Draft:Small World City

Small World City, or SWC, is an online speculative fiction magazine based in Bangladesh. It also features speculative poetry, non-fiction, art, and hybrid text in every issue, published four times a year. The magazine spotlights stories and poems centered around "the absurd, the otherworldly, and the mystical."

Small World City is one of Bangladesh's first online magazine with a focus on the speculative genres, and among the few English-language literary magazines of the country.

History
The magazine was founded by editor Mehrul Bari, deputy editor Shehrin Hossain, and communications director Farhia Tabassum. It was developed originally as a means to increase and improve the literary and alternative subculture scenes developing within Dhaka's creative communities. One of Small World City 's key stated goals has been to prioritize and platform Bengali writers and works of Kalpabigyan, or Bengali science fiction and fantasy.

Contributors for the first issue included writers, artists, and musicians from Bangladesh, such as Laisul Hoque, Fahim Anzoom Rumman, Namira Hossain, Rumman R. Kalam, and Kanna Dey, the Destroyer. From the second issue on, the magazine featured contributions from writers, poets, and artists both domestically and internationally, such as Marguerite Sheffer, Puer Deorum, Frederick Pollack, Madeehah Reza, as well as an interview with London-based musician DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, among others.

Reception
The first issue of Small World City was launched in August 2023. In his review of the issue, Aaqib Hasib of The Daily Star praised the magazine's fiction content, art, and interactive website. Bangladeshi author Shah Tazrian Ashrafi, positively reviewing the second issue, wrote, "The stories contain depths not only because they innovatively tackle these issues head on but also because of the smartness, the fluidity, and the economy of the language and the well-rehearsed character developments within a tight and foolproof narrative structure."

The magazine's website and visual interface have also been singled out by readers and critics. Writing for The Daily Star, poet Raian Abedin noted, "I have always been fond of the visual aesthetic that so starkly sets them apart—and with every issue, I find myself awed at the world the editors and artists have managed to create just on their website."

Staff

 * Mehrul Bari, editor
 * Shehrin Hossain, deputy editor
 * Farhia Tabassum, communications director
 * Zareen Tasnim Bushra, creative consultant
 * Zahra Mayeesha, associate editor