Beetle Magazine

*Results of January 2024 Issue have been announced*

The selected writers have been picked to be published in Beetle Magazine's upcoming issue due to be released on January 22nd 2024. The issue is centred around the themes of Self-Reflection, Love and Journey.

Himank Garg- Progneitor of Ghazinagar
Tamanna Bangthai- Fa(r)ther
Pratibha Badgal- The Lovers
Ksanbor Shullai- Dirt-nap Bakery
Prateek Joshi- The Night's Blues keep me Alive
Archana Vashishtha- मेरा अपना कोना
Samiksha Varma- To the roses I never smelled
Nipun Khatri- Men My Age
Yashaswi Ghosh- The Song of Kopai

Thank you to all the participants who submitted their heartfelt pieces to the magazine! Editorial feedback will be shared of your writing via e-mail.

About the Magazine

Beetle is an international literary magazine, filled with invigorating poetry, imaginative stories and straightforward essays. The magazine hand-picks new writing from all over the world. Accompanied by bold and visionary illustrations, Beetle envisions to do the important work of circulating a soul-touching narrative.  

Selected writers are published in Beetle Magazine and receive a cash reward of ₹2000 each.  

 

Topics

Every month we pick out topics that can be explored by the writers. These topics are announced at the beginning of every month. 

Writers can choose one or more topics to write on for January 2024 Issue.

Self Reflection

Writings about oneself can help you analyze your own place in the world, the impact you think you are having, who you want to become, or any number of other contemplative self musings. For example, read an excerpt from inspiring and arousing poem 'Still I Rise' on identity by Maya Angelou.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

We enourage writers to pick up their pens and craft a poem or story that utilizes identity or a search for one's self. 

Love

Love is the most obvious human emotion.  It can be love for another person, love for nature, or even love for oneself. The first on this list is the most obvious. Love for another can be seen within the work of countless poets since writing as a form of expression came into being. For example, read an excerpt from Marvin Bell's poem 'To Dorothy' for inspiration: 

You are not beautiful, exactly.

You are beautiful, inexactly.

You let a weed grow by the mulberry

and a mulberry grow by the house.

So close, in the personal quiet of a windy night,

it brushes the wall and sweeps away the day till we sleep.

We encourage you to submit original and thought-provoking pieces that delve into the emotion of love. 

Journey

When one considers this wide-ranging theme, there are many possible subjects to keep in mind. A journey can consist of just about anything. One could be moving physically traveling from place to place, or be transforming in some significant way. The journey might be somewhere specific that can actually be listed on a map, or somewhere less tangible, such as the afterlife. 

Read the excerpt from Journey Home by Rabindranath Tagore:

The traveler has to knock at every alien door to come to his own,

and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end.

My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said `You are here!’

Write on the topic of journey. We are looking for exciting and interesting pieces that captivate our attention and make us think outside the box.  

    Rules

    We accept the following categories for publication: 

    • POETRY: Up to 60 lines maximum (1,500 words)

    • SHORT STORY: Up to 2,500 words maximum

    • FLASH FICTION: Up to 1,000 words maximum

    • PERSONAL ESSAY: Creative personal essays’ length vary between 300 to 3,000 words.

    Submission Guidelines:

    • Submissions must be written in English or Hindi. 

    • Writers must be at least 13 years old. There is no maximum age restriction.

    • All nationalities are welcome.

    • Multiple submissions are allowed.

    • Copyright of the work remains with the writer. 

    • Previously published works are allowed.

    • We encourage beginners to participate. Your writing speaks for itself- if it’s meritorious, your work will be published!

    • Entry fee is INR 1000 for a single work and INR 500 for each additional work.

    • International participants can send payment through PayPal: saumya@delhipoetryslam.com
    • Deadline to submit is January 7th, 11.59 PM EST. Results will be declared on January 13th 2023. 

    How To Submit

    To submit your works to Beetle Magazine, click the button 'Participate Now'. Once you deposit the entry fee, we will send you the submission form within an hour. All you have to do is copy+paste your poem in the body of the form itself. The entire procedure is very simple and takes only ten minutes.

    *BEETLE MAGAZINE IS CURRENTLY CLOSED FOR SUBMISSIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE*