KATHMANDU, JANUARY 1

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, Nepalaya publication house has announced an open call for Nepali writers under 25 from around the world to submit their work.

In a press statement today, Nepalaya said, "With the arrival of the new year, this call for participation is being launched under the motto '25 in 2025.' As part of this initiative, the publication house has announced plans to publish three books by Nepali youth aged 25 or younger from around the world this year. These books will cover the genres of short stories, poetry, and essays."

"Any Nepali, of Nepali origin, or any young Nepali-speaking person born after 2000 can participate in all three genres," said Bimal Acharya, the editor of Nepalaya. "Writers can submit their works in Nepali, any language spoken within Nepal, or English."

Writers will also have the freedom to write in any title, theme, style, or rhythm, according to the statement.

Among the three genres, essays are an open format, meaning that essays, features, memoirs, travel writing, biographies, profiles, stories, humor, satire, opinion pieces, letters, reviews, reflections, imagination, concepts, dreams, influences, myths, and more will all be accepted.

The works, which must not have been previously published in any medium, should not exceed 2,500 words. Works created using artificial intelligence will not be eligible for this competition.

Completed works must be submitted via Nepalaya's website www.publicationnepalaya.com by February 25, 2025. A submission form is available on the website, as stated in the announcement.

Nepalaya has also indicated that shorter, concise, well-crafted, clear, and crisp works are more likely to be selected, rather than lengthy or cumbersome pieces.

The selected works will be published in three separate books in 2025. Each author whose work is included will receive royalties as per Nepalaya's guidelines, and some authors may be offered publishing contracts.

To qualify, the only requirement for authors is that they must have been born on or after January 1, 2000. Submissions must include a valid identification document with a clear date of birth, according to the statement.