Sunday Submissions: ‘Calling All Female Arab Writers’

Saqi Books has put out a call for writers to participate in the anthology We Wrote in Symbols: Writings on Lust and Erotica by Arab Women, edited by Selma Dabbagh, set to appear in 2021:

The anthology is set to feature poetry and prose from the last 2,000 years, with works both classical and contemporary, including writing by Joumana Haddad, khulud khamis, Lisa Luxx, Hanan al Shaykh and Sabrina Mahfouz.

Pieces can be submitted in Arabic, French or English, but should be no longer than 2,000 words. Pieces selected for publication will receive £200.

The deadline is August 15, 2020, at midnight GMT.

From the call, what they’re looking for:

We’re looking to create a book that feels intimate and sensual. There should be the sense of eavesdropping on confessions made to friends, or intercepting communications between lovers. This collection will showcase how literature can be used to depict and calibrate the private, the immodest and the sexy with artistry and imagination.

The writing you submit can be funny, poignant, impassioned, reflective, ironic or bemused.  It can be set in any time period, anywhere in the world. We want to read whoever you want to write – the young, old, gay, straight, domineering, submissive. The dressed up and the naked – erotic moments alone, or with others. Sex can be a game as much of the mind as it is of the body and it is the interplay of personalities and situations that brings the finest erotic writing alive.

Those interested can submit their writing at the Saqi Books website.