First of all, thank you for building such a terrific community that looks like the future of social network. This is my first post here on Steemit. Very warm and sincere greetings to you all! <3
Lately, I've been trying to find answer to one question more than others: How will blockchain and resource-based economic systems create the future/s? I edit Mithila Review, an international journal of science fiction and fantasy available to read online for free. As an indie editor and publisher who doesn't want to rely on advertising so much, and wants to pay his contributors through readers' engagement and contribution, publishing platforms like Steemit definitely looks like the future.
Blockchain will change the way we publish, purchase or sell, manage rights, or license content on a distributed web. I've been considering the possibility of publishing the magazine on a blockchain. As a nonpogrammer, there are limits to my knowledge. If you are interested to volunteer, please let know. Some of the questions that we could tackle: Can we use Steemit as a CMS like Wordpress? Is Steemit sustainable? What are your thoughts on distributed networks and platforms like Decent and Publica?
Future is already here, but it's not equally distributed. The developing countries in South Asia, where I currently live, and Africa are not sufficiently depicted in the mainstream science fiction stories or films. The access to employment, healthcare, education, or Internet, for nearly half of the human population on our planet remains a dream for now. Elon Musk’s Starlink, universal basic income, and the rise of crytocurrencies, will change things in times to come, and so will self-sustaining eco-communities powering digital platforms such as Steemit! Or maybe not.
How do you imagine the world in 2049? Mithila Review is seeking submissions for India 2049: Utopias and Dystopias, an anthology of short stories and comics devoted to the exploration of Indian futures, utopias and dystopias, set in India, South Asia or beyond. You can set your story in any country or region, and send your work as a regular submission. You can find regular submission guidelines here: http://mithilareview.com/submission-guidelines/
We want you to help us imagine the world of 2049. These are some questions to spark your imagination…
- What would India or South Asia look like in 2049, or later? What kind of democracies India or South Asian countries will become?
- Who will rule the Indian subcontinent—evil dynasts and conglomerates, godheads or the common man?
- What kind of a world would technological advances create? Will “Digital India” unite people, or make segregations mandatory, and create a new age of darkness with its data banks and mass surveillance?
- Can India lay the foundation to become an egalitarian, star-faring civilization in the next three decades?
- How will social media and IoT change people’s lives, reconstitute our friendships, our family structures and laws?
- What kind of a planet will our children inherit? When the water in our rivers dry out, how will we source water? How will we survive mega earthquakes and massive floods? How will we live among newer species of beings that walk the earth?
- Who will decide our fate: religion, the nation or ourselves? Will the old gods survive the new ones? Will women be able to roam the streets freely at night? Will it be okay to be queer? Who will live and who will die? Who decides?
- What will we produce when we’ve had it all? Will there still be hunger and desperation? What will we strive for? Will life be a perpetual vacation or a never-ending workday?
These are only a few questions to draw your imagination to India or many Indias that might come to be, in the near or distant future. We are looking for excellent stories that show in vivid details, through exciting plot and sensitive characterizations, the Indias of the future. This anthology project seeks to represent the multiple imaginations of India and South Asia. We ask writers from around the world to engage in the present to imagine a future, to draw on the problems and possibilities of existing Indian or South Asian societies to think of a future with its own set of problems and possibilities.
You can find the complete submissions guidelines for the anthology here: http://mithilareview.com/india2049
If you have any questions, let know. Happy reading/writing!
About Mithila Review
Mithila Review is an international science fiction and fantasy quarterly founded in late 2015. We’ve featured emerging and award-winning voices from Asia and beyond since our inception. Mithila Review has been featured/mentioned in several prominent publications across the globe, including Wired, Boing Boing, Tor.com, Hindustan Times, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Apex Magazine, Locus Magazine, Elle, Kirkus, among others. Award nominations include Science Fiction Poetry Association’s Rhysling Award.
Stories published in Mithila Review are eligible for Best of Year and similar anthologies edited by prominent editors in the field. Along with English, we’ve published work in Czech, Chinese and Khas languages. Fiction, poetry and non-fiction published in Mithila Review have been translated in other major languages, including Spanish and Telugu.
Mithila Review is a non-profit initiative. We don’t have a paywall—you can read our issues online. We rely primarily on our readers’ support and donation to pay our contributors and cover our running costs. You can subscribe and become a patron on Patreon to support us. Subscription to Mithila Review is also available through Gumroad and Weightless Books.