Food, in any society, is defined as much by what is consumed as by what is excluded. The concept of edibility is shaped not only by nourishment or taste but also by cultural, religious, political, and social boundaries. This edited volume investigates non-food—items or substances that are technically ingestible but culturally rejected, stigmatized, or taboo—in postcolonial South Asian literature. From famine-induced substitutes to ritually impure matter, we seek to explore how literary representations of non-food reflect evolving dynamics of power, identity, and cultural values in a region deeply shaped by colonialism and its afterlives.

By “postcolonial South Asia,” we refer to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, as well as diasporic contexts, from the eighteenth century to the present. This period has witnessed significant transformations in food systems, social norms, and cultural practices due to colonial rule and its enduring legacies. We invite contributions that examine how literary forms—novels, poems, plays, autobiographies, memoirs—use non-food to challenge and illuminate the intersections of food, power, and identity.

We welcome submissions that engage a range of theoretical frameworks, particularly those that foreground the socio-political dimensions of food. The work of scholars such as Michel Foucault (on discipline and biopolitics), Jane Bennett (on material vitality), and recent contributions in food studies and postcolonial ecologies may offer productive entry points for analysis. Ultimately, this volume aims to highlight how non-food in South Asian literature operates as a lens through which to critique cultural transformation and political control.

We especially encourage submissions focusing on underrepresented regions such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

Possible themes and topics include (but are not limited to):

• Non-food and famine: Literary depictions of scarcity and inedibility
• Ritual, caste, and taboo: Food prohibitions in postcolonial narratives
• Drugs, intoxicants, and poisons as non-foods
• Animal matter at the margins of edibility
• Migration, displacement, and the redefinition of food and non-food
• Hunger, excess, and disgust: Emotional economies of non-food
• Postcolonial ecologies: Toxicity, pollution, and inedibility
• Food systems, commodification, and colonial legacies
• Asceticism, fasting, and voluntary renunciation of food
• Non-food and the reshaping of gender, caste, or class identities
• Behavioural disorders and food-related, culture-bound syndromes
• Eating disorders and marginalized consumption practices
• Ingestion of urine, faecal matter, and other substances as remedy
• Cannibalistic and sanguinivorous practices

Submission Guidelines
Please submit the following by September 30, 2025:

• An abstract of up to 500 words
• A brief bio of around 100 words

Final chapters (6,000–8,000 words) will be due by February 15, 2026.

Contact Information:
Send submissions and queries to:
Justyna Kurowska — justyna.kurowska@uni-wuerzburg.de
Sayan Chattopadhyay — sayanc@iitk.ac.in

We are currently in discussions with Routledge to publish this volume as part of their series South Asian Literature in Focus.