Literary Journal

Equatorial Literary Magazine

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About the magazine

Equatorial Literary Magazine is an online publication founded in 2018 with the aim of bridging literary voices from the Global South and its diaspora. Based in Nairobi and Jakarta, the magazine takes its name from the equatorial belt—a region marked by intense heat, biodiversity, and colonial extraction—as a metaphor for writing that is both rooted in place and globally resonant. Its core mission is to publish poetry, short fiction, and essays that engage with questions of ecology, migration, and postcolonial identity, often foregrounding work in translation. Since its inception, Equatorial has maintained a biannual print anthology alongside its digital issues, and has co-hosted reading series in partnership with universities and arts festivals across three continents.

Editorial focus

Poetry

Submitting your work

Reading periodFeb 1 to May 31

Reading feeNo

PaymentNo payment

Response time3 to 6 months

Simultaneous submissionsYes

Unsolicited submissionsYes

Equatorial accepts submissions year-round via its online portal, with no reading fees for writers from low-income countries. The editors prioritize work that demonstrates a strong sense of place, formal experimentation, and engagement with ecological or decolonial themes. Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please notify promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere. Translations should include the original text and a brief note on permissions. Response times average 8–12 weeks; queries are discouraged unless a submission has exceeded 16 weeks. The magazine hosts an annual themed issue (e.g., 'Water Rights,' 'Desert Archives') and encourages writers to check the current call before submitting.

Equatorial is an international curation of poetry. Send us your lush. Your arid. Your centered or spinning.

Read official guidelines

Submission calls

1 listed

OpenDeadline · 2027-02-01