Saturday, April 25, 2026

Call for Submissions on Theme of "Kurdistan": The Markaz Review

Recent cover image or website screenshot for The Markaz Review 

The Markaz Review will accept simultaneous submissions, provided you inform us upon submitting your completed ms. If your work is accepted elsewhere, please contact us immediately. We use DUOSUMA for submissions.

TMR 60 • KURDISH ISSUE • July 2026

Kurdistan is an enigma, sometimes even to its own people, who are all too often forced to suppress their language and heritage, as a result of laws imposed from without, by colonial states determined to extinguish any Kurdish revolution, or through migration to the diaspora. In any event, the consequence is often the same: Kurdistan fading into a distant memory until it’s reduced to the second hyphenation of their identity. Through our Kurdish-themed issue, TMR is looking to embrace this dissonance, and in so doing, reject historical portrayals of Kurdistan.

The prevailing narrative has long been that having a common enemy should be the connective tissue that binds Kurds together. But that’s never been true. Inherently, Kurds are a nomadic people. The rough terrains of the mountains have created deep linguistic shifts from one regional dialect to another; dialects so pronounced that Kurds themselves see them as separate languages. So where does that leave identity? What does it mean to be Kurdish when the identity itself fractures the moment you try to define it?

TMR invites your responses to these questions, in whatever form inspires you to create — essays or creative nonfiction, short stories, poetry, interviews, reported pieces, art, photography, film/video, and more. We’re looking for submissions from across the diverse map that is Kurdistan, whether they reflect a vital, shared experience or, conversely, a singularly unique perspective. Our query/submission window opens on April 17, and closes on June 1.

The Markaz Review (TMR) is a nonprofit publication. TMR pays all contributors an honorarium within 30 days of publication. 

Submission link here. 

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