A Newsletter With A View of One’s Own-19

November is here! We, in India, are in autumn, and although the sharp northerly winds lash us, I love this season. Let’s dive straight into our November newsletter.

good news stories

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Canadian poet and essayist Anne Carson. The announcement was made on October 08, and covered widely in media.

Zohran Mamdani has doubled grant money for NYC artists. This is the first increase in nearly 20 years, according to this report.

Poet as Witness was held at Poets House on October 28, and brought together acclaimed Ukrainian poets and the English translators of their works to share readings and discussion on how poetry bears witness to a nation at war. Yaryna Chornohuz and Lesyk Panasiuk — two of the most vital voices in contemporary Ukrainian poetry — read from their work.

what are writers talking about?

“The auguries are raining down hard. Think or Sink. Comply or Die. Look Up or be Left Out. And so, with these not-so-gentle threats, it has come to pass that the Age of AI – Actual Idiocy, Actual Super Idiocy, Recursive Snowballing-Idiocy – is upon us. Heck…” writes Arundhati Roy in her essay “Apocalypse Now and Then” (October 15). Understandably, the article drew widespread attention and commentaries in writer circles.

selected Submission opportunities

Science fiction or SF-tinged literary fiction stories and novelettes ranging anywhere from 2,000 to 15,000 words are welcome at Fusion Fragment. Pay 4 cents (CAD) per word, up to a maximum of $400 (CAD) per story. Opens November 1, 2026.

Riddle Fence, a quarterly magazine of arts and culture, invites poetry, fiction, nonfiction, visual art, reviews and features. Payment: $50/page. Deadline: November 15, 2026.

India-based Usawa is open to submissions on the theme of “Laughter”now until November 20. Pays INR 1000.

Bracken is open to poetry and art all November. Pays $30.

Mythic Picnic has a new call. Theme is “Creative Nonfiction vs. Straight Nonfiction.” Pays $25 USD for 350 words, including title and bio. Deadline is 11/8. Send to: mrpettigrew@yahoo.com

And, of course, there are hundreds more at For Writers: 10 Easily Usable and FREE Sites to Find Submission Calls in 2026

Closed! And mixed feelings.

India’s long-running Mumbai-based Parsi community magazine shut down in October 2026 after 60 years of publication, citing dwindling subscriber numbers, according to an article.

Cosmic Double and Rathalla Review were both discovered to be “on hiatus” while submissions showed pending in queues.

Compare the Cost & Royalties for publishing a Book in 2026

My latest hybrid chapbook “White Hot Moon” was launched on July 31, 2026 by Minnesota-based Red Bird Chapbooks. This month I received some royalties.

To give you some background, the manuscript of “White Hot Moon” was selected in their open reading period in 2024, and was carefully edited by two in-house editors over multiple rounds to perfect every piece included. Finally, the press had its own team of cover and layout designers who offered me a range of choices. I never paid a penny at any stage from submission, reading, to editing and publication.

In the case of all the books I’ve been fortunate to publish, at no stage did I pay anything. But I consider myself lucky. It is not alway rosy for everyone else. I’m due to publish an article about my lucky experiences in Authors Publish Magazine in December.

Because publishing often costs money in one form or other, most emerging writers find this subject of publishing books and earning royalties very difficult to comprehend. Not much information is around. I found a useful article in the Atmosphere Press site, updated as of October, which can be a helping starting point.

publications!

Received Best of the Net nomination from SoToSpeak Journal, George Mason University, for “Interning at the Monitor Room”

In my interview series for trampset, “Macro Minds, Micro Talks”, I interviewed writer/artist Koss in October. READ HERE.

Micro Historical Fiction in Ellipsis Zine “Boston, 2013” on October 14, 2026

Received a Pushcart Prize nomination for “Consider the Relevance of an Answer Without a Question” from The Itch Lit

Fantasy fiction story “The Immortal Dust” was published in Tasavvur on October 10, 2026

“Consider the Relevance of an Answer Without a Question” published in The Itch Lit on October 4, 2026

Fiction in Boudin: The spicy online cousin of The McNeese Review on October 1, 2026! “Darklings of Crepuscule Planet” was part of OtherWorlds, September ’26 Issue among other stellar work

Pro-tip

If a magazine publishes issues based on seasons or numbers their issues by Vol. , be sure to keep track of which volume or seasonal issue you submitted to. You might be surprised to learn later that you’ve never heard from that venue, although that issue (almost always themed) has already been published without a response to you!

thank you!

Thanks a lot for staying with me, and being so supportive! If you have any suggestions on posts you’d like to see, or anything that’d help me improve, please feel free to get in touch.

HAPPY WRITING & ALL GOOD THINGS!

This blog is a monthly newsletter published in 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 recent work I truly recommend. If you enjoyed this, please share with your friends. Consider subscribing, commenting and/or liking this post. Thanks!

MANDIRA PATTNAIK