Write for us
Katmandu Journal welcomes outside contributors. It does not welcome lazy thinking.
The opinion pages of Katmandu Journal are a marketplace of arguments: some sharp, some subtle, but all aiming to clarify public debate and expose blind spots. Outsiders are welcome. So are insiders with something fresh to say.
Submissions can be from academics, civil servants, activists, diplomats, financiers, students and bureaucrats. A few get published. Most do not. The best are not necessarily the loudest. They are the ones that speak plainly, think clearly and reveal what others miss.
Those hoping to enter the fray may wish to keep the following principles in mind.
How to be heard
Address the reader and not yourself. We are less interested in who you are than in what you know. Personal experience is welcome but only if it serves the argument. First-person laments belong elsewhere. Think like an observer rather than a participant.
Say one thing, well. A good piece defends one strong idea in 800 words or fewer. A great one leaves no room for doubt. Do not catalogue your concerns. Choose a claim, marshal the facts and stick to it.
Write plainly. Language should carry thought rather than obscure it. Avoid jargon, NGO-speak and bureaucratic fuzz. A precise anecdote or unexpected statistic does more than a paragraph of generalities. Brevity is persuasive. So is wit.
Speak beyond the valley. Our readers live in Kathmandu, but also in Canberra, Brussels, New York and Boston. Parochial outrage is not persuasive unless it reveals something broader. The local is publishable when it reflects the systemic.
Disclose your stake. If you are invested in the outcome—financially, professionally or personally—say so. A persuasive case can survive conflict of interest. A hidden one cannot.
What to send
Submissions and pitches should be sent to: editors@katmandujournal.com. Include: the full article text in the body of the email (no attachments); a short line on who you are and how to reach you; and a declaration that the work is original and unpublished
We review all submissions. If we are interested, you will hear from us within five working days. If not, you are free to take the piece elsewhere.
Accepted articles may be edited for tone, structure or clarity. You will see the final version before publication. We do not publish co-authored pieces. We do not publish work that has appeared elsewhere including on personal blogs or LinkedIn posts.
Why this matters
Nepal’s discourse is crowded but curiously silent. Too much performance, too little argument. Too many slogans, too few ideas. Katmandu Journal aims to make space for the kind of thinking that outlasts news cycles and hashtags. ■