Brush Talks publishes compelling nonfiction, along with photographs and occasional poetry, about China. This can take many forms: general essays, travel essays, profiles, memoir, and narrative nonfiction. We seek submissions about places, people, history, culture, the arts, science and technology — anything related to China that is well written, creative, and true (we do not publish fiction). This includes pieces about China itself as well as those regarding the Chinese diaspora. We will occasionally publish themed issues, which we will announce in advance on our website.
Brush Talks is published mostly in English, though we strive to include Chinese translations of at least one piece per issue. We accept submissions of nonfiction pieces in English only, but will accept poetry in either English or Chinese. Contributors can be from any country or culture worldwide, as long as their writing is about China in some way. In fact, we strive to be more than just a journal about China by Western writers; our goal is to bring writers and writing from various backgrounds together around a single (and singular) topic.
Please see our Submissions Page for more information.