About

MeanPepperVine is our lair, our cottage in the mountains where we safe-keep all the special things that ‘quicken our hearts.’

MeanPepperVine publishes The Mean Journal, a quarterly online literary magazine based in India.

We publish original fiction, tales of free-spirited voyagers, artworks, photo essays, and thoughts on the written word. We adore stories and love foraging for words, daydreaming about snippets from our favorite poems, setting off on voyages to coasts unknown, and geeking out on gorgeous illustrations and photographs.

TEAM MEANPEPPERVINE

Ruati Chhangte (Tetei) is the Founding Editor, gofer, clueless tech person and reader in chief at MeanPepperVine. A passionate gardener, photobook collector and black tea addict, she has a PR & writing related day job, and also moonlights as a freelance fiction editor on occasion.

She is the founder-curator of The Lunglei Arts Festival (2023) and is a part of the Core Organizing Team of Lei, the first Mizoram Literature Festival that had it’s inaugural edition in October, 2024.

Salini Vineeth, the Fiction Editor of MeanPepperVine is a Bangalore-based writer. She is passionate about reading and writing fiction, and has a soft spot for well-crafted short stories, the kind of stories you can’t stop thinking about. She is looking forward to read new writers and soul-stirring writing.

Her stories have appeared in magazines like Out of Print, The Bangalore Review, Borderless Journal, Cafe Dissensus, Kitaab International, Funny Peals, and The Bombay Review.

Amita Basu, is the Columnist and Interviews Editor of MeanPepperVine. She loves Captain Planet, barefoot running, and George Eliot. If dozing in the sun all day were a viable career, she’d be a world-champion sunbather. Her superpowers are befriending any dog on earth, whistling tunefully (while being totally unable to sing), and combining five bright colours in one outfit. Five is the limit, though.

A twice Pushcart-nominated writer, her fiction appears in over 75 venues including The Penn Review, Bamboo Ridge, Jelly Bucket, Phoebe, and The Bombay Literary Magazine.

Frequent Collaborators:

Alyssa Pachuau is an artist from Manipur.

Davidson Yambem is an artist from Manipur.

Manoa Ralte is a radio personality from Aizawl, Mizoram.

Hriati Ralte is an artist from Lunglei, Mizoram.

Hruaii is an artist from Lunglei, Mizoram.

Collab with us!

MeanPepperVine has published works by some of the finest writers and creative practitioners from different parts of the world, both emerging and established alike. Our illustrious list of contributors are listed here.

We welcome submissions and are open to collaborating with storytellers. For submission and collaboration related queries please refer to our Submission Guidelines.

Find us on Social Media:

Find The Mean Journal on Instagram @MeanPepperVine