Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements
Along the shoreline, rubber trees—or their remnants—bristle against a tangle of tropical foliage. On the street, a mélange of words and music; a single sentence conveys the rhythm of three or four languages.
We find ourselves in the Southeast Asian or Caribbean Archipelagos, both regions shaped by indigenous perseverance, histories of migration, the vocabulary of the tropics, ruptures of slavery and colonialism—and the negotiation and reconstitution that came afterwards. The archipelago is not a place where identity is ‘fixed and established’; instead, it is one where ‘creolization… the blend of cultures, was most brilliantly fulfilled’, in the words of Édouard Glissant. From a similar perspective, Gina Apostol, in her preface to Ulirát, a collection of translations arising from the archipelagic condition of the Philippines, invites us to think through the polyphony of languages which, ‘being so prone to borrowing and puns and play, explode the fallacy of… essentialism’.
In May 2026, SUSPECT will publish a portfolio of writing and art putting the Southeast Asian and Caribbean archipelagos in conversation. We are interested in works that explore the histories, presents, and futures of the archipelagos through the nodes of plantation, patois, and possibility. If you are writing from—or about—the Southeast Asian or Caribbean archipelagos, we invite you to submit work that ruminates on these nodes in the form of short fiction, poetry, or essays. We welcome translations into English. Translators must provide documentation of authorisation to translate and publish from the writer whom they are translating.
Portfolio Timeline
Submission period: 15 January – 1 March 2026
Announcement of decisions: 1 April 2026
The portfolio will run throughout May 2026
Submission Guidelines
Short fiction: Please submit either a single short story ranging from 1,500 to 6,500 words or a suite of flash fiction ranging from 2-4 pieces with a minimum word count of 1,500
Poetry: Please submit a suite of 3-5 poems of not more than 10 pages
Essays: Please submit either a single essay ranging from 1,500 to 6,500 words or a suite of flash non-fiction ranging from 2-4 pieces with a minimum word count of 1,500
Although we accept simultaneous submissions, we ask that you inform us if your work has been accepted elsewhere. We do not accept previously published work. Please include a short cover letter in your submission detailing your connection to either the Southeast Asian or Caribbean archipelagos. Submit your work to EIC Sharmini Aphrodite at suspect@singaporeunbound.org.
Payment
SUSPECT pays USD100 for each accepted work/suite of work.
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