Magazine edition Quarter One 2027: Language, Censorship, and Translation
Submissions open from September 15th – November 15th 2026
WHAT ARE WE SEEKING TO DO?
We are seeking firsthand experiences, factual retellings of stories from the author’s life, and personal reflections exploring the relationship between language, identity, expression, and power. We welcome submissions from writers around the world, regardless of gender, identity, nationality, or background. We are particularly interested in work that considers how language shapes the way we understand ourselves and others, and what happens when people are denied, constrained, misunderstood, or unable to use their own voice.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING TO PUBLISH (AND NOT LIMITED TO):
How language shapes identity and belonging
Language as a form of personal expression
Language and social status
Multilingual and cross-cultural experiences
Preserving meaning, voice, and cultural context across languages
Finding the language to speak out
The limitations of mother language vs translated language
Silence, censorship, and self-censorship
The relationship between language, culture, and political power
How language can reinforce or challenge systems of power
TRANSLATION:
We welcome translated work and writing about the experience of translation as a way to fight censorship and speak about change.
If you are submitting a translated piece, you must provide your own translator. Please note that we do not accept AI-assisted or written translations. While we aim to publish work written or translated into English; however, submissions originally written in other languages are welcome if they accompany an English translation.
What happens to meaning, voice, tone, identity, and cultural context when a story moves from one language to another? What can be preserved, and what inevitably changes? Language can mean spoken or written words, translation, silence, gesture, accent, dialect, mother tongue, inherited language, lost language, forbidden language, or any other form through which people communicate, express themselves, or are denied expression.
Submission Guidelines for IHRAM Literary Magazine:
We accept: Poetry (up to five poems), Short stories (2500 words or less), Essays (2500 words or less), and/or Artwork*
*No more than five visual pieces. Please note, your published artwork might be presented in black-and-white and therefore should be suitable for “print”. We WILL NOT accept any AI-Generated art. Ensure your artwork is submitted as .JPG, .PDFs, or .PNGs.
To submit your work, please visit our website and submit to [email protected]. Please ensure that you read our submission guidelines carefully and provide all the required supplemental information requested on our webpage.
View our website for submission guidelines, themes, and the required supplemental information: https://humanrightsartmovement.org/ihram-submissions
IHRAM Press Publishes pays $50 per accepted written piece.
IHRAM Press Publishes pays $25 per accepted artist.
