Critical Special Issue: Myanmar

Critical Special Issue: Myanmar - Ecology, History, Culture, and Politics

One of our current projects is a critical special issue on Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) involving the curation of written and audiovisual works from the people of Myanmar.  In collaboration with Parami University, this ongoing project is in its early stages of development as we close out 2024.

In this critical special issue, we intend to explore the ecology, culture, history, and politics of Myanmar for the purpose of contextualization of the critical special issue within the place of Myanmar, taking an “expanded time horizons” systems wisdom approach to this research.

We are seeking fiction, nonfiction, photography, visual art, documentary film, fiction film, animation, recorded work (audio only), and expansive creative works implementing multiple media types.

We are accepting submissions from people around the globe, as long as the work has some connection to (and focuses upon) Myanmar and the topic areas listed above.  We are hoping to curate a variety of pieces from creators within and outside Myanmar’s borders, so as to foster the internal and external perspectives necessary for reciprocal reasoning.  

We want to get a sense of place from inside and outside Myanmar’s borders.

See our specific submission guidelines below.

Submission Guidelines

We do not require blinded submissions.  We prefer knowing as much about the author/creator as possible.

Remember, The Upper New Review is a hybrid publication.  We encourage the use of hyperlinks and embeddable media: images, audiovisuals, datasets, visualizations, etc.  (It is our job at The Upper New to convert these embeddable elements to printable ephemera when and if the time comes.)

We welcome simultaneous submissions, but ask that you notify us immediately and withdraw your submission if it is accepted for publication elsewhere.

Prose (fiction and nonfiction)

For prose, the minimum word count for a manuscript is 3000 words.  We consider a short story to be no longer than 20,000 words, so our maximum word count is 20,000 words for fiction and nonfiction manuscripts.

Properly formatted manuscripts, including 12pt font, double-spacing, page numbers, etc.

For nonfiction works, please include properly formatted citations, using whatever system works for you (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.)

.DOCX or .ODT file formats preferred.  

PDF files are acceptable as well, but more difficult to parse in our system.

Visual Art

For 2D visual art, such as painting, illustration, photography, digital art, etc.: Submit a single image of the work.  Ensure the resolution of the image submitted is high enough to showcase the quality of your creative work.  Please do not include any watermarks visible in the image.

For 3D visual art, such as sculpture, installations, digital models, etc.: Submit a single image of the work.  Ensure the composition and resolution of the image submitted is appropriate to showcase the quality of your creative work.  As an alternative, please submit a brief video showcasing a single 3D work.  Limit the length of the video to 90 seconds.  Narration is allowed, but no music or soundtrack.  If you are submitting a video, we prefer a document containing a URL to access the video.

For images: .jpg file format is preferred

Motion Works (Documentary Film, Fiction Film, Animation)

For motion art, such as live action films and animations: Submit a single video, 1080x1920 resolution, either horizontal or vertical aspect ratio.  Limit duration of video to five (5) minutes.  If the full length of the work you are submitting exceeds five minutes, please indicate this in the synopsis of your submission, and ensure the video file you submit is an appropriate preview of the complete work.  As opposed to uploading a video file directly to Submittable, we prefer a document containing a URL to access the video.

For video: .mp4 file format is preferred

Recorded Work (Audio Only)

For auditory works, such as music and spoken word: Submit a single audio file, no more than five (5) minutes in length.  Ensure the fidelity of the audio submitted is high enough to showcase the quality of your creative work.  If the full length of the work you are submitting exceeds five minutes, please indicate this in the synopsis of your submission, and ensure the audio file you submit is an appropriate preview of the complete work.  As opposed to uploading an audio file directly to Submittable, we prefer a document containing a URL to access the audio.

For audio: .mp3 file format is preferred

Multiple Media Types

For interdisciplinary/multimedia works, please use your best judgment concerning the nature of the single artifact to be submitted to best represent your work.  Whichever format you choose, please reference specific guidelines in categories above.

Submissions Policy

Any submission not strictly adhering to the guidelines will be automatically rejected.  Resubmissions adhering to guidelines are allowed.  You will start a new submission and pay the requisite fees.

Unfortunately, The Upper New cannot provide refunds for any submissions.