Writing on Chowk

Chowk is an ecosystem, a virtual community, with readers, writers, lurkers and critics. Chowk visitors are rarely passive, mostly opinionated, but always responsive with extremely diverse views.

When published, you will be read, re-read, dissected and critiqued. You can be sure that, unlike a newspaper where your article might end up wrapped around fried fish, at Chowk, diverse and sometimes articulate people will read it and provide responses. Chowk's vibrant community has a mind of its own and that is the true essence of Chowk.

Chowk is about people, intersections, chance meetings and real conversation. You never know who you may meet at Chowk. Chowkwalas have found friends, some have found business opportunities, still others were published by other newspapers and magazines because of being published at Chowk. So speak up and say what you really think.

What should you write?

At Chowk, you can write from the heart, as long as you don't ignore your mind. At Chowk, ideas are celebrated. Write what you really think about current events, about your life, about anything that makes an impact on you.

Chowk's readership loves to read political analysis, reviews, translations, social commentary, satire, short stories and poetry.

Since Chowk is an international online magazine articles with a broad appeal are better suited than local news.

Lacking inspiration?

Take a look at the front page, and see if you can get fired up or delve into previously published offerings for inspiration.

Here are a few ideas:

your take on geo political affairs
an eye-witness account of an event
your perception of women's rights
your input on globalization
on immigration and cultural clashes
a review of a book or movie or CD
a short story, a poem, a play, a novel
a forecast of your country's economy
a tutorial on investing in a bad market
a travelogue based on a recent vacation

Why should you write?

If you have a tale to tell
If you want to reach readers world-wide
If you want your work critiqued
If you want to see your work published, Chowk gives you opportunity to see your name and your work in good company
Chowk promises exposure to, and networking within a substantial, growing and informed Chowk community

Where to post on Chowk

Articles: Chowk publishes articles by accomplished as well as new writers. All submissions are read by editors and if selected writer is informed via email on publishing. To submit a new article first signin and then submit article.
Ilogs: Besides reviewed articles you can post short informal pieces in your Ilogs space. Ilogs and comments to ilogs are managed by individual members and not by Chowk editors.
Gallery: If you have a picture collection of photos or artwork you can upload and manage it in the Gallery space.
Unplugged: For spontaneous chat with other members post in the Unplugged forums.
Interact: If you are a member and want to comment on published material, post it in the Interact space associated with each article, ilog, and gallery.

Copyright and terms

By contributing on Chowk you are granting unlimited Internet rights and copyright to Chowk while retaining copyrights for publication elsewhere.
Chowk assumes that the content of your contribution is original. You are the lawful copyright holder and it does not infringe on someone else's copyright.
In case you have used previously published work of another writer please quote the sources fully.
If you are contributing on behalf of another person, please email with complete detail of your permission to do so; please include the author's name and contact information.
Chowk does not provide monetary compensation for work published on Chowk.

Notes from the editors

All articles must be final drafts, we are not staffed to edit your work for grammar, spellings, etc.
In case of submissions that should be published by a certain date, please put a note to that effect
New writers, please include a brief bio in the note to editor or email to along with your picture
All contributions are published at the sole discretion of our editors. Time to publish an article may vary based on the mix selected by editors.

Submission Procedure

If you are a registered member of Chowk, use the article submit form. Articles requiring special formatting can be emailed as doc attachment to
If you are not a registered member of Chowk email your work as doc attachment to along with a brief bio and your contact information.
If you are contributing someone else's work email the article, along with author's permission to publish, bio and contact information