Progressive culture since 1954
We’d like to thank everyone who entered this year for their thoughtful and incredible work. We received an impressive and high quality range of poems, and each and every writer deserves congratulations. We’d also like to thank our judges, Evelyn Araluen and Gayle Allan (Trinity College), for their hard work and dedication to the decision-making process.
If it were a thousand-limbed Monkey Puzzle seeded against the odds by continental seabirds, or a Mesozoic Bunya Pine cast out from ancient lands it would be celebrated as a rarity, but its aetiology is unknown
Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize seeks outstanding poetry from new and emerging writers. This year’s wonderful judges, Ellen van Neerven, Michael Farrell and Toby Fitch (who is also Overland’s poetry editor), read over 750 entries before selecting a shortlist of just nine outstanding works.
Overland and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are thrilled to announce the entries that placed in the Overland 2019 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize! This year’s star judges, Hannah Kent, Joshua Mostafa and Margo Lanagan, rose to the challenging task of selecting a shortlist of eight pieces from over 450 entries, before narrowing the shortlist down to three exceptional stories.
Thank you to everyone who entered the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, the quality of the work we received was very high this year! We’d also like to recognise the hard work of this year’s incredibly dedicated judges: Hannah Kent, Joshua Mostafa and Margo Lanagan. They had the challenging task of reading, considering and narrowing over 450 entries down to a shortlist of eight outstanding pieces.
In one of the most successful years in the history of the prize, we received over 750 entries from poets all around the world. We’d like to thank all the entrants for their brave, disruptive and original work, and our 2019 judges, Ellen van Neerven, Michael Farrell and Toby Fitch, for their hard work and dedication to the decision-making process.
Hope you didn’t have any plans this summer, because we need you to clear your schedule for our first special fiction edition of 2020.
Announcing the final results for the ten categories of the 2019 Fair Australia Prize. Hearty congratulations to all!
6 pm Friday 6 December
ETU Ballroom, Trades Hall, Melbourne
Overland, the United Workers Union, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and the Migrant Workers Centre are hosting a lively end-of-year debate on the contention: ‘The time to strike is now!’
The Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize received an impressive selection of short stories this year that, in the words of judge Pip Adams, ‘would make an amazing snapshot of the short story in 2019’.
After an extensive application and interview process, Overland is thrilled to announce the appointment of our two new co-editors, Evelyn Araluen Corr and Jonathan Dunk, who will begin their editorship in late 2019.
We’d like to thank the many entrants who worked hard on their story submissions for the prize this year. Our four judges for the 2019 competition – writers Pip Adam, Michelle Aung Thin, Steven Amsterdam and Enza Gandolfo – have now decided on a shortlist of fourteen outstanding stories.
Announcing the recipients of the 2019 Overland writing residencies, which are supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation.
Announcing the shortlists for the 2019 Overland writing residencies, which are supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. These residencies will again address a lack of opportunities for underrepresented writers, providing space, time, stipend and mentorship.
The Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia. Sponsored by the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College, the prize alternates each year between fiction and poetry; this year’s prize is for the best short story (up to 3000 words) by an Indigenous writer under 30.
The Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia. Sponsored by the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College, the prize alternates each year between fiction and poetry; this year’s prize is for the best short story (up to 3000 words) by an Indigenous writer under 30.
Overland is seeking a new editor, and for the first time in its history, the magazine is advertising the position.
We are pleased to announce that Overland will be running two writing residencies in 2019, both of which are supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. These residencies will again address a lack of opportunities for underrepresented writers, providing space, time, stipend and mentorship.
Overland, judges Alison Whittaker, Nguyễn Tiên Hoàng and Toby Fitch, and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are thrilled to announce the results of the 2018 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
Overland and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are very pleased to announce the entries that placed in the 2018 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize.
This year, the first place prize is $4000 and publication in Overland 235. Two runner-up stories will be awarded $500 each, and will be published online alongside our winter edition.
We’d like to thank the 650 entrants for their impressive work this year. Now, the 2018 judges – Alison Whittaker, Nguyễn Tiên Hoàng and Toby Fitch – have arrived at a shortlist of nine outstanding poems.
Overland is excited to announce some changes to our editorial team in 2019.
We are pleased to announce that fiction submissions are open for a one-week period, from Friday 1 February until Friday 8 February, for consideration for our first edition of 2019.
Fiction for the edition will be guest edited by Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk.
We recognise 26 January as a day of protest against invasion and the violent legacies of colonialism. Overland staff will be attending Invasion and Survival Day actions across the country tomorrow. We encourage our readers to do the same. #sovereigntyneverceded #abolishaustraliaday
Updates on holiday office hours, our new edition and summer writer opportunities.
And a big shoutout to all our readers, contributors, submitters, volunteers and interns throughout the past year. We say it every year but it’s so very true: Overland would be impossible without you!
6.30 pm Saturday 8 December
VU at MetroWest, 138 Nicholson Street, Footscray
Overland editorial intern Magan Magan is launching his first collection, published by Vulgar Press, in Footscray on 8 December.
6 pm Friday 7 December
The Toff in Town, 252 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Overland and the National Union of Workers are hosting a lively end-of-year debate on the topic of automation and what it will mean for workers and labour.
How to Build Bridges Symposium
10 am – 6 pm Friday 23 November
The Substation, 1 Market Street Newport
The Bridge (the play)
Wednesday 21–Saturday 24 November
The Substation, 1 Market Street Newport
Online, 7pm Thursday 1 November
Join Overland‘s resident tech-genius and poet Benjamin Laird, experimental storyteller Mez Breeze, and writer and VR enthusiast Mark Riboldi to boldly go where no writers have gone before: a panel examining the history and present of VR taking place in virtual space! This is a free event.
Check out the Overland events at the National Young Writers’ Festival! Taking place in Newcastle from 27-30 September, 2018.
From a pool of 863 entries, a longlist of 30 impressive stories, and a very strong shortlist of thirteen, this year’s judges – Michelle Cahill, Sarah Schmidt, Tom Clark and Jennifer Mills – have decided on the 2018 winner and two runners-up in the $8000 Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers.
An initiative of the Queensland Poetry Festival, the Emerging Older Poets’ Mentorship is designed to address a lack of opportunities in the 55+ age bracket.
While we’d like to thank all 863 entrants who worked hard to submit this year, the four judges for the 2018 competition – writer Sarah Schmidt, writer and editor Michelle Cahill, writer and VU academic Tom Clark, and writer and Overland fiction editor Jennifer Mills – have now decided on a shortlist of thirteen outstanding stories.
Saturday 23 & Sunday 24 June, State Library Victoria, Conference Centre
Join Overland at the National Writers’ Conference weekend, as part of the 2018 Emerging Writers’ Festival. There’s a panel on mentoring, featuring Laniyuk Garcon and Ellen van Neerven, a couple of industry sessions, such as ‘What editors want’ and ‘Pitch it!’, and Overland will have a trade table all Saturday, where you can stop by and talk with mag eds, peruse issues and maybe even try on some Overland tees.
What does unionism mean to people today? What should be its objectives? How can we come together to make real change, now and into the future?
This prize encourages artists and writers of fiction, poetry and essays to be part of setting a new agenda for our future – to imagine a just, common future, and how we might get there together.
The Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia. Sponsored by the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College, the prize alternates each year between fiction and poetry; this year’s prize is for the best poem (up to 88 lines) by an Indigenous writer under 30.
The Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia. Sponsored by the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College, the prize alternates each year between fiction and poetry; this year’s prize is for the best poem (up to 88 lines) by an Indigenous writer under 30.
Friday 25–Sunday 27 May, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre
Three days of feminist politics, feminist perspectives and collective solutions. Catch the editor of Overland Jacinda Woodhead, with fiction editor Jennifer Mills and writer Natalie Kon-yu in conversation on mentorship in the arts – then stick around for special event presented by Overland on writing and activism with Santilla Chingaipe, Tarneen Onus-Williams and Asher Wolf.
The final results of the 2017 Overland Neilma Sidney Short Prize.
The final results of the 2017 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, as well as notes on the shortlist and a list of Highly Commended poems from this year’s competition.
The 2017 judges – Nic Low, Ryan O’Neill and Jennifer Mills – have finished their blind judging and deliberation, and decided on a shortlist of thirteen brilliant stories that approach the theme in original ways.
The 2017 judges, poet Ali Cobby Eckermann and Overland poetry editor Toby Fitch, have finished blind judging the competition and, after deliberation, have selected a shortlist of nine poems.
In solidarity, so long, proshchay, take care, wadaeaan, all the best, adiaŭo, shalom, see you next year!
Debate: ‘It’s time … for a universal basic income?’
6pm, Monday 11 December
Ballroom, Trades Hall
54 Victoria St, Carlton
Free food, free drinks, free event!
Overland, the National Union of Workers, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, and the National Tertiary Education Union (VIC) are very pleased to announce the winning entries of this year’s Fair Australia Prize.
We’ll make you think, we’ll challenge you, we’ll move you – and in our pages you’ll read things you disagree with. As one subscriber wrote to us just yesterday, ‘Every now and then I want to throw Overland across the room – which I consider a brilliant thing.’
Anyone who subscribes, resubscribes or donates before Friday goes into the draw to win some truly stellar prizes, including bikes, beekeeping workshops, artistic boot camps, award-winning books, bundles of excellent magazines, music, art and trips to Byron Bay.
By taking out, renewing or giving an Overland subscription today, you could win:
– today’s ‘Parental leave’ prize
– any of the three Major Prizes
– and/or one of our Regional Prizes
– a good feeling about yourself – and the future of progressive literary culture
Okay, we decided to narrow it down from 1,917 reasons to simply the top 17!
Overland is thrilled to announce the successful applicant of its second residency program, which this year was open to First Nations writers.
In Overland you find ideas unpopular with the political classes, and stances not taken in other publications. Since 1954, we have been a place where the political and literary left meet because politics does not end where a book begins.
We’ve got prizes for oenophiles, emerging writers and artists, Canberrans, dog owners, coffee afficionados, gamers, New Zealanders, strapped poets and chocolate lovers. There are bikes, bee-keeping workshops, award-winning books, bundles of excellent magazines, music and a trip to Byron Bay!
Subscriberthon 2017 is here! So many marvellous prizes to be won – and a splendid magazine to support!
Anyone who subscribes, resubscribes or donates over the next week goes into the draw to win some spectacular prizes, including holidays, bikes, Nintendos, original artworks, locally roasted coffee, wine, workshops – and piles of books and subscriptions.
We are pleased to announce the shortlisted writers and artists for the 2017 Fair Australia Prize.
Open letter regarding ongoing cuts at Victoria University, and the targeting of a number of VU NTEU branch members. Academics, students, writers, union members and readers are free to sign via the comments section.
2.30pm Saturday 2 September
Beer DeLuxe, Fed Square, Melbourne
Join award-winning writer and Overland fiction reviewer Michalia Arathimos as she launches her debut novel, Aukati: Boundary Line.
Overland, Victoria University and this year’s four judges – Frank Moorhouse, Enza Gandalfo, Ian See and Rachael McGuirk – are very pleased to announce the winners of the Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers.
The Overland Writer’s Residency, supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, is an initiative aimed at addressing a lack of opportunities for under-represented writers. Following the success of Overland’s inaugural Writers’ Residency in 2016, this year’s residency will be open to Indigenous writers at any stage of their writing career. Applications close Sunday 24 September, 2017.
2.30pm Friday 1 September
ACMI Cinema 1, Federation Square, Melbourne
Will democracy win? Join Overland’s editor Jacinda Woodhead in conversation with Tony Birch, Jeff Sparrow and Micah White at this year’s Melbourne Writers Festival.
Overland and Victoria University are pleased to announce that the four judges of this year’s Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers – author Frank Moorhouse, UQP editor Ian See, writer and academic Enza Gandalfo and Overland’s Rachael McGuirk – have reduced this year’s 800 entries to a shortlist of ten stories.
From 6pm, Monday 24 July
Readings Hawthorn
A new anthology reflecting on violence against women. Editor Jane Caro will launch the book alongside readings from and discussions with contributors Rebecca Lim and Overland editor Jacinda Woodhead.
6.30pm, Thursday 17 August
The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Drawing on MIFF’s Sci-fi retrospective and looking at how cinema harnesses contemporary anxieties to show us where we might be headed, some of the best minds around dissect the darker corners of the future in this panel discussion about Dystopia on Film.
Screening of Dead-End Drive-In
From 9.30pm, Saturday 12 August at The Astor, Melbourne
In the spring issue of 1972, Overland published the short story ‘Crabs’ by then little-known writer from Bacchus Marsh, Peter Carey. In 1986, ‘Crabs’ was made into the film, Dead End Drive-In. To celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the story, Overland has teamed up with the Melbourne International Film Festival.
10.15am, Friday 2 June
University of Iceland, Reykjavik
For our friends in Iceland and those attending the 2017 NonfictionNOW Conference in ReykJavik, Overland’s editor Jacinda Woodhead will explore publishing with a purpose in a world of lightning-paced content, with guests Sam Cooney, Björn Larsson and Guðmundur Andri Thorsson.
6pm–7pm, Monday 19 June
The Wheeler Centre, Melbourne
Catch Overland’s Deputy Editor Sian Vate with fellow editors Jessica Wilkinson and James Read as they share the tips, skills and knowledge on being an editor, and finding new ways to grow in the industry.
7.30pm, Monday 19 June
1000 £ Bend, Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
Free event
Overland’s Deputy Editor and poet Sian Vate will join fellow contemporary poets Saaro Umar and Elena Gomez for a night of readings hosted by Australian Poetry.
3pm–4pm, Tuesday 30 May
The Carrington Hotel, Katoomba NSW
Overland’s fiction editor Jennifer Mills in conversation with Evelyn Arraluen Corr and Amy McQuire, winners of the 2016 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers.
Overland is seeking fiction that tells writers’ own stories for a special online edition. Send us your works of identity, perception, perspective, and reality – and everything in between. Guest edited by Anna Spargo-Ryan.
Overland, Trinity College and judges Tara June Winch, Jennifer Mills and Katherine Firth are very pleased to announce the final results of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize.
Poetry Night at Sappho: the Overland Judith Wright Prize Readings
7pm, Tuesday 11 April
Sappho Books Cafe & Wine Bar
51 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW
Now in its fourth year, the Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia. Sponsored by the University of Melbourne’s Trinity College, the prize alternates each year between fiction and poetry; this year’s prize is for the best short story (up to 3000 words) by an Indigenous writer under 30.
When: 5.30pm–9pm, 7 March
Where: VUSU Lounge, Footscray Park Campus, Victoria University
To mark this International Women’s Day, the Victoria University Women’s Collective is hosting a panel discussion to explore violence against women and its intersection with racial inequality.
Overland and judges Stephanie Bishop, Aviva Tuffield and Tony Wheeler are pleased to announce the winning entries in this year’s Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize.
The three judges for this year’s competition – Stephanie Bishop, Aviva Tuffield and Tony Wheeler – have finished their blind judging and deliberation, and decided on a shortlist of nine outstanding stories with varying approaches to the theme.
For the first time in its history, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize has resulted in a tie; as such, the prize money for this year’s first and second place will be combined, and split evenly between the two poems that have placed equal first.
The 2016 judges, Overland poetry editor Toby Fitch and poet Jill Jones, have finished blind judging the competition and, after deliberation, have selected a shortlist of nine poems.
Every year, Overland publishes several online editions showcasing work by new and emerging writers. An opportunity exists for an emerging editor to work on one of these online fiction editions, to be published in June 2017.
Overland is seeking fiction from new and emerging writers for a special online edition. For this special edition, ‘new and emerging’ describes writers at various early-career stages, from previously unpublished to no more than one collection of stories or a novel published.
Overland and the National Union of Workers are very pleased to announce the winning entries of this year’s Fair Australia Prize.
Debate: ‘Does a “common future” mean overhauling our political system?’
6pm, Friday 9 December
The Toff in Town
252 Swanston St, Melbourne
We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2016 Overland Story Wine Prize.
Overland and the National Union of Workers are pleased to announce and congratulate the following writers and artists who have been shortlisted for the 2016 Fair Australia Prize.
It’s your last chance to win prizes by committing to a magazine that believes another world, a better world, is possible.
Anyone who takes out a joint subscription – or subscribes, resubscribes or donates – over the next week goes into the draw to win some spectacular prizes. This year’s prizes include a holiday to Ubud, original artworks, locally roasted coffee, wine, workshops – and piles of books and subscriptions.
It’s hard to be a writer, and even harder to be an emerging writer. It can be lonely, atomising and there’s not a great deal of support. One of the real difficulties new writers face is where they can publish their work.
But at Overland, we don’t just love you when you’re famous.
We received more than 500 entries in the third year of the Overland Story Wine Prize, the calibre of which greatly impressed our three judges – award-winning writer and screenwriter Michelle Law, novelist and winner of the 2015 Stella Prize Emily Bitto, and winner of the 2015 Overland Story Wine Prize, Melissa Manning.
Capitalism makes it seem like everything is in constant competition, but the more literary magazines we have, the more meaningful cultural conversations and literary experimentation occur, furthering and challenging our understanding of literature in the world today.
Since 1954, Overland has been a space for making progressive, political cases about moments big and small – Overland argued against the Vietnam War and military intervention in Iraq; and argued for the importance of movements such as the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, S11 and Black Lives Matter. In Overland you find ideas unpopular with the political classes, and stances not taken in other publications.
Start the weekend on a high note with this prize for music and poetry lovers. Remember, anyone who subscribes, resubscribes or donates over the next week goes into the draw to win some spectacular prizes, including a holiday to Ubud, original artworks, locally roasted coffee, wine, workshops – and piles of books and subscriptions.
Overland’s annual Subscriberthon is taking off once more! Anyone who subscribes, resubscribes or donates over the next week goes into the draw to win some spectacular prizes, including a holiday to Ubud, original artworks, locally roasted coffee, wine, workshops – and piles of books and subscriptions.
Overland, Victoria University and this year’s three judges – Jennifer Mills, Alison Whan and Jacinda Woodhead – are very pleased to announce the winners of the Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers.
Overland is seeking an editorial assistant for two days a week, to start by early October. This is a paid, permanent part-time position.
Overland and Victoria University are pleased to announce that the three judges of this year’s Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers – Overland fiction editor Jennifer Mills, Overland editor Jacinda Woodhead and Victoria University’s Alison Whan – have reduced this year’s 500 entries to a shortlist of fourteen stories.
Reimagining ‘My country’; class, race and urban decay in Detroit; how to get published and more. From Friday 27 August to Sunday 4 September.
Three days of feminist politics, feminist perspectives and collective solutions. Overland has a couple of panels taking place on the first day of the festival, Friday 26 August.
Overland is honoured to announce the successful applicant of its inaugural residency for women writers who are also sole parents.
Overland is looking for fiction for its next special issue, ‘The idea of women’, to be edited by Mandy Beaumont and Craig Bolland and published in October. Entries for the special issue close 11.59pm, Wednesday 31 August.
Vagabond Double Launch (Melbourne)
5pm, Saturday 18 June, The Alderman (Brunswick East)
Come celebrate the Melbourne Vagabond Double Launch of The Bloomin’ Notions of Other & Beau by Overland poetry editor Toby Fitch and O Sonata by Chris Edwards.
Overland events at the 2016 Emerging Writers’ Festival
Wednesday 15 June—Friday 24 June, Melbourne
Pushing the literary form, baring literary jealousy and pitching literary work. Featuring Overland editors Jacinda Woodhead, Stephanie Convery and Toby Fitch, and website producer Benjamin Laird.
This $20,000 prize encourages artists and writers of fiction, poetry and essays to be part of setting a new agenda for Australia. Winning entries will be published in a special Fair Australia supplement in Overland 225, to be launched in Melbourne in early December. Entry is free.
Announcing the winners of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers.
Vagabond Double Launch (Sydney)
3.30pm, Saturday 30 April, Gleebooks
Come celebrate the Sydney Vagabond Double Launch of The Bloomin’ Notions of Other & Beau by Overland poetry editor Toby Fitch and O Sonata by Chris Edwards.
The three judges for the 2015 competition – Charmaine Papertalk-Green, Overland’s Toby Fitch and Trinity College’s Katherine Firth – have now decided on a shortlist of six outstanding poems from up-and-coming Indigenous writers.
But really, isn’t nurturing the penniless avant-garde something we should all embrace? If we sincerely believe in the great life of the imagination, the radiant promise of its daily emergence in literature, music, art, and film, and in deep reflection and complex thought – all those inalienable horizons to being truly human – then we should also step-up and protect the imagination from the many equally great forces that humanity casts against it daily.
Overland magazine and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are very pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize.
The three judges for the first year of the competition – Alice Pung, Ellen van Neerven and Stephanie Convery – have now finished their blind judging and deliberation, and decided on a shortlist of eight outstanding stories with varying approaches to the theme, ‘travel’.
Every year, Overland publishes several online editions showcasing work by new and emerging writers. An opportunity exists for an emerging editor to work on one of these online fiction editions, to be published in August 2016.
Overland magazine and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation are very pleased to announce the winners of the 2015 Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
About the position: The Overland publicity officer will work primarily with the editorial team to assist in promoting Overland’s ongoing program of events, including print editions, the online magazine, special editions, events, launches, competitions and the annual Subscriberthon.
In its ninth year, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize continues to attract hundreds of outstanding new poetic works from across Australia and New Zealand. Now, Overland’s retiring poetry editor Peter Minter and Overland’s new poetry editor Toby Fitch have finished blind judging the competition and, after deliberation, have selected a shortlist of eight poems.
After a big year, Overland is taking a little break. The magazine will begin publishing, and considering pitches and pieces, from Monday 11 January.
Today is your last chance to go in the running to win one of our twenty fantastic Subscriberthon prizes. If you still haven’t taken the plunge, you have until midnight tonight to sneak in under the wire.
Overland has readers all across Australia, and this year, we’ve got a fantastic collection of regional prizes, including theatre tickets, writers’ centre memberships, coffee, gift vouchers, and of course, books, books, books! There’s one prize for every state in Australia. We’ve also got a special prize set aside for our New Zealand subscribers, too.
Literary magazines have the flexibility to do what corporate publishing cannot: experiment, take creative risks, publish underrepresented perspectives and ideas, and engage with a literary culture that goes beyond the marketplace. But we can’t do it without you.
Subscriberthon is Overland’s annual celebration of progressive writing, culture and all things literary. We’re inviting you to join us in declaring your love for local literary culture, and to support the magazine by taking out a subscription.
So, what’s on your weekend reading list?
Overland, Victoria University and the three judges – Nam Le, Natalie Kon-yu and Jacinda Woodhead – are very please to announce the winners of the Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers.
If you care about writing and ideas as much as we do, you know how important it is to maintain a healthy literary ecosystem. Literary journals are a fundamental part of writing and publishing in Australia. They encourage dialogue about literature and culture, provide a nurturing space for new and emerging writers, and providing crucial opportunities for experimentation in form and aesthetics.
At Overland, we believe in the democratisation of politics and culture. We believe that the loudest voices shouldn’t be those with the most money or the strongest corporate support. We believe that alternative media and voices are crucial to keeping art, culture, and politics accessible, innovative and accountable.
Part of that mandate is developing a strong culture of support for emerging writers.
Subscriberthon is Overland’s annual celebration of progressive writing, culture and all things literary. We’re inviting you to join us in declaring your love for local literary culture, and to support the magazine by taking out a subscription.
To sweeten the deal, we’ve put together an amazing range of prizes donated by our generous supporters and sponsors.
Overland and Victoria University are pleased to announce that the three judges of the Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers – writer Nam Le, writer and Victoria University academic Natalie Kon-yu and Overland editor Jacinda Woodhead – have finally decided on a shortlist of twelve stories.
The stories that stood out in this year’s competition, especially those on the shortlist, note judges Alicia Sometimes, Clare Strahan and Leah Swann, honed in on a moment or mood ‘with precision and attention to the finest, evocative detail’.
After reading the entries blind, the judges have selected a shortlist of eight outstanding stories. The winning story will receive a $4000 first prize and be published on the label of a bottle of Story Wine, as well as in Overland’s print magazine. Two runners-up will each receive $500 and be published at Overland online, and on the labels of different Story Wines vintages. Winners will be announced next week.
Arts Queensland’s XYZ Prize for Innovation in Spoken Word is Australia’s first arts award that recognises the growing field of spoken word.
After almost five years of shaping Overland’s poetics, our gifted poetry editor Peter Minter will be finishing up his editorship with the first issue of 2016. As such, Overland is seeking a new poetry editor for the print magazine. Overland is also looking to start a team of poetry readers.
Overland is very pleased to be launching our upcoming issue at the 2015 Melbourne Writers Festival. We’re also very excited to host journalist, contributing editor of the New Statesman and editor-at-large of The New Inquiry Laurie Penny, who will join NUW’s Tim Kennedy and playwright and Guardian columnist Van Badham in conversation with Overland editor Jacinda Woodhead to imagine the possibilities for a changed society.
Overland and the National Union of Workers are very pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Fair Australia Prize, all of whom will be published in Overland 220, a special extended edition to be launched in Melbourne in late August.
The Overland Victoria University Short Story Prize for New and Emerging Writers is now open. This year, the competition will be judged by writer Nam Le, writer and academic Natalie Kon-yu and Overland‘s Jacinda Woodhead.
What does a fair Australia look like, and how do we get there? The Fair Australia Prize asked writers and artists to engage with these questions and imagine a new political agenda for Australia through fiction, essays, poetry and illustrations. Overland…
5:30pm Thursday 4 June
Vic Books (Kelburn Campus), Wellington
Come celebrate Overland‘s first-ever edition dedicated exclusively to the work of some of their closest writerly neighbours. Guest edited by Giovanni Tiso, Jolisa Gracewood and Robert Sullivan.
Following a stimulating day at a writers’ festival, what could be more appealing than an after-hours soiree at Metropolis Books, located in the Art Noveau-styled Curtin House (former home to the Communist Party of Australia)?
Overland is seeking fiction from new and emerging writers for a special online edition to be curated by Rachel Hennessy. For this special edition, ‘new and emerging’ describes a writer who has not yet published a book of stories or novel with commercial distribution. Online contributors for this edition will be paid $120 per story.
An opportunity exists for an emerging editor to work on one of these online fiction editions, to be published in June 2015. Overland is also looking to expand its team of fiction readers.
Since 2007, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize has been Australia’s richest competition for new and emerging poets. This year again the competition attracted hundreds of high-calibre entries.
Overland is seeking fiction from new and emerging writers for a special online edition to be curated by Khalid Warsame. Khalid is a Brisbane-based writer of essays, short stories, memoir and screenplays, who occasionally produces and directs short films.
In May of next year, Overland is publishing an issue showcasing the work of some of our closest writerly neighbours: those residing in Aotearoa / New Zealand. This special edition will be guest edited by long-time Overland contributor and columnist Giovanni Tiso, with Jolisa Gracewood editing the fiction and Robert Sullivan editing the poetry.
Without further ado, here are the winners of the major prizes of the 2014 Overland Subscriberthon.
The following subscribers from Day 6 have won prizes. If you subscribed then and your name is not among them, don’t despair! The major prizes have not yet been drawn.
In 2015 the prize will be awarded to the best short story (limit of 3000 words) by an Indigenous writer who is 30 years or younger at the closing date of the competition.
An opportunity exists for an emerging editor to work on an online edition of fiction for Overland.
Overland is seeking a part-time editorial intern for a three-month period, starting in February 2015. This is a paid position.
The judges – Overland editor Jeff Sparrow, fiction editor Jennifer Mills, deputy editor Jacinda Woodhead, and Victoria University academic and writer Jenny Lee – have finally decided on a shortlist of thirteen stories.
7pm, Friday 14 November
Russian House, Fitzroy
$15 entry. BYO picnic food with drinks available for purchase on the night.
It’s our great pleasure to announce the winners of the inaugural Overland Story Wine Prize.
The Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets, the richest prize in Australia for emerging poets, is now open.
The 2014 major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winning poems will also be published in Overland.
We received around 400 entries for our inaugural Story Wine Prize. The three judges – novelist and Overland contributing editor Clare Strahan, wine writer and critic Campbell Mattinson, and short story writer and novelist Paddy O’Reilly – said they found the stories to be clever and diverse, and of a high standard overall.
Overland is seeking fiction from new and emerging writers for a special online edition to be guest edited by editor and Overland fiction reader, Kate Goldsworthy. Kate has worked for Black Inc, Random House, Allen & Unwin and many other publishing houses.
Overland is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary at the Melbourne Writers’ Festival.
Overland is again seeking digital-born poetry, electronic poetry, poetry in programmable media and codeworks: a poetry that isn’t merely published online but one that is informed, shaped or built by the culture and technology of the programmable machine and the network.
The competition aims to discover the finest in original short fiction by new writers across Australia and New Zealand. With a $6000 first prize and two runner-up prizes of $1000, the award is the most lucrative of its kind in both countries. All three winning stories will also be published in Overland magazine.
Welcome to the Overland Story Wine Prize. The competition aims to discover the finest in original short fiction under a thousand words. The winning story will receive a $3000 first prize and will be published on the label of a Story Wines shiraz, as well as in Overland. Two runners-up will each receive $500.