June 01, 2025
Hey friends! Welcome back!
First up. Mysterious are the ways of the heart. My heart is full as both Glass/Fire and Where We Set Our Easel turned-in anniversaries–six months/4.25 Goodreads rating and two years/4.9 Goodreads rating respectively, but my collection of short stories is still looking for a publisher, even as the manuscript gathered one more personal decline. Meanwhile, the short story collection Heart Lamp was announced as the winner of the #InternationalBooker2025 on May 21/22. Written by Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, Waterstones described the book as “A courageous, captivating collection of stories which opens the door into the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India.” IF you have read the original (in Kannada) or translated version–well done! Once a book reaches the shortlist stage of a competition as big as this, it is favorable to buy and read it. But if not, that’s fine too. I feel that unless we have a culture of books and reading in our societies–in schools and public libraries, it is a tall ask.
For the first time in my understanding, the announcement was met with mixed reactions almost immediately. Sudha Subramanian posted in a heartfelt blog: “We continue to struggle because literature is not pushing boundaries as much as it should”. One person on X called it “sad“: “This really did not deserve to even be shortlisted, a terribly embarrassing book to be nominated in the first place (being an Indian I would have been happy to see an Indian author up there) but truth be told: this book is absolutely not worth reading.” Another said: “with this puppy loving intelegencia (sic) in 2025, what else can u expect! its not that loving a puppy is bad. but that shuldnt be the disposition while judging a piece of literature!”
The topic of contests and quality of writing brings us to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2025, the Regional Winners of which were also announced on May 14. All five winning stories can be read here. Because Granta kindly makes the stories free to read, I read them, though it is not possible to read all that were shortlisted, as I’d sincerely love to. Last year, I reviewed the 2024 overall winner’s story, “Aishwarya Rai”. My review essay is published here. In 2025, I’ve so far read four of the five stories that were declared Regional Winners, and will publish specific analysis soon. Trust me, such insights are carefully studied and take long to be researched and published. They are also undoubtedly one-of-a-kind–you’ll not receive these on your regular writing groups or fancy workshops.
On the topic of award-winning writing, these winners surely do something magical that others don’t. Might be unusual narratives, experimental structures and surprising approaches. If you are interested to explore more, LitHub published a fantastic essay: “Neither Plot Nor Character, But… Something Else? Ten Novels with Mind-Blowing Structures”, which might deserve your time. But, mind you, not all winners appeal to all tastes–reading and enjoyment are personal and highly subjective, which is both strange and understandable, though exceedingly baffling to a scientific mind.
In strange/depressing update, artist and poet Koss wrote on TwitterX: “I discovered I’m not on the contributor list for an issue my work was accepted for. And it’s out. This follows four no-responses for art subs for issues that released. I’m not sure why my life is like this, but these behaviors have destroyed any joy I might have in publishing.” This is not publishing behaviour we have come to expect (or maybe we have?). Many writers/artists had similar feelings and shared their experiences on regrettable publishing experiences. Have you faced something similar?
Remaining on the topic of unacceptable publishing behaviour, ELJ Editions suddenly went silent, meaning that its social media handles were erased, though the site is still up. Nicole Tallman who was associated with the press announced parting ways with it. I ventured into their catalogue of books and there’s a handsome list for publication in 2025 and quite a bunch scheduled for 2026. I do not know how/what will happen to these. Some presses registered interest in rehoming them, others steered clear citing funds. All this is understandable. But what of the authors, must they feel abandoned? Meanwhile, I have my own little tale to recount here. Someone from this press approached me last year, and allowed me a manuscript submission after the deadline, in fact the person solicited it from me as consideration for an earlier query I’d made regarding international submissions. Now this itself was a red flag: you can’t be ambiguous about whether or not to allow international submissions. The manuscript (each and every piece being fresh and written specifically for this themed call) was declined later. That manuscript took a lot of work, and obviously I cannot quite get over the rollercoaster experience. I’ve nothing against the Editor. Rejections happen, and I’m okay with those. But looking back, and the selections that finally were made, and what is currently happening to the press–I count myself lucky not to have the manuscript published, OR promised to be published, by them. Writers understand the constraints of funding, the backbreaking work of distribution and promotion, but if a venue is not up for it, best is to close down without leaving writers in the lurch.
PRO-TIP: Always check backgrounds. Check what’s available publicly regardless of the reputation of the venue you’ve decided on. When did they last publish an issue? Do they solicit? Do they crowd-fund or is the press self-supporting? Do they reply to your emails? Have they been “on hiatus” frequently? Check thoroughly regarding mastheads, publishing cycles, and publishing contracts. If you are interested, I published a blogpost around publication contracts some time back.
Among other news that shook litworld last month was how NEA terminated grants to several big journals and magazines through a “Notice of Termination”. Surprisingly, the news split writing community in half, instead of staying united against the decision as was commonly expected. Elvis Bego said : “Letting a single dumbass personally run the whole cultural sector—what the hell is this, Russia of 1830?” as one of the extreme reactions. The other extreme was hailing the decision as good and long-awaited because what were “they” (=the magazines) doing with the funding anyway? Micromance Magazine suggested as much: “What are they spending $289k on, besides paying top ops officers? And if they bring in that much a year, do they REALLY need 20k in grant money? Small(er) lit mags like mine can’t get funding…”
In personal publication-related news, the Best Small Fictions Anthology 2025 selections list was released by Alt Current Press (May 21/22). It was an honor to see selected writers celebrate their inclusion as I had helped curate the list as Assistant Editor, reading many many stories. As a writer twice included in the Anthology and now as part of the editorial team, I can vouch for the fact that it is highly competitive.
I also finished my work as guest editor of Ilanot Review’s upcoming issue. The theme was “Flaw and Favor”, and there were quite a few interesting interpretations of the theme.
Do you feel curious how themes are chosen for calls and contests? Tell me in the comments! And when you decide to write for a particular theme, what is your approach to it? Would love to hear from you.
Recommended Reading: Staying on course of studying (and learning) how themes and winning entries are related, let us check out a few. Read the interpretation of the theme “On Language” through the story “Insomnia” (2024 Alpine Fellowship Writing Prize). Check out “Wings” (Winner, March 2025, Porter House Review Editor’s Prize) which was on the theme of “theft”, but the contest itself was not themed. Also check out “Kafkaesque” as a response to the theme “Translation and Transition”.
Finally, some fun news: Submission opportunities in One Story (opens June 02), Bright Flash Literary, The Metaworker, Masters Review, Thirty West Afterimages, TrashCatLit, Psaltery & Lyre, X-R-A-Y (limited subs), Griffith Review (nonfiction) and Agni are open. Check out this Duotrope calendar too.
If you are new here, this might be a helpful post too, shared some months back– For Writers: Top Five FREE Platforms to Find Submission Calls in 2025. Also, please look out for a craft essay later this month. That will be all. No guest posts scheduled in June. Thank you.
This blog is a monthly newsletter published on the first week that is truly a newsletter–updates from the literary world, open windows, a few personal updates, some tips, opinions and conversations, and a round-up of 2-3 stories I truly recommend. If you enjoyed this, please share with your friends. Consider subscribing, commenting and/or liking this post. Thanks! If you feel more generous and want to support my writing, DONATE via PAYPAL
