Six Questions for Arvind Radhakrishnan, Editor-in-Chief, The Bangalore Review

The Bangalore Review publishes flash fiction to 800 words, short fiction and essays of 800-2500 words, poetry, and artwork/photography. "We also accept longer essays (5000 -8000 words), preferably on literature, art, philosophy and film theory." Read the complete guidelines here.

SQF: What are the top three things you look for in a submission and why?

Arvind Radhakrishnan: 

1. Originality
2. Lucidity and a good review of existing literature on the subject.
3. The writer's passion for the subject. This is a big plus for me. I just need to read a couple of paragraphs to discern this.

SQF: What common mistakes do you encounter that turn you off to a submission?

AR: Badly researched and badly written stuff. Content is important, no doubt. But so is style. I get turned off when writers are rambling, using very long sentences that head nowhere. I detest that. Brevity has its charm too.


SQF: Will you publish a submission an author posted on a personal blog? 

AR: Yes, though this would be a very rare occurrence.


SQF: Who are some of your favorite authors?

AR: This is a tough one. I read a lot of stuff related to literature, paintings and philosophy. So here you go...Proust, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Flaubert, Gide, Turgenev, Nabokov, Thomas Mann, Anthony Kenny, Russel, Gombrich, Roger Fry, Kenneth Clark and many others.


SQF: What is the best part of being an editor?

AR: Reading first time writers. This is most definitely the best part of the job for me. Nothing can beat the enjoyment of encouraging new talent. This is the primary reason I started The Bangalore Review.


SQF: What one question on this topic do you wish I'd asked that I didn't? And how would you answer it?

AR: What is your take on the reading culture of today's youth? I must say that it is sharply declining (at least in my country India).The youngsters seem to prefer trashy novels with silly plot lines and shallow intellectual content. Many of these youngsters are not reading good writers (classics included).This decline in tastes is a very serious concern for me.

Thank you, Avrind. We all appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to participate in this project.

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