We are currently seeking fiction submissions for Island 175 and 176.

ELIGIBILITY
Island will only consider submissions from residents of Australia, New Zealand and Australians living abroad.    

There is no fee to submit, and you do not need to be a subscriber. However, if your work is selected and you are not already a subscriber, your total payment will be less the cost of a 4-issue print subscription. For background information on our fee policy see here.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR? 

While we will certainly consider more traditional forms, we have a strong interest in experimental and literary approaches to form and content. There is no limit on theme.

Although we are not strict about the length of works, we tend not to publish flash fiction or microfiction in print very often. This doesn’t mean you can’t submit very short works - just be aware that this is not our staple. In terms of upper limits, we are less likely to publish works longer than 4000 words. Again, this is a general guideline, we do not have a formal cut-off. 

GUIDELINES

We do not accept work previously published in print or online, including on blogs.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome, but please withdraw your work if it is accepted elsewhere.

Please submit only one story per round. If you submit more than one, only your first submission will be considered.

Submissions are via Submittable only. Your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf). Please format using a minimum of 1.5 line spacing to make reading easier for our editors. 

TIMELINES
Submissions are open. 

Closing at 5pm AEST on Monday 30 June 2025.

Island 175 is scheduled to be published in September 2025. Island 176 is scheduled to be published in December 2025.

CONTRIBUTOR FEES
Island currently pays 40 cents per word for print fiction, with a minimum of $600 and a maximum of $1500.

If you are not already a subscriber, your total payment will be less the cost of a 4-issue print subscription. For background information on our fee policy see here.

*In addition to core funding from Arts Tasmania, fees have been supplemented by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

We continually strive to increase author payment rates through grants and fundraising. 

PROCESS
 You will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt of your submission.

All submissions (expected when multiple submissions have been made) will be read by at least one member of the editorial team. The final decision will rest with the Fiction Editor, Kate Kruimink, and the Editorial Manager, Jane Rawson. 

Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome. We endeavour to provide a response to all submissions within three months of submissions closing. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide individualised feedback on submissions that are not selected.

The expectation is that the selected works will require little editing. However, any editing involved will be undertaken by Island’s Editorial Team, in discussion with the author. The author will have final approval of the work.

A licensing agreement with be sent to the author prior to publication (see t&c below for further details) .

TERMS & CONDITIONS
A licensing agreement outlining the contributor fee and full terms and conditions will be sent to the author prior to publication; however, please be aware of the following:

Writers must guarantee that their work is original, does not plagiarise or infringe the copyright of any other party, and does not breach any other law or ethical principle of publication (e.g. defamation, libel, obscenity).

Copyright remains with the authors, but writers must give Island exclusive publication rights for the work for three months from publication. Any further reproduction must publicly acknowledge Island as the original publisher.

A draft of the full agreement is available on request from admin@islandmag.com.

Thank you for your interest in publishing with Island!

We are currently seeking nonfiction submissions for Island 175 and 176.

ELIGIBILITY
Island will only consider submissions from residents of Australia, New Zealand and Australians living abroad.

There is no fee to submit, and you do not need to be a subscriber. However, if your work is selected and you are not already a subscriber, your total payment will be less the cost of a 4-issue print subscription. For background information on this policy see here.

TIMELINES  

Submissions are open. 

Closing 5pm AEST on Monday 30 June 2025.

Island 175 is scheduled to be published in September 2025. Island 176 is scheduled to be published in December 2025

GUIDELINES

We want to read about what fascinates, excites or enrages you. Your entry doesn’t have to be zeitgeisty – there are so many ways to be curious and about so many things. We encourage you to investigate, experiment, wax lyrical and manifest. Introduce us to new ideas, new worlds and new forms of expression.  

We are not strict about word limits, and prefer to consider all works on their merits. However, while we do not have a formal cutoff, we are less likely to publish works longer than 4000 words. 

We do not accept work previously published in print or online, including on blogs.

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please withdraw your work if it is accepted elsewhere.

Submissions are via Submittable only. Your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf). Please format using a minimum of 1.5 line spacing to make reading easier for our editors.

Please only submit one piece - your best!

CONTRIBUTOR FEES                                                                                                                                                            

Island currently pays  40 cents per word for print nonfiction, with a minimum of $600 and a maximum of $1500

Fees for print are less the cost of a 4-issue print subscription if you are not a current subscriber. For background information on this policy see here.

In addition to core funding from Arts Tasmania, fees have been supplemented by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, and the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund.

We continually strive to increase author payment rates through grants and fundraising.   

PROCESS

You will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt of your submission.

All submissions will be read by at least one member of the editorial team. The final decision will rest with the Nonfiction Editor, Keely Jobe and the Editorial Manager, Jane Rawson. 

Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome. We endeavour to provide a response to all submissions within three months of submissions closing. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide individualised feedback on submissions that are not selected.

The expectation is that the selected works will require little editing. However, any editing involved will be undertaken by Island’s Editorial Team, in discussion with the author. The author will have final approval of the work.

A licensing agreement with be sent to the author prior to publication (see t&c below for further details) .

TERMS & CONDITIONS
  A licencing agreement outlining the contributor fee and full terms and conditions will be sent to the author prior to publication, however, please be aware of the following:

Contributors must warrant to the Publisher that their work is an original work, that their work does not infringe any copyright and that they are the sole owner of the copyright in the work. They must also warrant that the work contains nothing obscene, indecent or libellous.

Copyright remains with the author; but Island requires an exclusive licence for three months from publication. Following the exclusivity period, authors must continue to license the work to Island on a  non-exclusive basis. Any further reproduction should publicly acknowledge Island as the original publisher.

A draft of the full licencing agreement is available on request from admin@islandmag.com

Thank you for your interest in publishing with Island!

Poetry submissions are open for Island 175 - due for publication September 2025. 

ELIGIBILITY
Submissions will be considered from Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only.

You do not need to be a subscriber to submit. However, we believe that writers ought to be readers of the literary magazines in which their work is published, so for this reason, if your work is published in Island and you are not already a subscriber, your total payment will be less the cost of a 4-issue subscription. For a small not-for-profit literary magazine, this is a necessary step in a long-term strategy. For background information on our fee policy, see here.

TIMELINES & GUIDELINES
Submissions are open and will close at 5pm AEST on Monday 14 July 2025.

You may submit a maximum of five poems in any form. If you would like to submit more than one, please submit them all in the one submission and in a single document. Do not make a different submission for each poem. 

We do not accept work previously published in print or online, including on blog 

Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please withdraw your poem if it is accepted elsewhere.

All submissions are via Submittable only and your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf).

PROCESS
You will receive an automated acknowledgement of receipt of your submission. After that, you will generally not hear from the editorial team until after submissions have closed. 

After the closing date, we endeavour to provide a response to all submissions asap.

Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome. We are unable to provide individual feedback for submissions not selected.
 

The expectation is that the selected works will require little editing. However, any editing involved will be undertaken by Island’s Poetry Editor, Kate Middleton, in discussion with the author. The author will have final approval of the work.
 

CONTRIBUTOR FEES
Island currently pays $175 per poem*

Fees for print are less the cost of a 4-issue subscription if you are not a current subscriber. For background information on this policy see here.

*In addition to core funding from Arts Tasmania, fees have been supplemented by the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

We continually strive to increase author payment rates through grants and fundraising.   

TERMS & CONDITIONS
A licensing agreement outlining the contributor fee and full terms and conditions will be sent to the author prior to publication; however, please be aware of the following:

Copyright remains with the authors, but writers must give Island exclusive publication rights for the work for three months from publication. Any further reproduction must publicly acknowledge Island as the original publisher.

Writers must guarantee that their work is original, does not plagiarise or infringe the copyright of any other party, and does not breach any other law or ethical principle of publication (e.g. defamation, libel, obscenity).

A draft of the full agreement is available on request from admin@islandmag.com.

Thank you for your interest in publishing with Island!

We are delighted to present our inaugural NATURE WRITING PRIZE, run in partnership with Fullers Bookshop Hobart and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. 

The prize will be judged ‘blind’, which means the judges won’t know whose work they’re reading. The judging panel will be Jane Rawson, Island's Editorial Manager, Ben Walter from Fullers and Ted Lefroy from the TLC (bios below). 

What are we looking for? 

Send us your very best writing about nature. It can be fiction, nonfiction or graphic narrative, and please keep it to under 4000 words or, if it’s a graphic narrative, six pages. We are looking for something that will be unlike anything else we’ve read, that will surprise us, give us new ideas, let us see nature in a whole new way. You don’t have to write about a rainforest or the ocean or the plight of koalas (though you certainly can) – nature is everywhere, and we’re excited to read about your very specific experience of it. Your piece can be sad, happy, political, poetic, confused, thrilled, lyrical, blunt or a combination of all of the above. Put everything you’ve got into it!

For inspiration, please join us for an online discussion about nature writing in Australia today on 9 July at 6pm. You can also see some of the pieces published in Island’s 2021-22 Nature Writing Project, or watch webinars from that project hosted by Ben Walter, Ellen van Neerven, Harry Saddler and Jane Rawson. 

THE PRIZE 

The winner will be offered a week-long funded writers residency at the TLC’s 670 hectare Sloping Main Reserve, on the beautiful Tasman Peninsula. Overlooking Frederick Henry Bay and a gorgeous beach, and protecting thriving wetlands and eucalypt forests, Sloping Main is home to migratory birds, sea eagles, quolls, echidnas and Tasmanian devils. The resident will live in a basic but comfortable small house on the reserve that has electricity, phone and internet coverage, and running water. It is about 20 minutes’ drive from the nearest supermarket at Nubeena, 1.5 hours’ drive from Hobart, and is accessible by 2WD vehicle. The winner will negotiate the timing of their residency with the TLC and will be responsible for their own travel arrangements, but the prize includes $3000 towards flights, car hire and living expenses. The winner will also receive a package of books from Fullers.

The winning writer’s piece will be published in Island issue 176, due for publication in December 2025, at usual publication rates. All other entries will be considered for publication in 2026 under Island's usual terms and conditions. For more info https://island.submittable.com/submit

ELIGIBILITY 

Entry is open to Australian citizens and residents only. No age limit applies. Current Island, Fullers and TLC staff, interns and board members are not eligible. 

TIMELINES & TERMS & CONDITIONS 

Entries are now open and close at 5pm AEST on Monday 25 August 

We are looking for works suitable to a general audience, rather than scholarly/academic works. If you have previously submitted your work to Island, you may resubmit it for the prize. The expectation is that the winning work will require little editing. However, any editing involved will be undertaken by Island’s Editorial Manager, Jane Rawson, in discussion with the author. The author will have final approval of the work. 

A fee of $20 per entry applies. You can enter as many times as you wish but each piece must be entered separately. All entries are via Submittable only and your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: doc, docx, txt, rtf). Entries will be judged ‘blind’, so please do not include your name on or in your work. The judges’ decision is final, and no individual feedback will be provided. Works previously published are not eligible. Writers must guarantee that their work is original, does not plagiarise or infringe the copyright of any other party, and does not breach any other law or ethical principle of publication (e.g. defamation, libel, obscenity). Copyright remains with the authors; however, writers must give Island exclusive publication rights for the work for three months from publication. Any further reproduction must publicly acknowledge Island as the original publisher. The winner must agree to participate in any reasonable media events relating to their work, including radio and television interviews and online discussions. 

MEET THE JUDGES

Jane Rawson is the Editorial Manager of Island and an author of fiction and nonfiction. Her latest book is Human/Nature: On life in a wild world, a collection of essays about how we think about nature. She was previously the Environment & Energy Editor at The Conversation and Communications Coordinator at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. 

Ben Walter is a Walkley Award-winning essayist and the author of the acclaimed short story collection, What Fear Was. A past fiction editor at Island and a bookseller at Fullers, his work has recently appeared in The Kenyon Review (US), The Cimarron Review (US) and 3:AM Magazine (France). His debut poetry collection, Lithosphere, will be published later this year.

Ted Lefroy is a board member at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy and an adjunct professor at the University of Tasmania. He trained in agricultural science and worked in extension and rural development before becoming director of the Centre for Environment at the University of Tasmania in 2005 and head of research at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture in 2018. His essays have been published in The Conversation and Breathing space, he is a book reviewer at The Skeptic and has a regular spot on ABC Hobart discussing popular science books.