Discoursing Diaspora strives to provide a portal for writing that engages with the diasporic experience, and highlights the struggles, challenges and rewards of displacement. We wish to support writers and artists resisting exclusion by the dominant discourse by providing a space for their narrative and a platform for works addressing issues of social justice.
For this project, we welcome submissions of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, essay, multimedia — and anything in between. We expect that many of the works will come from people whose English language skills are developing, and as such, full editorial support will be given to successful submissions. Works by those who aren’t necessarily writing from an experience of diaspora may be considered, as long as their work explores themes of social justice, cultural diversity and inclusion. However, priority will be given to works arising from a lived experience of diaspora, rather than works which are simply about it.
We welcome previously unpublished writing and original works by emerging and experienced artists and writers from anywhere in the world.
What we’re looking for:
- Essays/Non-fiction/Interviews: Raise or debate an issue and engage us by exploring how it impacts and influences our understanding of diaspora. We are also interested in personal accounts and interviews.
- Short fiction
- Poetry
- Visual and/or multimedia: We accept visual art and other media format submissions, including audio and video recordings.
Submit 1 longer piece (essay/fiction/nonfiction/interview) or a max of 3 poems via Submittable.
For examples of work published on Discoursing Diaspora, visit our Vault.
The Discoursing Diaspora Project was founded in 2016 by poet Ramon Loyola, who sadly passed away on 12 September, 2018. We owe a debt of gratitude to Ramon, who worked passionately to support diverse and marginalised writers. Visit Ramon’s Memorial Page to learn more about his life and work.
Ramon Loyola was a writer, editor, legal author and lawyer. Born and raised in the Philippines, he held a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Pharmacy from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Law and Legal Practice, and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). After working in a variety of roles — including as a clinical pharmacist, public and media relations specialist, television scriptwriter, magazine editor and medical writer — Ramon came to Australia in 1995 and worked as a court clerk, court registrar and manager, before becoming a lawyer in 2005 and working full-time in various government legal agencies while also writing for legal professional publications.
In between his demanding legal practice, Ramon published two collections of poetry in 2014: not poems, just words, and I Look For You in Other Truths. not poems, just words was a Finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards (USA) for Poetry in 2014. In 2015 Ramon published The Heaving Pavement, an experimental memoir in poetic, prose and illustrated forms about his struggle with anxiety. Ramon’s final book, The Measure of Skin, was published by Vagabond Press in 2018. His views on writing from a diverse background were also aired on SBS Radio, paving the way for a renewed focus on diasporic writing, particularly on themes of race, gender and sexuality, and evaluations and explorations of identity. Ramon lived in the inner-Sydney suburb of Newtown.