A Timeline of Queer Unfiltered, Usawa’s Trans and Queer Special Issue

Editor’s Note by Salini Vineeth

I first met Smita Sahay, editor-in-chief of the Usawa Literary Review, on 29th March 2026. I was in Bombay for the launch of my new book. A few minutes into our meeting, we realized we were both infuriated by a recent development in Indian legislation: the Transgender Persons Amendment Act, 2026. The proposed legislation would take away the right of self-determination from queer people. It had been facing intense backlash from the LGBQIA+ community in India. As a long-time LGBTQIA+ ally, I had been following this bill for the past few weeks.

Despite severe criticism and protests from the very people the bill would affect, it passed in both houses of the parliament. Our meeting happened just four days after the Lok Sabha passed the bill. We were furious that the bill passed, but deep down, we were also angry at ourselves, individuals with no power to stop it. That’s when Smita suggested that even if we were powerless to change policy, as allies, writers and editors, we should mark our dissent. That’s when she first told me about a trans and queer special edition of Usawa Literature Review. She asked me if I could edit the issue. I was honored and terrified. Yes, I had recently published a novella about a non-binary drag queen. I had been researching gender identity and following LGBTQIA+ experiences for a long time. But as a cisgender woman, am I the right person to select and edit queer writing? At the same time, I knew it was a great opportunity to engage with a large volume of writing by people from the LGBTQIA+ community.

So, I said yes to Smita, on the condition that we bring in more editors from the community. My idea was to act more as a facilitator and project manager than as an editor assessing queer writing. I invited Lavanya Arora, the poetry editor of The Bombay Literary Magazine, to co-edit this issue. To my relief, Lavanya not only agreed to edit, but also brought in two amazing editors, Tanay Dhulia and Yerram Behara. They immediately got to work, starting by refining the text that accompanied the call for submissions. With this team and with Smita’s vision, I felt confident about facilitating this special issue.

The response to our call for submissions was phenomenal. We received over 250 submissions from around the world. We soon got to work, reading, reviewing and discussing the pieces. For me, reading each submission was a moving experience. Each piece taught me something new about the queer community and opened a new window into humanity. For that, I thank every person who submitted to this issue. Selecting the pieces for publication was such a difficult task. We had multiple rounds of reading and voting. Every story, poem, and essay in this issue was chosen with a lot of effort, love, and care. Each stands out for its voice, theme, emotion, and honesty. I am sure Queer Unfiltered will stay with the readers for a long time.

I am so happy and thankful for this opportunity to work with an amazing team of editors and writers. I thank Usawa and Smita for trusting me with it. I hope that in the future, many literary magazines dedicate their pages and platforms to amplifying queer voices, and may their voices lead us into a more beautiful and diverse world.

Thank you,

Salini Vineeth

28^th October 2026