At the start of 2018, we are more than two years into the experiment of Tea Circle. I suppose it can’t really be called an experiment anymore, given how much its readership has grown in that time. Just before the November 2015 elections, Courtney Wittekind and I discussed the usefulness of a platform for writing on Myanmar, pitched somewhere between media pieces and academic journal articles. We also hoped that it could become an outlet for Burmese scholars and writers, in addition to those non-Burmese who work in and on the country.

Success in establishing Tea Circle has, predictably, generated new challenges, as we work to expand our base and range of contributors while keeping the quality of writing and analysis high, all without a budget and on the shoulders of a team of volunteer editors. This year we will be testing out some new formats to try to encourage even more posts from Myanmar writers on diverse topics. But Tea Circle will remain open to anyone who wishes to contribute, whether opinion pieces, research articles, photo essays or other types of writing.

In inviting you all to join us at the Tea Circle, I want to remind everyone that our content is entirely determined by the submissions we receive. Unsurprisingly, many of the pieces we’ve published over the last four months have been related to the Rohingya crisis, as that tragedy has dominated news related to Myanmar. We remain open to submissions on any topic, that are in accordance with our submissions policy. We hope that Tea Circle can continue to be a place where people can share their research and perspectives and engage in respectful, yet critical debate and discussion.

We look forward to having you join us at the Tea Circle in 2018.