Our special callout “Indonesian Speculative Fiction in Translation” is currently open until November 5, 2026.
Our next general translation submission cycle runs November 1, 2026 to November 30, 2026.
What we want
This call for speculative short stories marks the first step in a collaboration between khōréō magazine and Marjin Kiri, supported by the British Council and the National Centre for Writing, to translate three speculative short stories by Indonesian writers into English. The three selected stories will appear in khōréō magazine Volume 7, set to be published in 2027.
We invite writers and translators to submit speculative short stories on the theme of Tercerabut (Uprooted). Being uprooted can take many forms: forced to leave home, forced into silence, forced to become someone other than yourself until your identity, thoughts, and free will slowly erode. We want to read stories that trace both the wounds and the resilience left behind, through worlds that may be unreal, absurd, and strange, yet feel familiar.
Submission guidelines:
- Submissions are open to writers and translators based in Indonesia.
- The story must be a work of fiction and an original piece, not the result of plagiarism or generative AI.
- The story must contain speculative elements, with a maximum length of 3,500 words.
- Each writer and translator may submit only one story.
- Submissions may be previously unpublished works, or previously published works that have not yet been translated.
- Writers may choose to submit their story in either Indonesian or English.
- Translators must submit an English translation of a work by a living Indonesian writer (not a classic work), on the condition that permission has been granted from the writer to include it in this project.
Additional information:
- Selected stories written in Indonesian will be translated by invited translators.
- Copyright for each story remains with the writer and translator.
- The editorial team reserves the right to make small edits to finalize the author’s manuscript, in consultation with the author and translator.
- Each writer whose work is selected will receive payment at a rate of USD$0.10/word. Translators whose translations are selected will be paid separately from the writer whose work they translated.
To submit:
- The manuscript, author bio, and translator+author bio must be sent by email to andinrrm@gmail.com no later than November 5, 2026.
- Selected writers and translators will be contacted on November 30.
khōréō welcomes speculative fiction in translation up to 3,500 words: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and any genre in between or around it, as long as there’s a speculative element.
We’re especially interested in writing and art that explore some aspect of migration, whether explicitly (themes of immigration, colonialism, etc.), metaphorically, or with a sly nod and a wink. Most importantly, we’re a new magazine and we’re still finding our identity: therefore, as long as there’s a speculative element to your story, please don’t self-reject because you’re not sure if your work is a good fit. We won’t know until we see it, so please give us a chance to look!
khōréō sees the act of translation as a kind of movement across borders. As such, we encourage, but do not require, the author and/or translator to identify as immigrant or diaspora. This definition includes, but is not limited to, first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented migrants, persons who identify with one or more diaspora communities, persons who have been displaced or whose heritage has been erased due to colonialism/imperialism, and anyone whose heritage and history includes ‘here and elsewhere’. We especially encourage BIPOC creators who identify as the above to submit their work.
We welcome both completed translations and pitches for translations. Please choose the appropriate queue (Translation – Short Story or Translation – Pitch) on our Moksha portal, linked here.
Pitching a translation
To pitch a translation, submit a brief description of the selected short story and a short paragraph of its literary and cultural context, a short bio of both the original author and the translator, and a sample translation. The sample would ideally be an excerpt of the story in question or another work in a similar style or genre up to 200 words, or an existing fully translated short story. Please confirm in the cover letter that the work is available for translation. If accepted, we will commission the full translation into English.
Submitting a completed translation
Please submit the work translated into English. You may submit a work that has been published in the host language or remains unpublished; however, the translation into English should not already be published elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions are welcome. If submitting as a translator of another author’s work, please note whether the author/the rights holder has confirmed that the work is available for translation. We would appreciate a brief description of the author’s/translator’s identity and the cultural/literary context of the original author in the cover letter.
Please format your translation using the Shunn modern manuscript format (details at this link: https://www.shunn.net/format/story/). Authors are not expected to provide their mailing address until acceptance.
Content Warnings
If your story requires a content warning, please include a brief description below the title of your piece as well as in your cover letter. In addition, please check the box indicating that your story has content warnings on the submission form. Including content warnings will not negatively impact your chances of getting accepted—in fact, noting them where they are warranted actually helps your chances, since that means we can get the story to the right First Reader!
If you’re not sure if your story requires content warnings, it’s better to err on the side of caution. We’ve included a list below for some ideas of what could constitute a content warning, so just flip through it and see if your story contains any of the terms.
If you are fundamentally against the concept of content warnings and refuse to include them on principle, then we are not the right venue for you and we wish you the best of luck submitting your work elsewhere.
- Sexual Assault
- Abuse
- Child abuse/pedophilia/incest
- Animal cruelty or animal death
- Self-harm and suicide
- Eating disorders, body hatred, and fatphobia
- Violence (specifying graphic, against children, domestic violence, etc. is helpful)
- Pornographic content
- Kidnapping and abduction
- Death or dying (specifying death of a parent, child, etc. can be helpful)
- Pregnancy/childbirth
- Miscarriages/abortion
- Blood
- Illness (e.g., cancer, seizures)
- Mental illness and ableism
- Racism and racial slurs
- Sexism and misogyny
- Classism
- Hateful language directed at religious groups (e.g., Islamophobia, antisemitism)
- Transphobia and transmisogyny
- Homophobia and heterosexism
What we offer
Payment at SFWA pro rates ($0.10/word) for both the original author (if story is not in the public domain) and the translator.
What we ask for
At a high level, we ask for:
- Non-exclusive, non-assignable, non-transferrable first-world English-language rights to publish in digital, ebook, and print
- Right to republish in an anthology of stories that have previously appeared in the magazine within 24 months of initial publication in our magazine
- Nonexclusive, non-assignable, non-transferable license to archive the story on our website for at least 36 months
- Nonexclusive right to record audio and share it on our website for at least 36 months
Any rights not granted explicitly to us by the contract are retained by the author.