Guidelines

Unless otherwise stated, Island welcomes submissions from Australia, New Zealand and Australians living abroad.  

All submissions are via Submittable.

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

We accept simultaneous submissions; however, if your work is selected for publication elsewhere, please withdraw it from Island Submittable.

Contributor Policy

You do not need to be an Island subscriber to submit or enter any of our prizes. 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 either in print or online, and you 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 to build circulation. This, in turn, will allow us to increase the amount we can afford to pay our writers. For background information on our contributor fee policy, see here.

Payments

Contributor fees are currently:  

Fiction and nonfiction for print - 40 cents per word, with a minimum of $600 and a maximum of $1500. 

Poetry for print and Island Online - $175 per poem. 

Island Online - $600 for short-form fiction, nonfiction and graphic narratives.

All fees 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 additional to core funding from Arts Tasmania, 2025 contributor fees have been supplemented by the Australian Government through the Creative Australia its arts funding 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. 

Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome. 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 will be sent to the author prior to publication (see T&Cs below for further details).

TERMS & CONDITIONS
A licencing agreement outlining the contributor fee and full terms and conditions will be sent to authors prior to publication. Please be aware of the following:

  • 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.
  • Authors must warrant 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.

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

We are currently seeking fiction submissions for Island 173 and 174.

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 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 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 story - your best!  
 

TIMELINES
Submissions are open. 

Closing at 5pm AEST on Monday 30 December 2024.

Island 173 will be published in March 2025. Island 174 is scheduled to be published in June 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 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 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 Managing Editor, 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 asap. 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:

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 currently seeking nonfiction submissions for Island 173 and 174.

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 subscription. For background information on this policy see here.

TIMELINES  

Submissions are open. 

Closing 5pm AEST on Monday 30 December 2024.

Island 173 will be published in March 2025. Island 174 is scheduled to be published in June 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 $700 and a maximum of $1500*

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.

*Increased contributor fees for Island 170 have been made possible with the support of the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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 and the Managing Editor. 

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 asap. 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:

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.

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.

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

Thank you for your interest in publishing with Island!

Island magazine