About Us
Malashri Ragini (1640), Madhya Pradesh, India (accession no. F1924.7)
Courtesy of the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. Open access/CC0.
We don't want to see surface-level pieces on how biryani tastes or what Diwali is; we know that. We want to see unconventional, honest works that explore a past, present, and future of cultural injustice and South Asian representation. We love all genres & mediums!
We welcome new & experienced South Asian creators ages 13-25 to submit. While we don't offer guaranteed publishing for our general submissions, we want to create a space where new creators can grow, learn from feedback & opportunities for revision, and submit without judgement. Our goal is to house an authentic, beautiful archive of South Asian creative works, full of unique genres, artistic styles, and viewpoints.
The Lotus Paper is a non-commercial, youth-led digital literary & art magazine dedicated to recognizing the South Asian community through bold, honest, and unconventional creative works.
The lotus flower is a common symbol within many South Asian cultures, representing beauty and resilience, as it rises among murky waters. We're looking for creative works represent both the lotus, but the waters surrounding it as well: the struggles and honest realities of being South Asian, whether it's with your religion, culture, family, or the people around you.
Our Structure:
A unique feature of The Lotus Paper is that we provide individual recognition for all accepted works; each accepted submission will be featured on separate posts on our social media. At the end of each season, accepted works will be featured on our website in issues.
Contributors whose works stand out will be given the Best-of-Issue title, recieve an opportunity to be interviewed, and be provided a certificate. We do not offer recommendation letters anymore. We will typically have 1-3 Best-of-Issue contributors per season.
Kandyan chief processing to a temple (19th century), Sri Lanka, Kandy district (object 2019.143)
Courtesy of the Department of Asian Art at The Metropolitan Museum. Open access.
You can opt in/out for feedback & revisions on the form. We provide detailed feedback on specific parts of your piece that are strong & can be improved.
2. The editor-in-chief will review the pieces and feedback, make the executive decision, and add to the feedback if necessary.
We will reach out to you within 2-6 weeks. Most importantly, please don't self-reject pieces! We're very welcoming towards all creators and encourage you to take that first step to publication!
Starting from Issue 02 (Fall 2026) onwards, our structured review process will look like this.
1. Editor(s) in the piece's discipline will review the piece and decide if it will be accepted, have revisions, or rejected. The Lotus Paper is dedicated to providing opportunities for new South Asian creators to get published & improve, so most pieces will be accepted or we will collaborate with the creators for revisions.
