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.
What are we looking for?
New stories of up to approximately 1500 words. Please send only one submission, and make it your very best piece.
Eligibility
Submissions will be considered from Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only.
Timelines
Submissions are now open and close at 5pm AEST, Monday 10 February 2025.
Submissions selected in this round will be published from February to July 2025.
Guidelines
Please only submit one story – your best! Submissions will open again later in the year so if your story still needs work, you can always send it later.
Please don’t submit work previously published in print or online, including on blogs.
All submissions are via Submittable and your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf).
We do not have specific formatting requirements; however, it makes reading easier for our editors if your submission uses generous line spacing and margins. (We prefer Australian spelling and punctuation conventions; single quotation marks; spaced en rules for dashes – however, all of this can be resolved during editing.)
We accept simultaneous submissions; however, if your work is selected for publication elsewhere, please withdraw it from Island Submittable.
Contributor fees
If your work is selected for publication, Island will pay a fee of $600*.
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.
*Increased contributor fees for this round have been made possible with the support of the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.
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.
Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome, whether or not your work is accepted. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide individual feedback on submissions that are not accepted.
Although our expectation is that selected works are likely to require minimal editing, the Fiction Editor will edit/proofread the pieces for publication. You will be consulted on all changes and will have final approval of your work.
Terms and conditions
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.
A draft of the full licencing agreement is available on request from admin@islandmag.com.
Further information
For more information about Island please visit islandmag.com
Thank you for your interest in submitting your writing to Island Online. We are looking forward to reading it.
What are we looking for?
New essays of up to approximately 1500 words. These can be wide-ranging in theme – we will consider pieces reflecting on nature and the environment, the arts, society, current issues and culture. We love to see new approaches to form and content. Please send only one piece and make it your very best.
Pitches
Full submissions are preferred, however, if you have a particularly timely piece that warrants immediate attention, please send a pitch directly to jane@islandmag.com
Eligibility
Submissions will be considered from Australian and New Zealand citizens and residents only.
Timelines
Submissions are now open and close at 5pm AEST, Monday 10 February 2025.
Submissions selected in this round will be published from February to July 2025.
Guidelines
Please only submit one essay – your best! There will be another round later in the year, so if your piece still needs work, save it til then!
Please don’t submit work previously published in print or online, including on blogs.
Note that we aim for a general audience, and don’t tend to publish scholarly/academic works. Please only include endnotes/footnotes if absolutely necessary. (These do not need to be included in your word count.)
All submissions are via Submittable and your work must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf).
We do not have specific formatting requirements; however, it makes reading easier for our editors if your submission uses generous line spacing and margins. (We prefer Australian spelling and punctuation conventions; single quotation marks; spaced en rules for dashes – however, all of this can be resolved during editing.)
We accept simultaneous submissions; however, if your work is selected for publication elsewhere, please withdraw it from Island Submittable.
Contributor fees
If your work is selected for publication, Island will pay a fee of $600*.
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.
*Increased contributor fees for this round have been made possible with the support of theCopyright Agency’s Cultural Fund and the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.
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.
Once decisions are made, you will be contacted (either via Submittable or direct email) regarding the outcome, whether or not your work is accepted. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to provide individual feedback on submissions that are not accepted.
Although our expectation is that selected works are likely to require minimal editing, the Nonfiction Editor will edit/proofread the pieces for publication. You will be consulted on all changes and will have final approval of your work.
Terms and conditions
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.
A draft of the full licencing agreement is available on request from admin@islandmag.com.
Further information
For more information about Island please visit islandmag.com
Thank you for your interest in submitting your writing to Island Online. We are looking forward to reading it.