Competitions and Call Outs – The Asian Writer

The Asian Writer Being Brown Anthology

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re now inviting short stories and flash fiction for our next anthology. Following the pandemic and the rise in hate crimes against Asians around the world, we want to celebrate the diverse cultures of Asia and the diaspora.

We are open for entries to writers, published or unpublished from anywhere in the world. Short stories must be a maximum of 2,500 words. Please only submit one piece. Chosen stories will be published for in an anthology which will celebrate fifteen years of The Asian Writer. Writers will receive two copies of the anthology and retain copyright for their piece. The anthology will be launched at Platform, a writing conference for Black and Asian writers to be held in 2023.

Email entries to editor@theasianwriter.co.uk with The Asian Writer Being Brown Anthology in the subject heading by 13th May 2022. Please include a short biography of no more than 100 words.

Bookouture and Dahlia Books join forces on an exclusive call-out for writers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds – open

Bookouture, in association with The Asian Writer and Dahlia Books, are putting out an exclusive call-out for commercial fiction submissions from unagented and unpublished writers from BAME backgrounds and will be offering professional editorial feedback on the synopsis and first three chapters for the month of August.

Lucy Dauman, Associate Publisher at Bookouture, said: ‘We are committed to diversifying our list and ensuring that voices from all backgrounds are heard. It’s more apparent than ever that writers from BAME backgrounds are under-represented in publishing and we hope that, by helping to shape the pitch and those all-important first chapters, we can add real value to a writer’s publication journey and discover some exciting new voices in commercial fiction.’

Farhana Shaikh, Founder of Dahlia Books and The Asian Writer, said: ‘We’re seeing lots of publishers rushing to diversify their lists which is right and long overdue. I’m thrilled to see that Bookouture are going one step further. Working with Lucy at Bookouture to bring this opportunity to writers from diverse backgrounds has been incredibly heartwarming. It’s a fantastic opportunity for BAME writers to receive editorial feedback, which I’m certain will help them to develop their writing talent and support their journey to publication.’

Writers should submit a short bio, a synopsis (of up to 1,000 words) and the first three chapters/50 pages (up to a total of 10,000 words) here.

The inbox will open at 12.00am on Saturday 1 August 2020 and the deadline for submissions is 11.59pm on Monday 31 August 2020*.

Each submission will be read by a member of the Bookouture editorial team, who will provide editorial feedback within six weeks from the date of submission. The feedback will cover the hook and the pitch, as well as the writing style and impact of the opening chapters. We will also advise on genre and where the author thinks this sits in the market.

For more information on what Bookouture are looking for, click here

*If you are not able to submit to us in August, we would still love to read your submission via the usual submissions platform on our website. However, while we respond to all submissions and give feedback where we can, beyond the month of August, we will not be able to give the same detailed editorial feedback.

Short Story September Anthology – closed

Our publisher, Dahlia Publishing is currently inviting short stories of up to 4,000 words on the theme ‘kitchen’.

Please send us your short stories interpreting this theme in any way you wish. We are looking for work which surprises us and embraces the unexpected.

Selections will be made by joint editors Farhana Shaikh and Susmita Bhattacharya.

Successful writers will receive two copies of the anthology which will be published in September 2020.

Please send your short story with a short covering letter to f.shaikh@dahliapublishing.co.uk with ‘Short Story September – Kitchen’ in the subject heading.

Deadline: 31 December 2019

The Asian Writer Short Story Prize 2019 – closed

We’re pleased to announce that our annual short story prize returns for a sixth year and will be open for entries on March 1st. We’re looking for new and original fiction under 4000 words to publish, on any theme or subject.

£10 per entry. Max three entries per person.

PRIZES

1st Prize – £150

Runner-up Prize – £100

Highly commended – £50

The best short stories will be chosen for publication in a compendium which will celebrate ten years of The Asian Writer and include interviews, features and all previous winning stories.

Please pay for your entry prior to sending us your story, confirming your payment reference in your email.

Email entries to editor@theasianwriter.co.uk with Short Story Prize 2019 in the subject heading. Please include a short biography of no more than 100 words.

Deadline: 7th September 2018

ENTER

These are the full terms and conditions for The Asian Writer Short Story Competition 2019

1. The Asian Writer Short Story Competition 2019 is open to all ages and nationalities. The prize aims to specifically actively encourage British Asian writers to submit their work but for our tenth anniversary anthology we are keen to publish more international writers especially from the South Asian region.

2. All entries must be original unpublished prose, on any theme and no more than 4,000 words. The entry must not have been submitted or published the work elsewhere including other competitions.

3. Entries cannot be extracts from longer works or unfinished at the time of entry. We will not allow entries to be amended at a later date so please submit completed stories only.

4. Writers may submit more than one entry. Payment is per entry. Max. three.

5. Winners will be notified at the email address stated in their entry. You can follow updates on our website at www.theasianwriter.co.uk, on Twitter (@theasianwriter) and our Facebook page (The Asian Writer)

6. Entries must be submitted via email to editor@theasianwriter.co.uk with the subject heading: The Asian Writer Short Story Competition 2019. Please include your email address and other contact details in the body of the email. Your entry can appear in the body of the email or as an email attachment. Please ensure your entry is sent in a doc. format. No other formats including docx, wps, txt, or pdf will be accepted.

7. Your entry must be submitted before midnight on 7th September 2018. Entries will not be accepted after this date. Please don’t leave it til midnight to submit your entry.

8. By submitting, the entrant grants Dahlia Publishing the right to publish their entry on The Asian Writer and/or in a published collection in the event of their work being shortlisted and/or winning the competition. The copyright of the works will remain with individual authors.

9. Dahlia Publishing cannot accept responsibility for entries which are not received or which are received after the closing date due to technical failure or for any other reason.

10. Winners agree to participate in publicity events in connection with the competition.

11. Dahlia Publishing and the winners may enter into agreements which will grant Dahlia Publishing the publishing, broadcasting, serial and electronic rights in the shortlisted and winning entries.

12. Dahlia Publishing reserves the right to change the rules of this competition without notice.

13. The winner of the competition will be notified within four weeks of the closing date.

14. Any prizes offered must be taken within 30 days and is subject to availability.

15. The decision of the competition judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

16. Employees of Dahlia Publishing, and members of their immediate family, are excluded from participating in the competition.

17. We may, from time to time, inform you of new books and special offers that we think will be of interest.

18. Please send direct competition queries to editor@theasianwriter.co.uk Do not send queries in the comments box on our website as these will be unanswered. We strongly advise you to send your queries four weeks before the closing date.

Previous Winners:

2017 – Formations by Mona Dash

2016 – The Swim by Jamilah Ahmed

2015 – Seascapes by CG Menon

2013 – The Gardener by Jocelyn Watson

2012 – Easy to Forget, Easy to Remember by Deepa Anappara