One story from each nation of the world. Rokonto is an ongoing project that aims to source and publish one short story from each country, unbound by content or genre, the only criteria being that the author must be inspired by the country they consider home. We will eventually collect the accepted stories to produce an anthology that captures our voice as a species.
Submissions are open to all, and can be written in any language (though we will aim to get them translated into English for the website). For countries which score poorly on the Human Freedom Index, that is, countries suffering under authoritarian regimes or with restricted freedoms, we will personally endeavour to seek contact with a citizen willing to participate. In extreme examples, we know that this will be difficult, but the very purpose of the project is to provide a voice to the whole world, even, and especially, those corners of it that are muted through oppression.
Throughout the process of collecting the stories, we will regularly update our blog with posts detailing our mission. As well as the stories themselves, we will give details of the people we meet and speak to, the inspiration behind their stories, the difficulties faced in writing them. We will also publish, along the way, stories that didn’t quite make the final cut, but still have relevance, a powerful message, or humour.
