Afghan Writers Aid Special Issue
AFGHAN REFUGEE AID and RIPE FICTION are currently seeking submissions of microfiction and visual art by writers and artists in Afghanistan for a special digital issue.
We want to hear from marginalized artists who—despite recent bans on education and work—continue to create art that reflects the times we live in.
We welcome work in Dari, Pashto, Tojiki, and English, and will give precedence to stories written from Afghanistan.
We are currently OPEN for submissions.
EXTENDED DEADLINE!
Submissions close March 31st, 2023, 11:59 PM CST.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
WHO SHOULD SUBMIT: This issue is reserved for writers and visual artists who identify as Afghan and have lived in Afghanistan for at least five years. We welcome work in Dari, Pashto, Tojiki, and English. We will give precedence to submissions by women and LGBTQ+ individuals, and work from Afghanistan.
WORDCOUNT: 500 words maximum.
PUBLICATION STATUS: Original, previously unpublished work.
LANGUAGE: Dari, Pashto, Tojiki, and English. Accepted submissions will be published in their original language, as well as translated into English.
SUBJECT MATTER: Work must pull inspiration from a news story, article, essay, and/or other form of media “current” at the time of submission.
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Please submit only one piece of work to us at a time. We’re happy to accept a new submission when you’ve heard back from our editors on your last submission.
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: Always allowed. Please inform us promptly if you’ve decided to withdraw a pending submission by emailing afghan.refugee.aid@gmail.com and editor@ripefiction.com.
COMPENSATION: $0.08/word USD, with a $40 minimum.
We love seeing work from previously unpublished writers, women writers, LGBTQ+ writers, and other marginalized voices.
We have a special interest in fiction which…
Directly speaks to, interrogates, complicates, and/or sheds light on a news story, article, essay and/or media “current” at the time of submission.
Challenges power structures, especially as written by members of communities that are oppressed and marginalized by those power structures
Celebrates community, compassion and acts of rebellion; gives voices to the silenced; uplifts the disenfranchised and confronts the disparities of privilege.
Expands the focus of “international news” beyond the native english-speaking world and explores the diverse experiences of a global population.
Is inspired by current events directly affecting the writer and their community.
Experiments with voice, form, and medium.
We’re not interested in fiction that…
Champions the privileged and upholds power structures, or positions acts of protest, rebellion, and revolution as inherently negative.
Treats members of a privileged class, caste or group as oppressed or wronged by a marginalized community, or characterizes the privileged as the saviors of the marginalized.
Promotes fascism, racism, transphobia, sexism, ableism, homophobia, fatphobia, etc., or fetishizes groups of people based on race, gender, sexuality, religion, or body-type.
Is inspired by real life occurrences personal only to the author.
Is not directly related to and clearly inspired by a current event news story, piece of media, or non-fiction publication.
Is fanfiction. Works inspired by popular media should be distinct, transformative, and should not infringe on the copyright of a published work.
Isn’t fiction. We aren’t a publisher of poetry or non-fiction (no personal essays, open letters, non-narrative drabbles or opinion pieces).
How to submit:
Please submit the following via email to afghan.refugee.aid@gmail.com:
Cover letter, including:
Your byline/preferred name.
Direct link to the media that your submission is addressing.
Brief writer’s statement on your submission, including anything you’d like the reader to understand about you and your connection to your submission.
Brief writer’s bio.
Your work as a doc, docx, or rtf attachment with all personal information removed (no name, contact info, or other identifying personal information in the file or file name). Your file should only include your story’s title, text and wordcount.
Files including identifying personal information will be declined for publication.
If the reader’s experience of your story is dependent on non-standard formatting, please additionally include a pdf copy of your work formatted to your specifications. We do not accept stories embedded in the body of an email.
Feeling lost?
Check out an example submission.