of South Asian heritage from anywhere in the world to submit your best writing for a new anthology of short stories (to be published in 2024).

This anthology of the best short story writing by South Asian writers will be edited by Susmita Bhattacharya and Aiysha Jahan and published by Dahlia Books, an independent UK-based short story publisher of diverse voices.

The anthology will be published as part of the Arts Council England and AHRC funded project Bridges not Borders. Bridges not Borders employs South Asian art and literature to build cultural understanding and bring communities together.

Anthology theme: The theme for the anthology is ‘bridges not borders’. The stories do not need to reference the theme explicitly, but implicit expressions of bringing / coming together or, in fact, the lack of this, could be explored. The stories must speak to the theme in some way but not be restricted by any literal interpretations.

Submission fee: There is no submission fee, but please do not submit more than one story for consideration. Send us your best work!

Honorarium: Selected authors will be paid an honorarium of £50 (payment will be made through PayPal and includes the PayPal fee). 

Submission deadline: 31st January 2024 (Note: By popular demand, we have provided a one-week grace period following the deadline and will accept submissions until 7th February 2024 (11.59pm GMT), after which our submission form will be closed.)

Submission guidelines: Please read our submission guidelines carefully before submitting your work.

• Stories should be between 2000-3000 words. Please include your word count in your document.
• Stories should be original and not published before (in print or online). No simultaneous submissions, please. Successful writers will be informed by early March, 2024.
• Stories should be written in English.
• Stories should be formatted to an easily readable font size and type (for example: 12-point Arial or Times New Roman).
• Stories should be double spaced.
• Stories will be blind-read so please don’t include your name anywhere in the title or the document itself.
• Stories should be submitted as a Word document or PDF only and the file should be titled with the name of the story.

Submissions: Please submit your short story via this Submission From.

Questions? Please contact us via our Write Beyond Borders Contact Form or email address (write.beyond.borders@gmail.com).