Mithila Review started with the mission to illuminate the present world through speculative fiction and envision possible futures through an international literary movement fueled by a global community of readers, writers, editors and publishers:
“Science fiction and fantasy that draws its power from actual science and history—a scientific spirit based on evidence, logic and rationality—could be a fluid and powerful language of protest in the new era of demagogues; science fiction could be a new language of awakening and enlightenment in the post-truth world. This was the core belief around which Ajapa and I built Mithila Review, a new kind of open journal with an inherently global bent in an increasingly privatized and closed world.
Mithila Review grew out of our innermost fears, needs and concerns. We wanted to counter the growing climate of hate and injustice that surrounds us, and we knew we couldn’t do it alone, from an invisible, electrified patch of our planet. From the beginning, it was self-evident that we couldn’t hope to win against our enemy—the ideology of segregation and hate—without recognizing, addressing, or overcoming the many differences within and outside SF communities.
We chose to stubbornly believe that Mithila, as a referent, could speak to the times when we have felt that we don’t quite belong; when we liberated our anger and pain in ways that have fed the creative river within us. It’s been deeply gratifying to see that we were not wrong in our belief. Flash-forward a year, Mithila Review is a beautiful example of what we can accomplish together; it’s the result of a global mindset and collective effort. With contributors from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, Mithila Review has evolved into a global platform for a spectacular gamut of humanity—not a single language, gender or race, its singular tribes or colorful nationalities.” (- Shah, “Unmaking the Post-Truth World with Global SF,” Locus Magazine, 2017)
We are now expanding the editorial team of Mithila Review with new minds and voices to continue to work towards our vision of a better world. We cast a wide net in our search for young, promising, and rising stars among our SFF community, and we are very excited to announce the eight newest members of the Mithila Review Universe.
Here is the new masthead:
- Ishita Singh, Managing Editor
- Indrani Das Gupta, Non-Fiction Editor
- Archita Mittra, Fiction Editor
- Chaitanya Murali, Fiction Editor
- Rupsa Dey, Fiction Editor
- Tejaswi Rawal, First Reader
- Umang Poddar, First Reader
Bios:
Ishita Singh teaches English Literature at University of Delhi and moonlights as an SFF fan and writer. Her writings have appeared in the Mithila Review, Strange Horizons, The Law Street Journal, Times of India and Kolkata Mirror. When she’s not reading, you can find her running and/or dreaming of books she wants to write. Her shorter reviews can be found on Twitter here and on Instagram here.
Indrani Das Gupta is presently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi. Currently pursuing her Ph.D. from Department of English, Jamia Millia Islamia in the area of Indian Science Fiction, she is engaged in the examination of the interface of science fictionality, paradigms of nation-state inflected with postmodernist and postcolonialist approaches, and the social variables that constitute the ontological human existence. She has published prolifically in international journals and books.
Rupsa Dey believes in the power of language and cats, and is only allergic to the latter. She believes that the borders of language must break in order to accommodate the human experience. She never says ‘No’ to tea and if given a chance, would like to believe in a world without borders. You can visit her website here.
Archita Mittra is a writer and artist, from Kolkata (India), with a fondness for dark and fantastical things. She completed her B.A (2018) and M.A (2020) in English Literature from Jadavpur University and a Diploma in Multimedia and Animation from St. Xavier’s College. You can find her on Instagram and Twitter and check out her blog here.
Chaitanya Murali was a lawyer in a life long past. Nowadays, he designs games and writes SFF for a living. Outside of these, his weekends are a blur of D&D and videogames, and he can be found at all hours on Twitter – complaining about his sports teams, Tottenham Hotspur and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Umang is a writer (self-certified) and a lawyer (government-certified) from Ranchi/New Delhi. He loves to read and is always looking for enough time to do all the nothing he wants. You could find him on Twitter at @UmangPod, and read (some of) his writings at twodsinapodd.wordpress.com
Tejaswi Rawal is a student of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford. She edits for a journal for emerging writers aged 13 to 19, Body Without Organs Journal. Her work can be found at The Disappointed Housewife and BerryMag.
The new Mithila Review team will continue to seek, discover, and publish emerging and established voices from the centers as well as margins of the publishing world. We hope to advance our quest for freedom, dignity and justice for the peoples of the world through a renewed commitment to literary excellence and a high bar of professionalism, inclusivity, diversity and openness.
If you are interested to join us, please send your latest CV to editor@mithilareview.com with a cover letter outlining your background, skill sets and expectations, also your familiarity with and vision for the publication.
We’ll open for new fiction and poetry submissions soon.
Wishing you all a wondrous new year!
Best,
Salik Shah
Founding Editor & Publisher
Mithila Review
