Information For Authors

Dear Authors, Visionaries, and Co-Travelers,

At Palm leaf press, we invite you to join a publishing experiment that refuses to treat knowledge as neutral. We are not merely a platform for ideas—we are a space for unsettling narratives, amplifying dissent, and reclaiming histories buried by dominant power structures. If your work grapples with the fractures of caste, the violence of borders, the erasure of labor, or the whispers of resistance in South Asia’s margins, you belong here.

Why Publish With Us?

  • Centering the Margins: We prioritize voices that interrogate systemic hierarchies—works born from Dalit, Adivasi, feminist, queer, and working-class struggles. Your scholarship is not an “alternative”; it is essential.

  • Beyond English: We actively seek submissions in vernacular languages and support translations to bridge epistemic divides. Your mother tongue is not a barrier—it is a radical act.

  • Grounded Scholarship: We value research rooted in lived realities, not abstract theory. Share field notes, oral histories, community archives, or pedagogical tools that blur the lines between academia and activism.

  • Open Access as Praxis: We reject paywalls and proprietary control. Your work will circulate freely, reaching organizers, students, and communities often excluded by elitist publishing ecosystems.

Our Commitment to Critical Dialogue
We do not shy away from discomfort. Submissions are rigorously reviewed by scholar-activists who understand that “objectivity” often masks privilege. We welcome debate, but we center ethics over neutrality:

  • How does your work challenge the separation of “thought” and “practice”?

  • Whose labor (emotional, physical, intellectual) does your text render visible?

  • What worlds does your research reimagine, not just critique?

The Fine Print

  • No Apologies for Rigor: We uphold scholarly integrity but reject gatekeeping. Your methodology must be transparent, your citations inclusive, and your politics unambiguous.

  • Collaborative Editing: Our team works with you, not for you. Expect conversations about accessibility, language justice, and the politics of representation.

  • Your Rights, Your Voice: You retain copyright. We encourage you to adapt, translate, and share your work widely—knowledge is not a commodity.

Let’s Begin
Submit your manuscripts, fragments, or half-formed ideas. We publish books, pamphlets, digital storytelling, and hybrid forms that defy categorization. Together, let’s build a library that mirrors the messy, urgent, and transformative realities of South Asia.

The margins are not a footnote—they are the text.

Write. Question. Co-Create.

Interested in submitting to this press?

We recommend that you review the About the Press page for the press' section policies and Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the press prior to submitting, or if already registered can simply log in and begin the 5 step process.