Since the first major earthquake on April 25, 2015, Nepal has been hit by a series of devastating seismic events. The loss to lives and livelihoods has been immense, and the full impact of these earthquakes is only now beginning to be understood. As a community of scholars who promote engaged scholarship from and about the Himalaya region, we at HIMALAYA and the ANHS have been deeply affected by this tragedy, but none more than our friends and colleagues from Nepal itself, many of whom have lost relatives and witnessed their houses and community institutions crumble around them.

In solidarity with the victims and survivors of this natural disaster, and true to the journal’s interdisciplinary academic mission, we are proposing a special issue devoted to exploring the social, political, cultural and environmental impacts of the 2015 earthquakes. With this call for papers we invite contributions to what will also be the final issue of our editorship, Vol. 37, Issue 2, scheduled for publication in late 2017.

Please consider submitting an academic research article, a shorter contribution in our popular ‘perspectives’ category, literature in English or in a Himalayan language accompanied by an English translation, some visual artwork, or ideas for obituaries that might serve as public memorials to those whose lives were tragically lost. We will consider a limited number of previously published contributions, but our preference is for new material. All academic research articles will be subject to double blind peer review. The editors and members of the Editorial Board will review other contributions.

In order to help us with editorial planning, please submit a letter of interest to: [email protected] by February 1, 2016. This early call for papers is intended to give those planning or currently engaged in research on the earthquakes sufficient time to complete data collection and analysis throughout 2015-2106 for publication in 2017.

Initial submissions of full research article manuscripts for double blind peer review should be made to HIMALAYA by June 1, 2016, to ensure sufficient time for review, revision, and finalization. Perspectives essays, literature, and photo essays should be submitted by November 1, 2016. The anticipated release date, simultaneously in print and online, is November 2017.