Hello subscribers and readers! September is the month when a lot of journals and magazines open to submissions. I hope you’ve been submitting to as many as you’d like to. Most will, sadly, close before you know it because magazines these days cap submissions to a manageable limit. Anyway, if you’re unsure what I’m talking about, look at this list shared by Erica Verrillo, or this one by Erika Dreifus. Both have an interesting mix of literary and speculative genre markets with deadlines mentioned–and ONLY list paying venues unless mentioned. Here’s a handy guide of the best of the lot that I shared on Instagram earlier this week. I’ll add a few more now: Commonwealth Short-Story Prize, Kenyon Review (themed), Hex Literary (non-paying; 200 submissions cap; opens Sept. 05), Electric Literature ( Sept. 15 to 21; capped), Salt Hill Journal (closes Sept. 09) and Yale Review (fee-based; fee-waivers available).
Talking of literary magazines and submissions, Meanjin, Australia’s second-oldest literary journal, is scheduled to cease publication after its final issue in December 2025. This will make it a casualty of the year’s closures, though it’s uncertain if other publications will follow suit. It ran for a mind-boggling 85 years, says this news report. Meanjin joins a long list of publications that closed down in recent times. If you want to dig deeper regarding what closures mean to writers and what are the most common reasons behind it, check out my 2024 video. Since the making of this video, others who have joined this sad club. One of them is Honeyguide Literary, a beautifully curated publication, which made a statement. I’m particularly appalled because I worked with them after contributing a flash piece close to my heart for their “Reptiles” Issue 08 (READ). Given these developments, I’m always especially grateful when I find my pieces from 2019 or 2020 still existing on the web. I so respect their continuity and endurance.
Saluting longevity, I was thrilled to receive an email earlier this week from the 1972-established The Worcester Review. The note invited me to the in-person launch party at the Museum of Worcester for Issue 45. I have a tiny piece of flash fiction in this issue, being published over two volumes. “Degrees of Relevance at Three” is an unique piece. I say so because it mashes-up three dramatically diverse things: a waterbody of mythological significance in Deccan heartland, India; the Pandavas from Mahabharata; and this overworked couple, who “in the eight years” of marriage, have spent all their time “deep-diving into screens with turquoise depths like the bottomless Bheemkund pool”. Interestingly, this piece was accepted in 2023, underwent minor edits in early 2024 and just as we (I was in touch with other contributors) were on the verge of giving up, is finally going to be out in 2025. SO, NEVER GIVE UP HOPE!
On “not giving up hope” reminds me of the feeling I get when fellow writers tell me that they have had no choice but to abandon individual pieces, and sometimes, entire manuscripts. Unable to find publishers, they have had to bury those in hidden folders on their desktop. At other times, pieces and manuscripts might get abandoned by publishers. I’m sure that happens, but it’d feel so bad. Since learning of how frequently this happens, I’ve been, admittedly, more careful. I chanced upon an article published by Writer Beware. It has been in operation for more than 25 years–so I learnt. In March 2025, Writer Beware posted an exploration of the question “Are Writers Uniquely Vulnerable to Scams?”
On a more positive note, you may like to read this craft essay by Gerry Wilson in Cleaver Magazine: “So You Think You Know Your Characters? Think Again” published on July 29, 2025. To quote: “I believe it’s desirable, even necessary, to make that true for fictional characters, even the minor ones, who must fulfill a reason to be in the story, or we might as well toss them out. Our protagonists especially need life lessons to learn—or not—and opportunities for change, whether they take them or not.”
Staying on with the craft of writing and learning opportunities, South Asia Speaks (application fee; waivers available) is open now until end of this month. It is a free, year-long program that pairs promising writers in South Asia with SAS mentors to support the creation of a book-length project.
I’d like to single out two more opportunities that run free of cost
- One Story Adina Talve-Goodman Fellowship (opens September 08)
- Epiphany’s Fresh Voices Fellowship (open November 1–December 1)
As a marginalized writer based outside of the English literary publishing hubs, I know, first-hand, how important, and scarce, learning opportunities are. I’ve run multiple (fee-based and free of cost) workshops on writing craft in the past (Know More), for Retreat West, Crow Collective, Flash Cabin, Abode Press and others, in which some of you have participated. I discontinued taking up such teaching offers following increased engagements elsewhere. However, recent developments in lit world have convinced me that Writers of Color are hit hardest, particularly if they happen to be located outside of the thriving lit communities. On December 6th, Saturday, I am running a craft + coaching + mentoring workshop hosted by Fahmidan Education, where we’ll talk not only about writing craft, but also examine successful strategies towards navigating a highly-competitive field. There could not have been a better venue for such an integrated 2-hour class, because at Fahmidan Education, they believe that “learning should be more than memorization—it should be a gateway to deeper insight, creativity, and personal growth. Fahmidan, meaning “to understand” in Farsi, reflects (our) commitment to true comprehension and intellectual exploration.” Registration through Submittable.
That’s all. Don’t forget to share your thoughts and remember to send this post across to people who might benefit. Happy September–GOOD LUCK!
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