Platform 16 (the big one!) open for submissions

Dear Victoria University Students,

We are preparing the sixteenth edition of Platform magazine for print and invite you to submit your writing for publication.

Please also consider applying to join our editorial team.

Kind Regards,

Emanuel Cachia and Kim Cook

SEED Magazine

Here's the cover of SEED magazine's latest issue, the third for 2012. While I didn't write anything this time around, I edited a number of articles, proofread most of the others and gained a sub editor credit for my hard work. 

I also co-authored an eight-page feature article with Craig Henderson in the previous issue. I had a great time working with the editors, Suellen Green and Michelle Smart, who let me edit a number of articles and proofread the magazine as a whole. 

While I'm on a role with the covers, Writers Victoria mentioned my story Time and Time Again in their Jan-Feb 2012 issue for winning the 2011 Melton Short Story competition and being Highly Commended in The (2011) Henry Lawson Society Literary Awards.

Thanks for visiting,

Emanuel

Issue 12 of Platform Magazine

Platform magazine's awesome twelfth issue is here! 

This fantastic magazine, produced by Victoria University's Professional Writing and Editing department, features pieces by writers off all capabilities from high school, VCE and TAFE students to more established authors like Cate Kennedy, John Marsden, Michael McGirr, Alice Pung, Barry Garner and Kristin Henry, to name just a few.

If you would like a free copy of issue 12, send me your details.

Oh, and be sure to check out page 11 ;)

Emanuel

A message to my fellow emerging writers

As one of five shortlisting judges for a local creative writing competition (I'm not sure if I can say which one...), I've read a ton of unpublished short stories in the last few months.


It's exciting to know there are so many talented armature and emerging writers who's stories need only minor changes to be truly amazing.

Submit your stuff to publishers, people. You never know when you'll be picked up!

Be brave, leap off the deep end and have confidence you'll land on the other side.
Even if you're not, pretend to be; not many people can tell the difference

For all you Aussies, check out my post on the major Australian literary journals and magazines.

A bunch of other competitions are also currently accepting submissions. Some are free, while others charge a small reading fee. Many offer decent prize money, certificates of merit and/or publication opportunities.

I know I've said this cliche before, but...

You've gotta be in it to win it!

Major Australian Literary Journals and Magazines

12/08/2014 - to read an updated and expanded version of this post, please visit Error Proof Editorial Services' blog. Thank you for visiting!

I've been working on the following list for my 'One List to Rule Them All' for some time now, and thought I'd turn it into a post.

Below, in no particular order, are links to the major Australian literary journals and magazines currently accepting submissions, and a little information on each. I've only included those that are reasonably well-known and feature at least two pieces of unsolicited fiction per issue.

Even though most of the information is from the publications' websites and/or current issues (as of 5th of January, 2012), be sure to read their style guide and submission guidelines yourself before submitting your work. I also recommend reading a couple of recent issues to identify emerging trends and see if they've recently published a story similar to yours.

As you'll see, most don’t pay very well compared to non-fiction, and most take a while to reply to submissions, but having a story in any of these is sure to help your writing career.

If I've missed any of your favourites, please don't hesitate to say so in a comment and include a web address if possible. Thanks for reading and good luck: the short story industry is quite competitive at the moment.

Emanuel

MEANJIN QUARTERLY

meanjin@unimelb.edu.au

http://meanjin.com.au/about-meanjin/contribute-to-meanjin

Description: "Known primarily as a literary magazine, Meanjin reflect[s] the breadth of contemporary thinking, be it on literature, other art forms, or the broader issues of the times."

Submission Guidelines: "Submissions should be attached as a .doc or .docx file and emailed to meanjin@unimelb.edu.au with the subject heading ‘Meanjin Submission’. Please send only ONE piece, and wait for a response before submitting again. Include a very brief biographical note. We do not impose word limits on submissions, but note that we rarely publish work over 5,000 words."

Estimated Response Time: Three to four months.

Commission: "Contributors are paid a minimum $100 for prose. The total fee will be determined by the number of pages the article fills in published form ... The average fee paid is about $50 (Australian) per printed page; higher fees are sometimes paid to specially commissioned authors."

OVERLAND LITERARY JOURNAL

overland@vu.edu.au

http://overland.org.au/submit/how-can-i-write-for-overland/

Description: "Overland, the most radical of Australia’s long-standing literary and cultural magazines, celebrated its 50th year in 2004. Publishing features, fiction, poetry, reviews, comment, artwork and opinion pieces. Overland is committed to engaging with important literary, cultural and political issues in contemporary Australia. It has a tradition of publishing dissenting articles with a political and cultural focus."

Submission Guidelines: "We prefer writers who show some consciousness of their era and the issues it presents. We encourage experiments with both form and content. We do not impose formal word limits and occasionally publish very long essays and stories, but potential contributors should be aware that space limitations make longer pieces harder to accept. We ask all authors to submit their work via an electronic submission manager."  

Estimated Response Time: "The quantity [of submissions] received means that the process can take some months." 

Commission: ???



WET INK

contact@wetink.com.au

http://www.wetink.com.au/submissions.htm

Description: "Wet Ink is put together by a passionate team of writers and a designer who decided to do something about the lack of opportunities for writers to publish their short works and readers to access them. Inside each issue you’ll find fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction, interviews, photography, book reviews and more. It’s the place to discover some of today’s best up-and-coming talent, as well as new works by established authors." 

Submission Guidelines: "Send no more than three submissions.
• Only hard copies considered.

• Put your name on the cover sheet but NOT on the work.

• Text should be double spaced in Times New Roman 12pt.

• No word limit—although the longer a piece is, the more

outstanding it needs to be to replace two or three shorter

pieces.

• Also interested in shorter pieces (to 500 words) that are

funny, snappy, experimental or thought-provoking."
(Full guide here)

Estimated Response Time: Four months.

Commission: Under 1500 words $70, above 1500 words $120.

GRIFFITH REVIEW

griffithreview@griffith.edu.au

http://griffithreview.com/future-editions

Description: "Griffith REVIEW has a proud tradition of creating space for new and emerging writers. [It] is written with intelligent, well-informed and curious readers in mind."

Submission Guidelines: Each issue is themed. Check out the future editions page for details. The rest of the guidelines are set out in ‘For Writers’

Estimated Response Time: I couldn't find one, but when I submitted a short story to them in 2010 it only took six weeks, which (in my experience) is quite good.

Commission: "Rates will be negotiated directly with the author upon acceptance."

SOUTHERLY

southerlyjournal@gmail.com

http://southerlyjournal.com.au/contributions/

Description: Published three times a year, "Southerly is a journal of and for the discussion of Australian Literature and the publication of the best in new Australian writing." 

Submission Guidelines: Hard copies can be sent to Southerly, c/- Department of English, University of Sydney NSW 2006, or emailed to southerlyjournal@gmail.com "Please also attach a cover letter with your submission including your name, contact details, title and page count of your work and the submission date." More submission guidelines here.

Estimated Response Time: "We attempt to acknowledge receipt of submissions within a week." Although, you may need to wait a little longer to find out if your work is accepted.

Commission: ???

THE LIFTED BROW

fiction@theliftedbrow.com

http://www.theliftedbrow.com/?page_id=2

Description: "The Lifted Brow is a bimonthly magazine based in Melbourne. Every two months, the Brow publishes fiction, art, comics, and commentary on everything from maths to celebrity to design. It’s just meant to be fun and smart."

Submission Guidelines: Send as an email attachment to fiction@theliftedbrow.com

Estimated Response Time: The official website says they may take up to six months to respond to fiction, but are one of the rare few that encourage simultaneous submissions.

Commission: ???

MASCARA LITERARY REVIEW

editor@mascarareview.com

http://www.mascarareview.com/submit.html

Description: "A bi-annual literary journal ... particularly interested in the work of contemporary Asian, Australian and Indigenous writers."

Submission Guidelines: "Submit 1 short story up to 3,000 words, or for flash fiction no more than 1,000 words in a single Microsoft Word doc as an attachment, labelled with your name to submissions@mascarareview.com. 12 point Times New Roman, 1.5 spaced."

Estimated Response Time: Three to six months, but they accept simultaneous submissions as long as you notify them immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.

Commission: Seems like a flat $100 

Other publications I've yet to research in full:

Antipodes - http://australianliterature.org/Antipodes_Submissions.htm

Quadrant - http://www.quadrant.org.au/pages/style-guide

Aurealis - http://www.aurealis.com.au/submissions.php

Analogue - http://www.analogsf.com/information/submissions.shtml

The Big Issue - http://www.bigissue.org.au/the-magazine/contribute/

Updates:

29/02/2012 - Updated submission guidelines
07/01/2012 - Added more information and images for most publications

Emerging from school holidays writing-hybernation...

'What have you been doing?' I hear you ask.
     Well, apart from editing revision and chasing my kids around the house, I ran a workshop on 'Creating and maintaining a blog' at the Melton library; finalised two short stories and sent them off to local competitions; and, submitted a piece of creative non-fiction to Wet Ink magazine.
     I also managed to 'almost' complete a 3,000 word story for young adults and re-draft a sci-fi story to the brink of nonsense (back to the drawing board with that one!)
     With a little luck, I might have some good news to share just before Christmas.
Fingers crossed,
Emanuel