Literary features
Long-form writing about books, writers and reading.
Write for Sotrane Literary Magazine
Send us your essays, reviews, interviews, stories and poems.
Submissions are closed at the moment. They open once the editors have published the contributor terms. Please check back soon.
The Sotrane Literary Magazine publishes writing about books and from writers in Zambia and across Africa: features, interviews, reviews, essays, short fiction and poetry, and honest commentary on publishing.
Every submission is read by an editor. Nothing is published automatically: a piece we accept is edited with you and goes through the same approval as everything in the magazine, and is published with your name.
Forms we welcome
Author interviews
Conversations with authors, poets, editors and publishers.
Book reviews
Considered reviews of new and important books.
Literary profiles
Portraits of writers, booksellers, libraries and literary organisations.
Publishing advice
Practical, honest guidance for writers on craft and publishing.
Publishing industry insights
Analysis of the book trade, policy and reading culture.
Literary events
Reports from festivals, launches, readings and prizes.
Creative writing
Short fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction.
Opinion and commentary
Argued commentary on literature and literary life.
Guidelines
Your own original work
Send work you wrote and have the right to submit. Tell us if it has appeared elsewhere, including online.
A summary and a short biography
Two or three sentences about the piece, and a few lines about you, help the editors read it well.
Files if you need them
Paste the piece into the form; attach a longer manuscript or images as PDF, Word, text or image files.
Patience with the editors
We reply to every submission, here and by email: an acceptance, a request to revise, or a decision not to publish.
Common questions
Do I keep the rights to my work?
You keep the rights the contributor terms describe. You confirm them, version by version, when you submit.
Will my piece be edited?
Accepted pieces are edited for clarity and house style, and you see the changes before publication.
Can I withdraw a submission?
Yes, from your dashboard, at any time before the editors decide.
Is the magazine the same as the Sotrane blog?
No. The blog carries the publishing house's own guidance; the magazine publishes writers and critics, and the two never carry the same article.