Out of Print Author Series: script by Annie Zaidi in production

We are excited when Out of Print authors go on to other successes. Our Author Series celebrates their publications and other literary achievements.

In this post, we are pleased to announce that the script Jaal by Out of Print author, Annie Zaidi goes into production and will be in Mumbai, at Prithvi Theatre on January 19th and at the NCPA on the 28th. Annie has sent us a link to its intriguing teaser. Surely we need to see the play, know more.

For an author who professed in her interview on the Out of Print blog that her natural bent is towards non-fiction, Annie’s fiction is pretty intense and deeply expressed and dramatic. I, for one, am curious to see the play!

Happy 2012

It is the second day of 2012, and Out of Print is back at the desk, reading submissions and planning for the next issue. We already have some great possibilities lined up for March, and are excited about how it will all come together.

Wishing our readers and friends a year of brilliant stories and inspired writing.

the Editors

 

Out of Print 6

This December, Out of Print features 6 stories that explore the complex, multi-layered aspects of the region in ways that rise beyond the cultural context. Altaf Tyrewala’s Mischief in Netanagar is a chilling commentary on urban ennui, where the protagonist feels so disempowered that he comments, ‘To belong to the community, to the land or to the nation, a man must first be in possession of himself.’ Lucinda Nelson Dhavan’s Boys And Girls Together leads us through what happens when a refuge for battered women and a lodge for young men are next door to each other in a ‘middle-sized, middle-class, sleepy city’ in India. Dipika Mukherjee’s Patriots Of The Will, is a fictional rendition of the Indian National Army’s presence in what was then Malaya: a Bengali woman, a sweet maker, makes mishti and much more for Bose. Meenakshi Jauhari Chawla's tale reveals the fallibility of Lakhi Parshad, Member of Parliament and the wiliness of the human mind in negotiating survival. Drawing on her scientific background, and her theoretical perspective on the ways in which molecules interact, our editor, Indira Chandrasekhar, examines the thought processes of a girl who struggles to make sense of her family and her relationships in Lennard-Jones Potentials. In Tashan Mehta’s Erasure, which begins, ‘When I left home, I came back to find they had erased me,’ a young woman, desperate to find herself searches among her family and friends but learns that they no longer see her.  

A commissioned cover from Out of Print writer and friend, Vinayak Varma is a hand-drawn re-purposing of a frame from Amitabh Bachchan's 'MereAngane Mein' song. Read more about Vinayak's thoughts on this in our Editor’s Note.

Out of Print alive and active

We have been silent on our blog - the unexpected turns of life - for a bit.

But much has been happening with us:

- Samhita is lecturing on Sita, conducting workshops in Delhi, and in the wake of the NY Times best-seller listing for Sita's Ramayana, is being sought after in many places
- Mira is reading and writing more than can be imagined possible
- Indira has a publication The Perfect Shot out in fellow online journal, Pratilipi

And, we are gathering forces for a great new issue of Out of Print.

Out of Print in Spark Magazine

In an article entitled 'Bringing the short story on line' the online magazine, Spark, interviews Out of Print.

Out of Print is in The Indian Express Sunday Magazine

Out of Print features in an article about online literary magazines by Amrita Dutta in the Nov 6, 2011 Sunday edition, The Eye, of Indian Express.

Annalemma Magazine runs an India theme

The New York based literary and arts magazine Annalemma likes a good story and an intense aesthetic. Appearing both in print and online form, their upcoming issue is themed around India.
Here is what they say about Out of Print.


Annalemma Issue Nine: IndiaCall to Submit

As America and Europe begin to recede into the background of global superpowers, new forces are stepping up as the leaders of the democratic world. Among these powers, is India. With the die of globalization now cast, the geopolitical, economic, technological & environmental landscape is more connected than ever. It is important for people in the West, young people especially, to claim an understanding of how their world intersects and effects Indian culture, and vice versa.

But how can you expect to cover an entire country in one go? And in 104 pages of a literary magazine no less? Agreed, that's somewhat impossible. The purpose of this issue is to allow a point of entry for Western readers and writers, to forge a new mental pathway to understanding.

What we are humbly asking of Indian writers is this: show us your country. Show us the micro and the macro, show us the beauty and the horror, the power, the corruption, the injustice, the triumph, the enduring beauty, the infinite feedback loop of suffering, all the wonder and terror your country brings to bear.

A lot of American/Western writers might be upset about this, maybe feel left out. So we offer this appeal: If you are a writer who has some connection to India or can offer some informed opinion of your experience as it pertains to the topic, we'd love to read it.

We'll accepting creative nonfiction, fiction, personal essay and interviews. No poetry, please. Simultaneous submissions are allowed. Please keep submissions under 5000 words. Any submissions over 5000 words, please submit a query letter. Please send only one submission at a time. We're finding creative nonfiction more compelling these days, so the more of that you send, the more likely you'll get published.

Deadline is January 13th.

Click here to submit: http://annalemma.submishmash.com/submit