“We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.”
– Arundhati Roy, The Pandemic is a Portal
In many ways, the pandemic has resurfaced and amplified the worst in the world: gross inequality, avarice, structural violence, institutionalized discrimination, etc. But something strange has happened as well. Ideas, solutions, changes that were once thought impossible, have now presented themselves as possible alternatives. And these changes give us a glimpse of a future we could aspire for. For the upcoming issue, we’re looking for works that either challenge our present realities, or those that explore a radical re-imagining of the future; works that resist the ‘normal’, by investigating and unpacking the past, by defying the present, and by imagining a future that requires radical societal change—radical changes, but not radically impossible. The theme for this issue, as broadly conceptualized but not limited to “(re)imaginations”.
Contributors may submit the following:
*Poems of not more than 70 lines each
*Short stories ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 words
*Flash fiction pieces ranging from 100 to 1,000 words
*A chapter of a novel, including novel synopsis, ranging from 2000 to 4000 words
*Essay and creative nonfiction ranging from 2500 to 4000 words
*One-act play, screenplay or an excerpt from a full-length play ranging from 10 to 40 pages
*Critical essays about Philippine Literature and/or the Philippine South ranging from 1500-5000 words in MLA format.
Entries may be written in Filipino, Binisaya or in English. Works in Hiligaynon, Waray, Chavacano, Maguindanaon and other Philippine languages, with Filipino, Binisaya and/or English translation, are also welcome. Previously published writing is accepted, as long as you retain full publishing rights to the work. Exceptions may be made to the above guidelines with respect to both merit and the editorial board’s consideration. Please indicate publications and publication date where the work/s have appeared.
Email your work in doc. or docx. format to 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐧@𝐠𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦 together with the author’s name, a short bionote and contact number (optional).