Shadowhawk checks out the press release for a brand new genre magazine with it’s focus on Indian speculative fiction.

“A fantastic opportunity for Indian writers, something that can only get better with time.” ~The Founding Fields

To be honest, I’m not familiar with the Indian speculative fiction scene. I know that there’s a pretty good market for homegrown authors back home, but that’s a result of me browsing the bookstores at the Delhi International Airport more than anything else. Keeping up with the “Western” speculative fiction scene is stressing enough, without trying to do the same with Indian and Middle Eastern communities.

Which is why, when I read one of SF Signal’s latest news articles, I was immensely surprised and elated to find that a new magazine has been launched in the country and is titled, appropriately enough, Indian SF. The founder and editor of the magazine is Geetanjali Dighe, based out of Mumbai.

IndianSF aims to bring focus to the writers of this genre by encouraging them to publish their SF short stories with us.  We also want to be the source of news, interviews, and book reviews for SF readers in India.

We welcome readers and writers from across the world, but we especially want to encourage Indian writers / writers of Indian origin and  feature news, interviews and reviews about SF books that are being released in India.

The magazine is currently open for submissions, and you can find their guidelines and other details here. There is a flat fees of payment in Indian Rupees, so do keep that in mind.

The magazine’s first issue is available for free at the official site, where you can download it in the usual .pdf, .epub and .mobi formats for the eReaders of your choice.

Personally speaking, as I am Indian, and working on some stuff to get published this year, Indian SF offers me an excellent avenue to explore in that regard. There’s something to be said for potentially getting published in an ethnically-focused genre magazine. And all that said, if you look at the Table of Contents (TOC) for the first issue of the magazine, it doesn’t just have Indian writers in it, it also has Ken Liu, who is like some sort of a short story god, given how much he puts out.

All in all, I’m looking forward to seeing the magazine grow by leaps and bounds. There will be more here about the magazine, possibly interviews with Geetanjali, and a review of the issues as well.

Spread the word!