Submissions Closing Friday 2 October

So you’ve written a short story, and think Banksia Journal might be the right publication for it? Excellent! Read on to find out what we’re looking for, and how to submit to us.

Payment for accepted stories is AUD $0.01 (1 cent) per word, with a minimum payment of AUD $10.

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What we want

We want original speculative fiction of 3,000 words or fewer. We consider any story with elements that could not happen in the real world—for example, magic, the supernatural, or unachievable (as of yet) technologies—to be speculative. Speculative genres include science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

We are looking for works by new Australian, Aotearoa New Zealander, or Australasian region writers. We will prioritise writers with no, or very few speculative fiction writing credits to their name; we want to help you get a foot in the door of the speculative fiction publishing industry.

As one of only a few short speculative fiction publishers in Australia, we want to publish fiction by Australians for Australians. We are particularly interested in stories drawing on Australian culture or history.

All works must be written in English. We accept simultaneous submissions, just make sure to let us know if your story is accepted elsewhere, so we can withdraw it from consideration.

What we don’t want

We will not publish poetry, stories that are over 3,000 words, do not contain any speculative elements, or are not written in English. We are only looking for new, original fiction; we do not accept reprints, or fanfiction. We are not looking for works that are neither written by Australasian authors, nor about the region (See: What are Australian voices?).

If any of the above describe your story, we’re afraid this isn’t the publication for you. We wish you luck finding a home for it elsewhere.

We are not accepting multiple submissions. To keep our workload manageable, please send us only one story at a time. And please, do not resubmit stories we have previously rejected.

We will not accept anything generated by generative AI/large language models such as ChatGPT.

We do not want to see anything that endorses or glorifies bigotry or harm towards marginalised or vulnerable people.

How to submit to us

So, you’re a new writer with a 3,000 word English language speculative fiction story you think we’ll like? We’re excited to see it! Here’s how to send it to us.

Please email your submission to editors@banksiajournal.com, with the subject line SUBMISSION Surname Work Title. For example, SUBMISSION Lee Witches? What Witches?. Attach your story as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file, and include a brief cover letter in the body of the email.

The story format

Please format your story according to Shunn’s Modern Manuscript Format.

Please use black, 12pt, Times New Roman (or a similar serif font). At the top of the first page, include your name, contact information, and approximate word count. In the header of subsequent pages, include your surname, work’s title (or an abbreviated form) and the page number. We do not need your postal address.

Save your work as a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file, named according to the format Surname_Work_Title. Your file should look something like this: Lee_Witches_What_Witches.docx.

The cover letter

In the body of your email, please write a brief cover letter. This can be addressed to Brittany, or you can just say “Hello”. It should include your work’s title, genre, and (approximate) word count. If you have them, you may also include any previous publishing credits.

We would also appreciate if you include content warnings for any particularly graphic, or sensitive content. This may include graphic depictions of gore or violence, explicit sexual content, or discussion of sensitive issues such as racism or homophobia.

We are aware genre can serve as a content warning in its own right; we expect a horror story to be horrifying! We also recognise whether something is graphic, or sensitive enough to warrant a warning is subjective. We leave it to your discretion as to whether your work requires any content warnings.

You may, if you wish, include any further information you think is relevant to your story.

You do not need to include an author biography.

Here is an example of a perfectly adequate brief cover letter:

What’s next?

Once we’ve had a chance to read your story, and decide whether it’s right for Banksia Journal, we will email you to let you know if it’s been accepted.

If your story is rejected, we’re sorry, and we wish you the best of luck finding a home for it elsewhere.

If your story is accepted (yay!) We’ll let you know when it’s slated to appear online, and ask for a short author biography, and photo if you’re up for it, to display with your story.

You will be paid AUD $0.01 (1 cent) per word for your story via PayPal, with a minimum payment of AUD $10, and maximum payment of AUD $30. If you don’t have PayPal, let us know, and we can work out a different payment method.

We will ask for first digital serial rights to your story, and six months exclusive rights after publication. After these six months, you can submit you story elsewhere as a reprint, or publish it yourself, with attribution to Banksia Journal. We ask for perpetual rights to publish in other formats. This means that if, for example, we later decide to put together a print anthology, we have the rights to include your story. You retain the copyright to your story.

Too long; didn’t read

• 3,000 word maximum length
• Prose written in English
• Speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, horror, and related (sub)genres
• By Australasian writers, for Australasian readers
• Story should be a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file, titled Surname_Work_Title; e.g. Lee_Witches_What_Witches.docx
• Format according to Shunn’s Modern Manuscript Format; use black, 12pt, Times New Roman
• Email to editors@banksiajournal.com with the subject line SUBMISSION Surname Story Title; e.g. SUBMISSION Lee Witches? What Witches?
• Payment for accepted stories is AUD $0.01 per word (min. AUD $10, max. AUD $30) via PayPal

So send us your story! We’re excited to hear from you!