Maliha Iftekhar, Senior Fiction Editor

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved till I set him free.”

~Michelangelo

My passion for both writing and art drives me to question the meaning of my work. Sometimes on the brink of putting pen to paper, I stop and ask myself why? Why do I write? The answer is in the inherent impulse to communicate an idea, to breathe it and to explain it in our own unique way. To indulge in the pure ecstasy of the encounter and then to allow oneself to be humbled by it, is, I believe, the heart and soul of creativity and eminence.

Being on the team of The Missing Slate is a wonderful experience. I truly believe that The Missing Slate is the place where you, as artists and writers, can discover your second home. It has proven to be mine.

As Senior Fiction Editor, I look forward to seeing your truth. Write what is true and above all what is important to you. I seek ingenuity, depth and emotion in your work. Shock me with the raw and the intimate. Expose me to worlds of gun wielding fairies and glittering vampires. Dare a Tolkien or a Rand, a Dickens or a Rowling.  Unveil your scars, your gifts, your soul. Be provocative. Invoke humanity. Believe. Above all enjoy. Enjoy the road you are on. In the words of Kahlil Gibran:

“Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights. But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart’s knowledge. You would know in words that which you have always known in thought. You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams…”

So come, my dear scriptor. Bring me the intriguing, the beautiful, the macabre. Go ahead. Unleash your inner joy. The world is waiting…