Answers to the questions we hear most often about Ideas, submissions, and the editorial process.
If you cannot find the answer you need, please write to us directly — we are glad to help.
SupportEverything you need to know about contributing writing to Ideas.
Ideas welcomes contributions from writers, scholars, critics, artists, and thinkers from any background. We do not require institutional affiliation or prior publication credits. What matters is the quality, clarity, and depth of your thinking — not your professional title.
We are particularly interested in voices that are underrepresented in mainstream literary and cultural discourse.
We publish across seven sections: Essays, Reflections, Reviews, Perspectives, Interviews, Excerpts, and Translations. We favour long-form, considered work — typically between 1,200 and 5,000 words — though we will consider shorter or longer pieces where the subject warrants it.
We do not publish fiction, poetry, or purely academic writing. We look for writing that is intellectually serious but accessible to a general educated reader.
We give preference to original, previously unpublished work. However, we may consider pieces that have appeared in print publications or in limited-circulation platforms, provided you hold the rights to republish and disclose this clearly in your submission.
We do not accept work that is simultaneously submitted to other platforms.
Please email your submission to editor@poorvam.com with the subject line: Submission — [Section] — [Working Title]. Attach your piece as a .docx or .pdf file. Include a brief author biography (50–80 words) in the body of your email.
We do not accept contributions by post. Books for review may be mailed to our editorial address in Varanasi.
No. We do not charge submission fees of any kind. Ideas is a free, open-access platform, and we believe the process of submitting work should also be free.
At present, Ideas does not offer financial remuneration for contributions. We are a small, independent platform run on passion and voluntary effort. We hope to be able to pay contributors in the future as the platform grows.
What we do offer is a careful editorial process, a thoughtful readership, and lasting visibility for your work.
Questions about reading, accounts, and how Ideas works.
Yes — entirely. Ideas is an open-access platform. Every article we publish is freely available to read, share, and link to. There are no paywalls, subscription tiers, or metered articles. There never will be.
No account is required to read any content on Ideas. You can browse the entire archive freely without registering. An account is only needed if you wish to comment, save articles, or manage a newsletter subscription from your dashboard.
Ideas (ideas.poorvam.com) is an editorial companion to poorvam.com. While poorvam.com is the parent platform, Ideas operates as an independent publication with its own editorial identity, focused specifically on long-form reading, cultural commentary, and original thinking.
You are welcome to share links to any article on Ideas freely. For republication — whether in print or digital form — please contact us at editor@poorvam.com to obtain permission from the author and editorial team. Copyright of each piece remains with the author unless otherwise specified.
We may carry limited, editorially independent advertising to support the platform's running costs. Advertisers have no influence over our editorial decisions, and we do not accept sponsored content that is presented as editorial writing. If you are interested in supporting Ideas through sponsorship, please write to us.
How we review, edit, and publish work on Ideas.
We aim to acknowledge receipt of your submission within five working days and to provide a full editorial decision within four to six weeks. During periods of high volume, this timeline may extend slightly — we appreciate your patience.
If you have not heard from us after six weeks, you are welcome to write a polite follow-up to editor@poorvam.com.
Accepted pieces go through a collaborative editorial process. Our editors may suggest structural revisions, request cuts or expansions, and will copy-edit for clarity and house style. We work with authors to reach the best possible version of the piece — not to overwrite your voice.
No changes are made to published work without your prior agreement.
Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for any images, photographs, or illustrations submitted alongside their work. The Management Board and Editors of Ideas will not be responsible for any copyright infringement arising from images submitted by contributors.
We recommend using images that are in the public domain or licensed under Creative Commons, and always crediting the source.
No. The opinions expressed in articles, essays, interviews, and other content on this platform are purely those of the individual authors. Publishing a piece does not indicate that Ideas or poorvam.com endorses the views expressed within it. We publish a range of perspectives and value intellectual debate.
Yes. If you are the author and wish to correct a factual error or update information in your published piece, please write to editor@poorvam.com with the details. We will review all correction requests promptly. Significant corrections will be noted transparently in the article.
Managing your Ideas newsletter and email preferences.
Our weekly newsletter delivers a curated selection of new and notable articles from Ideas, along with occasional editorial notes on what we have been reading, thinking about, and publishing. It is designed to be read slowly, without distraction — not to fill an inbox.
You can subscribe using the form in the footer of any page on Ideas, or by visiting our newsletter page. Enter your email address and confirm your subscription via the link we send you. We do not add anyone to our mailing list without explicit consent.
Every newsletter email contains an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Clicking it will immediately remove your address from our mailing list. You can also email mail@poorvam.com and we will remove you manually within one working day.
No. We do not sell, rent, or share your email address with any third party. Your data is used solely to send you the Ideas newsletter, and nothing else. Please refer to our Privacy Policy for full details.
How to reach us and what to expect.
The best way is to email the Managing Editor, Amritanath Bhattacharya, at editor@poorvam.com. For general enquiries you may also write to mail@poorvam.com, or use the form on our Contact page.
We aim to respond to all general enquiries within three to five working days. Submission-related correspondence may take longer given editorial review timelines. We read every email we receive, even when our response is delayed.
All sponsorship and donation enquiries should be addressed to the Managing Editor at editor@poorvam.com. We welcome support from individuals and organisations who share our commitment to open-access, independent publishing. Please include a brief description of your interest and we will respond with details.
Yes. Publishers and authors wishing to submit books for review consideration may mail physical copies to our editorial address:
Amritanath Bhattacharya
N 1/66 R-14, Kedareshwar Nagar Colony
Samne Ghat, Nagwa, Lanka
Varanasi – 221005, Uttar Pradesh, India
Please note that receipt of a book does not guarantee a review will be published. We recommend emailing editor@poorvam.com before posting to confirm our current capacity.
Please email mail@poorvam.com with a description of the issue, the page where you encountered it, and — if possible — your browser and device. We are grateful for bug reports and take them seriously.