Voices: Call For Submissions for the August Issue.

 VOICES

“The world is full of paper,

Write to me.”—Agha Shahid Ali.

To have a chance and an opportunity to have one’s voice heard is sometimes a matter of privilege. A privilege that often, we can take for granted. What does it mean to put forward one’s voice into the world—a voice underlining a credo, a movement and sometimes a resistance? What does it take to stand up and be heard when the entire world is a fabric of noise bent on drowning out the few voices that matter? As recent instances hightlight — be it the dastardly attack on Salman Rushdie to silence him forever, or the gathering of internationally acclaimed wrestlers in New Delhi demanding a fair trial against a government official accused of sexual harassment — there have always been forces that have tried to  repress those who dare to speak up. But even in the face of that, certain voices have refused to be drowned out, standing up to oppression and brute force.

            What about voices that are too reticent to find expression? Of those often labeled as “introverts?” by psychoanalysts? What about the voices of those in the margins — Dalits, Adivasis, religious and ethnic minorities — voices that have been systemically stifled for centuries? What happens when such voices begin thrumming and knocking against the wall of mainstream noise?

            The August Issue of Parcham looks to celebrate and highlight such Voices. Think about a time when you struggled to give voice to your thoughts. How long did it take for you to be heard? Or consider how the voice of dissent altered your perspective.

We are looking for POEMS/ SHORT STORIES (Originally in English or in Translation), Non-Fiction/ Personal Essays) that deal with speaking up, against injustice, against oppression, against abuse, against any attempt to label, categorise and homogenise negatively. Please send in a maximum of 3 poems for the poetry section. The Non-Fiction submission and Personal Essays should be no more than 2000 words. To the authors of the original short fiction and translators of short stories we request you choose/write stories that highlight the theme of the issue.

The Photography section of this issue is an open themed one.

We also welcome articles on different issues relating to Popular Culture and Films. This again is open themed.

The last date for submission for the August Issue is the 10^th of August, 2023.

For more information, please follow the guidelines below.

Poetry: Please send in your previously unpublished poems (not more than 3) in a single MS Word document at parchamonline@gmail.com with the subject line Poetry Submission. Please ensure your name is on every submission attachment you send in for clarities sake.

For Fiction/ Short Stories: Please keep in mind that short stories should be not more than 4,000 words. Send in the short story to parchamonline@gmail.com with the subject line Short Story Submission.

For Editorials/ Opinion Pieces/ Interviews and Book Reviews: For editorials and opinion pieces, please ensure that your submissions are free from unparliamentary language or religious or cultural bigotry. The editors have complete authority to reject a piece if they feel it is not upholding the spirit of the magazine. Book reviews should be not more than 2,000 words. Send in your submissions to parchamonline@gmail.com

For Non-Fiction/ Personal Essays: Submissions should adhere to the theme of this issue and should not be more than 2000 words. Please send in with the subject line Non-Fiction/ Personal Essays to parchamonline@gmail.com.

For Articles on Films and Popular Culture: Please send us the complete article to parchamonline@gmail.com the subject line Films and Popular Culture. For this Section, this is an open Issue.

Photo Stories:  Please send in your photographs (not more than 5 and not less than 3) to parchamonline@gmail.com. The photos must be accompanied by a short write up/ captions and should be in the Jpeg format. It is an open issue specifically for the Photo Stories Section.

ALL SUBMISSIONS SHOULD BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SHORT BIO AND A RECENT PICTURE OF THE CONTRIBUTOR.  Please ensure all submissions are in Word (for written) or JPG (visual) (300 DPI minimum resolution/print quality).