Oral History

B|ta'arof Magazine is committed to connecting future generations of the Iranian diaspora with their past by combining the elements of oral history with fiction. We call on writers to interview Iranians about their everyday experiences, and to create compelling fictional adaptations using the recorded interview as their bedrock. The stories that emerge from these interviews encourage writers to be active participants with the content, to fuse imagination with memory, to connect meaningfully with a distant past. Some narratives are distinctly Iranian, while others span the landscape of the human condition – B|ta'arof Magazine wants them all. The theme of our first issue, released in October of 2012, was the Iranian concept of ta'arof. The theme for our second issue is the body.

Details:

  • Abstracts or first drafts are accepted on a rolling basis.
  • Stories should be between 1000-1500 words. Longer entries will be accepted depending on the strength of the content.
  • We welcome interviews spoken in all languages, but the stories would have to be written in English.
  • The third issue of B|ta'arof will tackle the theme of Street Culture.
  • If interested, please contact B|ta'arof's editorial staff for interview release forms at submissions@btaarof.com

Contributors are welcome to contact the editors for more information regarding the production of an oral history adaptation.


Visual Arts

B|ta'arof Magazine is looking for work by artists that reflects or touches upon topics pertinent to Iran and/or the Iranian Diaspora, broadly defined. We are also looking to publish features that display the work of artists of Iranian descent. Artists may either apply to produce work that touches upon the magazine's commissioned themes or submit a general portfolio of work to be featured in the magazine. We are currently looking for submissions in all visual formats that deal with the theme of our second issue: the body.

Media - We are accepting submissions in any of the following formats: Drawing Painting Sculpture Print Collage Photography Other pictorial presentation

Procedure - To have your work considered for publication in the forthcoming magazine, please submit: images by email to submissions@btaarof.com with a short artist statement and bio
* All art, regardless of category or media, must be submitted electronically as 300 dpi JPG images for initial review. B|ta'arof only accepts original works of art.


Nonfiction

B|ta'arof is looking for writers eager to explore that which we do not see, with the honesty to reveal these dimensions in all their humor and sadness—writers who navigate our attention with a sense of truth in hand. We are now accepting submissions for all varieties of nonfiction by and/or about the Iranian Diaspora. Potential approaches include:

  • Social commentary
  • Memoir
  • Personal or thought-provoking essay
  • Interview with artists
  • Reportage

Abstracts will be considered on a rolling basis and can be submitted via email to submissions@btaarof.com