Saturday, February 02, 2008

Readers Wanted, Submissions Invited

Time to drop in some news about some literary journals with a local interest, which might also be good places for the writers among you to send your work.

Remember Damazine, the online literary magazine for the Muslim world which was calling for submissions last year? Well the first issue is now up for you to enjoy, and Shakeel Abedi has had one of his poems (entitled Together) selected. Congrats!

You can submit your work for future issues, and the guidelines are here.

Also accepting submissions is Cha: An Asian Literary Journal based in Hong Kong. This new online literary journal is dedicated to publishing quality poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, photography, graphic fiction and reviews from and about Asia, and submissions are welcomed. Guidelines here.

And then of course there is the Asian Literary Review, published quarterly in paperback form. This one is Nury Vittachi's baby, and publishes work of a very high standard. Information about submissions is here.

Quarterly Literary Review Singapore (QLRS) have their latest edition up with much good stuff in it, including an interview with Malaysian playwright, Huzir Sulaiman. The site, which hit major technical problems last year, as Toh Hsien Min explains, has now been upgraded. Submission guidelines are here.

And finally, there's Softblow, a Singapore-based poetry journal updated at the beginning of every month. More about it, and submission guidelines in the editorial.

Literary journals like these are the lifeblood of a writing community, and we should feel a great debt of gratitude to all those who put time, effort and money to get such projects off the ground.

3 comments:

dreameridiot said...

Yey! Can't wait to see our fellow Malaysians published, young people like Liyana, Reza, Priya, Ted Mahsun, Pat Low, Shahril etc etc, and most definitely, yourself, Sharon, Leon and many others!! :)

Anonymous said...

I just got to know British Council is closing. I haven't renew my membership since 2 years ago though been a member since 1982 - busy bringing up babies. Now they are older I guess it is not their luck to become a British Council member.
I think British Council Library has been over revamped. The old Bukit Aman British Council Library were much more helpful, more library members reading, old and new books nicely stood by each other, great environment to smell books fragrance, so many more to praise the old library.
This new Selangor Dredging is so cold(not the temperature) to feel cosing up on a nice seat to read, lack of direction in stocking titles, over ambitious in e-library mission (holding a book gives me a sense of comfort and security to immerse in reading), too many parents waiting for kids at the reading area(reading mood killer housewife conversations, kids running & yelling)etc....
Sorry to blurt out so much of anger in your comment box, I don't think the library people would listen. I thank all the British Council Library Staffs for being helpful, provided excellent service and ensure good library ennvironment at the old Bukit Aman.
I shall miss all of it.

bibliobibuli said...

i loved the library in bukit aman too. i actually was pleasantly surprised that there was still a library at all after the move to wisma selangor dredging. and then the library had a much more limited focus - mostly on british contemporary fiction. a lot of books were bought for it, and all of it current good stuff (all the award winners, books of the year, well reviewed titles ... that kind of thing ... and i know this because i drew up the lists). the library wasn't as nice to sit and study in as the one in bukit aman, but in many ways it was more relaxed (you could sit with a nice cup of coffee!) but i think that the main empahasis was on the books being borrowed from there and not necessarily read there. (and you are right it is a distracting environment for reading with a lot of folks passing through and sitting around)

i also loved the elibrary, especially as i often needed the resources to carry out research for articles and there is no way i could afford to pay for all these magazine subscriptions.

i am actually angry with the folks who passed the passwords to their friends so that (with so many IP's tracked accessing the system)it too expensive for the library to continue subscribing to. (i don't even think those guys realise the damage they did with their kiasu-ness!)i miss all things the elibrary gave me access to ...