Southlit Submissions

We accept the following:

1. Original and unpublished pieces of literature or art from anywhere globally that have a connection to the cultures of South Asia and/or their worldwide diaspora. Or whose author wants to make a meaningful connection to them.
2. Online work previously published  that only requires an acknowledgement of the previous publisher.
3. Fiction.
4. Work in all genres with the exception of erotica.
5. Novel extracts that are less than novella length.
6. Poetry.
7. Creative Non-fiction.
8. Photographs.
9. Jpeg or png files of artwork.
10. Artwork.

We positively encourage the following:

1. Work from the local communities, groups and people of South Asia.
2. Art or literature that touches on the cultures of the region from artists, writers and poets located anywhere.
3. Work by those outside the region who have a genuine interest in interacting with readers and appreciators of art in South Asia.
4. Unusual, different or unique approaches, views or stories.
5. Local writers including those who do not use English as a native language.

The Process Submissions go Through:

This process described in our sister journal Eastlit is very similar to the one used at Southlit. Take a look at the Eastlit journal article that describes it.

Please Read the Following before Submitting:

When you submit work to us, you are guaranteeing that you are the owner of the copyright of that work. We do not ask for, want or require the transfer of your copyright to us. When you submit a piece of work you are agreeing to give us a non-exclusive licence to publish the piece on Southlit online journal and/or Southlit’s connected electronic services such as, but not limited to Southlit Live and Southlit E-magazine. By submitting a piece of work, you agree to these terms.

You can send your Southlit submissions as an attachment in text or Microsoft Word, or if necessary in the body of your e-mail. Please send it to Southlit submissions (submissions@eastlit.com) Make sure you have included the title and the author’s name. Please also make sure that you have submitted it from an e-mail that we can contact you at. Southlit submissions made in any other way will not be read. Submissions to Southlit made in other formats will not be opened.

What to Send:

• Up to three pieces of fiction or non-fiction.
• Ten poems.
• A single extract from a novel.
• A short third person biography.
• If submitting outside South Asia send a short explanation of your work connects when you submit your work.

For submission of previously published pieces, please include details of the acknowledgement required and publisher. Also if a piece published by Southlit is republished, it would be nice if you acknowledged us as first or previous publisher. This helps supports our goal of encouraging new writers in the region.

We normally publish the content of your work as it is submitted. Southlit chooses the fonts, font size, line spacing and other formatting. We usually try to keep indents and spacing with poetry submissions. If you have any special requests, let us know when you submit your work. We try to be flexible but as a volunteer based journal, we do have limits.

After making your Southlit submission you should receive an e-mail acknowledging receipt. If you have not received this within one week, assume we have not received your submission. Please submit again if this happens.

We do have an editorial policy. We do not publish every piece of work we receive. All submissions are checked by an editor to see if they meet the from or connected to South Asia criteria. If they do, then they go to our editorial board to be read. The board will decide on what gets published.