Literary magazines are a catalyst to good publishing in any country, functioning as a parallel industry to traditional book publishing. A rich literary magazine landscape comments on writing being taken seriously, and also nurtures a reading market for aspiring writers. Stimulating intellectual conversations, niche catering, lending support to Creative Writing programs, and providing a platform to be heard, or well, read; surround the larger role of magazines.
In India, South Asia, Africa and certain parts of the world, literary magazines may have another role to play. Support writing careers. The magazines are a pillar to graduates of literature, passionate readers, bibliophiles, hobbyists; lending them the shoulder to spring start a probable writing career.
Here, today, we have curated a list of our favorite literary magazines of Indian/Asian origin, publishing steadily for a couple of years. Persons of words in this part of the world, or anywhere else, go ahead and submit your creative writing.
We, The Bombay Review, are also always open to reading your work, publishing your work, and commending your work. Details below.
By Team TBR
The Bombay Review
Year established: 2014
Published from: New York City & Mumbai
Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Essays, Art, Reviews, Interviews, Culture pieces
Submission period: All year
Type: Online + Print
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Submission fee: None
Payment: upto $50 for solicited entries
Editors: Kaartikeya Bajpai | Rochelle Potkar
30
LITERARY MAGAZINES
(Established more than 5 years ago, as of 2020)
Short fiction, poetry, translations, reviews, screenplays, essays, and more.
Indian Literature: Sahitya Academy
- Year established: 1954
- Published from: New Delhi, India
- Genres: Poetry, short fiction in English translation and English, critical articles
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital + print
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Dr. A. J. Thomas
Asymptote Journal
- Year established: 2015
- Published from: Taiwan
- Genres: Unpublished translated poetry, fiction, nonfiction and drama; original English-language nonfiction; visual art
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Lee Yew Leong
Jaggery Lit
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: India
- Genres: Fiction, poetry, essays, art, reviews
- Submission period: May 1 to July 1
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: $25/piece
- Payment: $100 for fiction, $25 for nonfiction/poetry/art/reviews
- Editor: Anu Mahadev
Cha: An Asian Literary Journal (Could be defunct)
- Year established: 2007
- Published from: Hong Kong + London, UK
- Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
Spark Magazine
- Year established: 2010
- Published from: India
- Genres: Short fiction, art
- Submission period: On a break, currently not accepting submissions
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editors: Anupama Krishnakumar and Vani Viswanathan
The Indian Quarterly
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: Mumbai, India
- Genres: Essays, features, essay-reviews, photo-essays, travelogue, poetry, fiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Print + Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Unknown
Reading Hour
- Year established: 2011
- Published from: Bangalore, India
- Genres: Short fiction, poetry, book reviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Print + Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Unknown
eFiction India
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: Gurgaon, India
- Genres: Essays, fiction, poetry, art and criticism, interviews, book reviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Nikhil Sharda
The Bangalore Review
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: Bangalore, India
- Genres: Fiction, creative non-fiction, translations, essays
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: $3
- Payment: None
- Editor: Suhail Rasheed
Himal South Asian Mag
- Year established: 1987
- Published from: Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Genres: Long-form reportage, political analysis, essays and opinion, interviews, photo essays, reviews, fiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: USD 100-150
- Editors: Kanak Mani Dixit
Muse India
- Year established: 2004
- Published from: Secunderabad, Telangana, India
- Genres: Poetry, short fiction, essays, conversations with writers, book reviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Atreya Sarma U
Helter Skelter
- Year established: 2010
- Published from: Mumbai
- Genres: Helter Skelter Anthology of New Writing: Short fiction, poetry
- Submission period: Varies, usually November to January
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Arun Kale
The Alipore Post
- Year established: 2015
- Published from: Unknown
- Genres: Poetry, art, photography, comics, interviews, prose
- Submission period: Check website
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee:
- Payment:
- Editor: Rohini Kejriwal
Open Road Review: (To be verified)
- Year established: 2011
- Published from: New Delhi, India
- Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Kulpreet Yadav
Cafe Dissensus
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: New York City, USA
- Genres: Audio-visual (interviews, conversations), Political articles/essays, Photo essays
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Online
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editors: Mary Ann Chacko, Mosarrap Hossain Khan
Kitaab
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: Singapore
- Genres: Short Stories, Essays on literary criticism, Poetry, Non-fiction – Travelogues, Memoirs, Personal essays, Book Reviews, Author Interviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Zafar Anjum
Wasafiri
- Year established: 1984
- Published from: London, UK
- Genres: Articles, essays, journalistic prose, short fiction and poetry
- Submission period: October onwards
- Type: Digital + print
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Malachi McIntosh
The Bombay Literary Magazine
- Year established: 2013
- Published from: Unknown
- Genres: Fiction, poetry
- Submission period: Varies, currently closed
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: Nil
- Editor – Tanuj Solanki
The Mithila Review
- Year established: 2016
- Published from: Delhi, India
- Genres: Fiction, poetry, non-fiction
- Submission period: Varies, updates on website. Currently open for poetry, closed for fiction (opens August 2020)
- Type: Digital + print
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: Nil to $10 for original poetry, essays, flash stories; $50 for original stories
- Editor: Salik Shah
Nether (To be verified)
- Year established: 2009
- Published from: India
- Genres: Fiction, poetry, art, photography
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital (quarterly) + Print (annual)
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Avinab Datta-Areng
Vayavya (To be verified)
- Year established: 2011, first published in 2013
- Published from: India
- Genres: Poetry, prose on poetry, interviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Mihir Vatsa
The Little Magazine (To be verified)
- Year established: 2001
- Published from: India
- Genres: Essays, fiction, poetry, novellas, film and theatre scripts
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Antara Dev Sen, Pratik Kanjilal
Setu Billingual
- Year established: 2016
- Published from: Pittsburgh, USA
- Genres: Research articles, book reviews, interviews, poems and short fiction
- Submission period:
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Anurag Sharma, Sunil Sharma
The Punch Magazine (formerly Byword)
- Year established: 2016 (formerly Byword)
- Published from: India
- Genres: Articles (Non-fiction, Poetry, Interviews), Reviews, Photos, Videos, Fiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Online
- Website
- Submission fee: Small donations are welcome
- Payment: None
- Editor: Shireen Quadri
The Aleph Review
- Year established: 2017
- Published from: Pakistan
- Genres: Prose, poetry
- Submission period: January to July
- Type: Digital + print
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Mehvash Amin
The Missing Slate:
- Year established: 2010
- Published from: Pakistan
- Genres: Poetry, fiction, non-fiction, photography, visual arts
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital + print
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Moeed Tariq, Noah Klein
Out of Print
- Year established: 2010
- Published from: Mumbai, India
- Genres: Fiction
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Indira Chandrasekhar
Anak Sastra
- Year established: 2010
- Published from: Florida, USA
- Genres: Short fiction, creative nonfiction, comics, poems, book reviews
- Submission period: All year
- Type: Digital
- Website
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: None
- Editor: Kris Williamson
The Asian American Literary Review (Under construction)
- Year established: 2009
- Published from: USA
- Genres: Poetry, Fiction, Creative Nonfiction
- Submission period: Jun 1 to Aug 31
- Type: Digital
- Website Currently under construction
- Submission fee: None
- Payment: Contributor copies only
- Editor: Lawrence-Minh Bὺi Davis and Gerald Maa
If we have missed out any literary magazine, which we surely have, please comment below with details and we will take a look. Do note, that we are not considering literary magazines/journals which are less than 3-5 years old.
The above list in not in any particular order.
