This site exists in order to provide a conveniently accessible online index for the New Zealand literary journal brief, founded by Alan Loney in 1995, and carried on (under a succession of editors) until now.
No copyright works have been reproduced here, with the exception of covers and contents pages for the various publications produced by the Writers Group - brief's community of subscribers and contributors - over this period. Some of these works are available elsewhere on the internet, however, and hyperlinks to these locations have been provided wherever possible.
There are individual pages below for the contents of each issue, supplemented by an alphabetical index of the contributions of each author. A short history of brief has also been provided, with a selection of various of the statements and manifestos issued by its editors at different times, as well as a list of the books published to date by the magazine.
For up-to-date information on submission policies, subscription rates, and any other information about the journal, please go to the official website at http://www.briefthejournal.nz; alternatively, you can email the present managing editor, Olivia Macassey, or write to her c/o the following address:
brief
1416 Kaiaua Road
RD 3
Pokeno 2473
New Zealand
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Subscription rates:
$NZ 30 for two issues post free in Aotearoa.
$55 for institutional addresses.
$50 for Australia.
$70 elsewhere.
$20 for single issues and back issues.
Please make cheques payable to:
The Writers Group
(address as above)
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Upcoming issue:
Call for Submissions to
brief
the magazine formerly known as:
A Brief Description of the Whole World
![](http://web.archive.org./web/20211018133851im_/https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IgL-BeASW9g/W1j5NI1u2mI/AAAAAAAAFk8/m0TPyx5b8Vs1qIN-myvvQxYEhaILbwX6QCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-07-26%2Bat%2B10.21.59.png)
Brief has re-emerged and is seeking all manner of changes, transformations, alterations, mutations, re-orderings, transfigurations, conversions, variations, reorganizations, evolutions, metamorphoses, modifications, and reconstructions.
Issue 57 will be a general issue (no theme).
Submissions are to be received by the end of October, 2018, and can be emailed to brief.the.journal@gmail.com. Non-electronic submissions up to A4 in size can be mailed to the editor by prior arrangement.
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The magazine was founded in December 1995 by Alan Loney. Its format was simple: A4 sheets, copied exactly as their authors wrote them, stapled together, then distributed with bio notes and a cover. Subsequent editors and guest editors of brief since 1999 include John Geraets, Jack Ross, Brett Cross, Bill Direen, Ted Jenner, Jen Crawford, Scott Hamilton, Hamish Dewe, Richard von Sturmer, Bronwyn Lloyd, Michael Arnold, Alex Wild and Olivia Macassey - the current Managing Editor of brief.
Brief is a space for new experimental writing, work that does something interesting, adventurous, challenging, or exploratory. It publishes poetry, prose, essays & criticism, hybrid forms, and occasionally visual art. Contributors receive an issue of the journal as payment. Website: www.briefthejournal.nz.
The present format of brief is A5, perfect-bound, with bio-notes and a card cover, but although the scale is smaller than the original, the magazine continues to adhere to the original policy of reprinting work exactly as it is sent, which enables contributors to pay close attention to the design and layout of their pages.
If you feel your writing fits the brief for brief then our editors will be very pleased to receive your submission.
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- Preface
- Manifestos & Reviews
- Breakdown by Author
- Breakdown by Issue:
- No 56, October 2018: 126 pp.
- No 55, January 2017: 143 pp.
- No 54 - Love, July 2016: 136 pp.
- No 53, November 2015: 150 pp.
- No 52, January 2015: 119 pp.
- No 51 - The Outer Link, September 2014: [i] + 125 pp.
- No 50, February 2014: 160 pp.
- No 49, September 2013: 156 pp.
- No 48, June 2013: Bill Direen, The Ballad of Rue Belliard: 132 pp.
- No 47 - The Mid City Arcade Project, April 2013: 138 pp.
- No 46 - Survival, November 2012: 156 pp.
- Nos 44-45 - Oceania, May 2012: 230 pp.
- No 43, November 2011: 104 pp.
- No 42, May 2011: 111 pp.
- No 41, December 2010: 110 pp.
- No 40, July 2010: 134 pp.
- No 39, March 2010: 132 pp.
- No 38, August 2009: 104 pp.
- No 37 - the exotic, April 2009: 118 pp.
- No 36 - The NZ Music Issue, September 2008: 126 pp.
- No 35 - a brief world order, September 2007: 132 pp.
- No.34 - war, February 2007: 188 pp.
- No 33 - exile and home, March 2006: 150 pp.
- No 32 - Joanna Margaret Paul, May 2005: 120 pp.
- No 31 - Kultur, October 2004: 120 pp.
- No 30 - Kunst, October 2004: 120 pp.
- No 29 - more fun than you've ever seen, March 2004: 102 pp.
- No 28 - Alan Brunton, October 2003: 126 pp.
- No 27 - season of the remakes, June 2003: 104 pp.
- No 26 - Smithymania, January 2003: 118 pp.
- No 25 - trains at a glance, October 2002: 111 pp.
- No 24 - less formal than bull, July 2002: 84 pp.
- No 23, March 2002: 100 pp.
- No 22, December 2001: 100 pp.
- No 21 - aesthetics, September 2001: 93 pp.
- No 20 - aesthetics, June 2001: 68 pp.
- No 19, March 2001: 80 pp.
- No 18, December 2000: 100 pp.
- No 17 - Loney, September 2000: 96 pp.
- No 16, June 2000: 85 pp.
- No 15, March 2000: 86 pp.
- No 14, December 1999: 110 pp.
- No 13, September 1999: 93 pp.
- No 12, June 1999: Leigh Davis, Willy’s Gazette (1983): vii + 111 pp.
- Nos 10 & 11, October 1998: 47 pp.
- No 9, April 1998: 55 pp.
- No 8, December 1997: 76 pp.
- No 7, September 1997: 66 pp.
- No 6, July 1997: 56 pp.
- No 5, May 1997: 58 pp.
- No 4, November 1996: 82 pp.
- No 3, June 1996: 67 pp.
- No 2, March 1996: 52 pp.
- No 1, December 1995: 70 pp.
brief
Editor: Olivia Macassey
Editor: Alex Wild & Brett Cross
Editor: Alex Wild
Editor: Jack Ross
Editor: Brett Cross
Editor: Alex Wild
Editor: Bronwyn Lloyd
Editor: Scott Hamilton
Editor: Hamish Dewe
Editor: William (Bill) Direen
Editor: Richard von Sturmer
Editor: Ted Jenner
Editor: Michael Arnold
Editor: Jen Crawford
Editor: Michael Arnold
Editors: Brett Cross & Bill Direen
Editor: Brett Cross
Editor: Scott Hamilton
Editor: Jack Ross
Editor: John Geraets
A Brief Description of the Whole World
Ab.ww / Loney
Ab.WW / AbdotWW
ABDOTWW / description
ABDOTWW
Editor: Alan Loney
- K. M. Ross. Falling Through the Architect. ISBN 0-476-01578-2. Auckland: The Writers Group, September 2005.
- Kendrick Smithyman. Campana to Montale: Versions from Italian. Edited by Jack Ross. ISBN 0-476-00382-2. Auckland: The Writers Group, October 2004.
- Jack Ross. A brief index: A breakdown by issue & author of 7 years / 26 issues of brief, the magazine formerly known as: A Brief Description of the Whole World / ABDOTWW / description / ABdotWW / Ab.ww / brief. &c., December 1995 – January 2003. ISSN 1175-9313. Auckland: The Writers Group, February 2003.
- --. Supplement 1. A breakdown by issue & author of 3 years / 7 issues of brief ... June 2003 – May 2005. Auckland: The Writers Group, 2005.
- Sugu Pillay. The Chandrasekhar Limit and Other Stories. Auckland: The Writers Group, December 2002.
- Alan Loney. Reading / Saying / Making: Selected Essays. Auckland: The Writers Group, 2001.