Thoomar: An Anthology of Queer and Trans South Asian Stories

Thoomar, a working title meaning “yours” in Bangla, is a forthcoming anthology of nonfiction narrative stories by queer and trans South Asians across the diaspora. Structured in three parts: childhood (up to age 13), adolescence and early adulthood (up to age 21), and adulthood (21 and beyond), the book invites readers to witness the experience of growing up queer and South Asian, one story at a time.

The anthology is under contract with Jessica Kingsley Publishers and will be distributed internationally via Hachette Book Group in Fall 2026. Final manuscripts are due November 2025. The collection is edited and curated by writer Shahamat Uddin, whose work explores intimacy, queerness, and South Asian identity. His writing has appeared in Vogue, The Cut, them, Interview Magazine, The Nation, Vogue India, Teen Vogue, PopSugar, and more. Shahamat’s ancestry descends from Sylhet, Bangladesh and he identifies as a gay man. 

Shahamat is currently seeking first-person narrative nonfiction submissions between 4,000–10,000 words. Writers can submit stories for any section of the book. Submissions should center or engage with the author’s queer and South Asian identity, but can range in tone and topic—grief, joy, sexuality, language, friendship, migration, art, family, spirituality, survival, celebration, or otherwise.

Stylistically, Shahamat is drawn to writing that listens deeply, to the body, to the world, to memory. He’s interested in prose that uses sensory detail, evocative imagery, and emotional precision to pull readers into a narrator’s interior world. Some writers whose work inspires the tone of the book include Jhumpa Lahiri, Miranda July, Ada Limón, Kaveh Akbar, and Rebecca Makkai, but these names are simply touchstones, not requirements.

Submission Details:

• Deadline: Drafts must be submitted to Shahamat by mid-October
• Length: 4,000–10,000 words
• Form: First-person narrative nonfiction
• Eligibility: Queer and/or trans writers of South Asian descent across the diaspora
• Topic: Open, but must engage queer and South Asian identity

If you’re interested in contributing to the anthology, please send a pitch (one to two paragraph summary of your story) and two writing samples to Shahamat at ushahamat@gmail.com. Shahamat is open to considering submissions shorter than 4,000 words, but has a preference for longer pieces, given the print format. This is a paid opportunity.