a place for writing and art lakeermag.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mu5irqz27c2qRead 'God Story' by Irta Usman, about Awais Bhai who lives in a Lahore divided into the North and the South, and his love for the city. This story appears in Issue Eight – The Climate & Hunger Issue. https://lakeermag.com/irta-usman-god-story/28 Aug 2026 13:46 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu5irqz27c2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mtnzdnp36w2wHammad Rind, writer, translator, and the translation editor at Lakeer, talks about the upcoming event "Voices Across Borders: Who Gets Represented?". Here, he speaks about the continued importance of working with South Asian languages. * Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-across-borders-who-gets-represented-tickets-1995789885272?aff=oddtdtcreator22 Aug 2026 10:00 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtnzdnp36w2whttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mtfbiwxncs2rIn September, National Translation Month, join Lakeer in its virtual event "Voices Across Borders: Who Gets Represented?" about translating from underrepresented South Asian languages. 🗓️Sunday, September 20 ⏲️6 PM PKT (9 AM EST) 📌Online Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/voices-across-borders-who-gets-represented-tickets-1995789885272?aff=oddtdtcreator18 Aug 2026 22:32 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtfbiwxncs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mtbddsgtj22tWe're thrilled that Lakeer is the proud recipient of a 2026 PEN Translates x SALT Grant. Lakeer has published over 60 translations, in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujrati, Welsh, Tamil and Sinhala. With support from PEN Translates x SALT Chicago, we're set to hold our first event next month!17 Aug 2026 08:55 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbddsgtj22thttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mspx3zmh2l2e🎉 THE LATEST ISSUE OF LAKEER MAGAZINE IS HERE! ISSUE EIGHT, SUMMER 2026 SPECIAL - THE CLIMATE & HUNGER ISSUE! In it is a landscape of related, overlapping concerns: human-made climate catastrophes; questions about injustice and pushbacks on violence. Read here: lakeermag.com/issue-eight10 Aug 2026 11:00 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mspx3zmh2l2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mrro6k6ktc2xSarah Ahmad's art, 'Landscapes of Imagining, II', appears in Issue Seven. Sarah lives and works between Tulsa, Oklahoma and Lahore, Pakistan. At the core of her work is transformation...and renewal, just as the earth continually seeks to heal itself. www.sarahahmad.com29 Jul 2026 10:01 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrro6k6ktc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mrn4oniro223'Solitudes' by Raja'a Khalid is a short story about two sisters, different in temperament to each other. Circumstances take them far from home, where, away from the usual distractions, each sister discovers something about herself. Read the full story in Issue Seven: https://lakeermag.com/rajaa-khalid-solitudes/27 Jul 2026 14:37 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrn4oniro223https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mpgouzfhjo2xPoetic Renditions' Column 3, by Amama Bashir, features Jaun Elia's poem ہمیشہ قتل ہو جاتا ہوں میں 'Hamesha Qatal Hojata Huun Mein', translated by Javeria Hasnain, Shandana Minhas, Yusra Amjad, and Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi. lakeermag.com/prcolumn3-2/29 Jun 2026 14:24 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpgouzfhjo2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mpeh5cofm32kThis year, Lakeer's Summer Mentorship Program is joined by two more incredible writers as mentors: 🌟 POETRY 🟣 FATIMA JAFAR 🌟 FICTION 🟣 HASSAAN MIRZA28 Jun 2026 17:00 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpeh5cofm32khttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mpdkpxrzsk2kAnnouncing our poetry cohort for the Lakeer Summer Mentorship Program! 🌟 POETRY Ayesha Owais Zainab Khalid Eesha Hammad Shahzadi Fatima Malalai Noor Khan Mentored by Fatima Jafar and Aiman Tahir Khan. Congratulations to the participants!28 Jun 2026 08:31 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpdkpxrzsk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mpdkeodvak2lAnnouncing our cohort for Food Writing and Translation, for Lakeer Summer Mentorship Program! 🌟 FOOD WRITING Zainab Saeed 🌟 TRANSLATION Konain Fatima Congratulations to the selected participants!28 Jun 2026 08:25 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpdkeodvak2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mpdjkqilpk2lWe are so excited to announce our cohort for the Lakeer Summer Mentorship Program! 🌟 FICTION Abdul Kabir Sara Ilyas Eman Farhan 🌟 SPECULATIVE FICTION Jalal Tarar Saamia Haq 🌟 CREATIVE NONFICTION Anees Ur Rehman Huda Lakhani Naaseh Sajid Congratulations!28 Jun 2026 08:10 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpdjkqilpk2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3movqvvfdxc2qListen to Iqra Shagufta Cheema's translation from Urdu of Zehra Nigah's poem 'Mother, I Survived'. The moving translation and reading by Iqra are included in Issue Seven of Lakeer Magazine: https://lakeermag.com/zehra-nigah-trans-iqra-cheema-mother-i-survived/22 Jun 2026 20:45 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3movqvvfdxc2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3movqc7vrel2nIn our latest issue, Rabia Malik speaks with Tayyba Maya Kanwal about Tayyba's debut short-story collection 'Talking with Boys' (Black Lawrence Press, 2026). The stories take place in the US, the UAE, and Pakistan. Read the full interview here: https://lakeermag.com/tayyba-maya-kanwal-interview-rabia-malik/22 Jun 2026 20:34 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3movqc7vrel2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mmlhets6cq2wThere is movement and transformation in Ayesha Owais's poem, 'A poem where the dog comes back as a fish'. Read it in full in Issue Seven of Lakeer Magazine: https://lakeermag.com/ayesha-owais-a-poem-where/24 May 2026 07:37 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmlhets6cq2whttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mlnfkofqne2lLakeer is a nonprofit literary publication, dedicated to creative voices from Pakistan and its diaspora. We depend on donations to pay our writers, and to keep our platform alive. To support work that matters, please donate today at the link in our bio.12 May 2026 08:45 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlnfkofqne2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mle5lmx6452k⭐️ The Lakeer Summer Mentorship Program 2026 offers mentorship across a range of categories. ⭐️ Applications close on 18 May. ⭐️ The program is free, and online. ⭐️ Guidelines at: lakeermag.com/mentorship08 May 2026 16:28 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mle5lmx6452khttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mkrnpikws226Bareerah Ghani talks to Daniyal Mueenuddin, author of the novel 'This Is Where the Serpent Lives' (Knopf, 2026). They speak about power, servitude, and the manifestations of these in the characters in the novel. Read the full interview in Issue Seven: https://lakeermag.com/daniyal-mueenuddin-interview-bareerah-ghani/01 May 2026 07:56 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkrnpikws226https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mkfbaob4yv26Sri Lankan writer, educator, and theatre practitioner – and guest editor for Chapter Two of Avaaz – Gaya Nagahawatta brings to us five poems and a short story in Tamil and Sinhala, translated into Urdu and Shahpuri by Hammad Rind, and Majhi Punjabi by Rabia Malik. https://lakeermag.com/avaaz-sinhala-tamil-eng/26 Apr 2026 09:41 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkfbaob4yv26https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mkcok2ousa26In her essay 'Beyond Gumnam Tareekh', Musfira Khurshid looks at archives that are texts and buildings, and pays special attention to the silences in them, showing us that there is more than one way we are always connected to the past. Read it in Issue Seven: https://lakeermag.com/musfira-khurshid-beyond-gumnam-tareekh/25 Apr 2026 09:01 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkcok2ousa26https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mebhq6vz422r📅 We can't wait to see everyone at Lakeer Kahaniyan Lahore! This will be an open-mic evening, with some of our contributors reading as well. ⏰ 15 Feb | 6pm 📍 The Last Word Bookstore, Lahore 9 A Main Blvd Gulberg، above Third Culture Coffee, Block K Gulberg 2, Lahore07 Feb 2026 12:55 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mebhq6vz422rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mebhclpjnc2r'The Marchers Have Reached the Capital' by Sakina Hassan, in Lakeer Magazine's Spring 2024 issue. Read the full poem here: lakeermag.com/the-marchers/07 Feb 2026 12:48 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mebhclpjnc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mebh4tsp6s2r📢 SUBMISSIONS CALL for Lakeer Magazine! 📢 Fiction, personal essays, and book reviews. #lakeermagazine07 Feb 2026 12:44 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mebh4tsp6s2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mbya5wbfws2b'Unrest' by Zuneera Shah, a short story we published in our first issue, in autumn 2023. Read the complete story here: lakeermag.com/unrest09 Jan 2026 09:55 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbya5wbfws2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mblu2jmw6s23🌟 We are thrilled that our next Lakeer Kahaniyan event will be in Lahore! Free admission! Registration required. 🌟 Date: 15 February 2026 🌟 Venue: The Last Word Books 9 A Main Blvd Gulberg, above Third Culture Coffee, Block K Gulberg 2, Lahore 🌟 Time: 6pm - 7:30pm Details⬇️04 Jan 2026 11:47 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mblu2jmw6s23https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mbebioium223Cymraeg/Welsh: Against All Odds قمبری/ویلش: ایک زبان سو رکاوٹیں One of the poems that Hammad Rind has translated for Avaaz, into Urdu from Welsh, is 'Marwnad i ieithoedd' by Menna Elfyn. The Urdu title is زبانوں کا مرثیہ. lakeermag.com/avaaz-welsh/ @hammadrind.bsky.social01 Jan 2026 11:26 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mbebioium223https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3mavs6pmf5s23'Judy, Judith, No Holofernes' by Sara Javed Rathore, in Issue Six of Lakeer Magazine. lakeermag.com/judy-judith/26 Dec 2025 17:15 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3mavs6pmf5s23https://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3m7rqmqxlt22bThank you to everyone who attended Lakeer Kahaniyan on Nov 16! We had a wonderful gathering. Thank you to the attendees, and to Fatima Sajjad, Fatima Shafi and Maliha Hasan. Here's Irta Usman reading from a new short story.12 Dec 2025 09:11 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7rqmqxlt22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3m7nobvz3o22hThe ninth column of Poetic Renditions is a wonderful array of translations, from Urdu to English, of a ghazal by Nasir Kazmi. Guest edited by Naima Rashid, with translations by Amna Ali Khan, Ali Arif, Siddiqua Fatima Virji Read it here: lakeermag.com/prcolumn910 Dec 2025 18:18 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7nobvz3o22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/lakeermag.bsky.social/post/3m7b5pvmbus22From 'The Edge', a short story by Fatima Sajjad, in Issue Six of Lakeer Magazine. Read the story in full here: lakeermag.com/the-edge05 Dec 2025 18:50 +0000at://did:plc:gawi3wdans7e5d64f25244wp/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7b5pvmbus22