Editorial Address:

Southerly
c/- Department of English
University of Sydney NSW 2006


Submission guidelines for publication in Southerly


General

1) Southerly is a refereed journal, published three times each year.

2) There are no particular deadlines for unsolicited submissions. These are considered throughout the year.

3) The Southerly editors will consider material in each of the categories below.

4) In all categories, Southerly accepts material by newer writers as well as established, published writers.

5) Although a portion of each issue is given over to a particular theme, it is not expected that writers submitting to the journal will be aware of these themes. Since each issue is prepared many months in advance of its publication, it will not be of any particular advantage to potential contributors to enquire about the themes of forthcoming issues.

6) The editors will not consider material that has been previously published in any form.

7) Southerly pays for first serial rights only. After publication the rights revert to the author.

8) Southerly is a journal of and for the discussion of Australian Literature and the publication of the best in new Australian writing. Submissions not clearly related to either of these areas are unlikely to be accepted.

9) Writers considering sending material to Southerly are strongly advised to consult a copy of the journal (preferably an issue published after 2000) before making their submission.

10) All submissions must be made via hard copy sent through the post. Unsolicited electronic (email) submissions are not considered.

11) All submissions must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage and of sufficient size to enable the editors to return the work to the sender if it is not accepted. Contributors residing overseas must include sufficient International Reply Coupons (IRCs) with their submissions, as well as a self-addressed envelope (SAE). Submissions not accompanied by an SSAE or an SAE with IRCs will be recycled as waste paper if not accepted.

12) Manuscripts should be typed, preferably in Microsoft Word, using 12-point Times Roman, with 1.5 or double spacing, on one side of the paper only. Please use "smart" quotes where appropriate.

13) It is helpful for the editors if your work is accompanied by a brief covering letter, in which you provide your postal address, telephone number(s) and e-mail address, if you have one, and on which you have clearly indicated the date of your submission.

14) The editors of Southerly deal with such a large volume of manuscripts that it is rarely possible to provide comments on individual submissions. Please do not court disappointment by requesting that they do provide comments.


Fiction

1) Southerly considers short stories of many styles and genres, and the fiction published covers a very wide range of topics and themes. However, we tend not to publish science fiction, fantasy, horror, or popular romance stories.

2) The maximum word length for fiction submissions is 5,000. There is no minimum. You may submit up to three stories at a time.

3) Southerly does not normally accept extracts from novels.

4) A minimum of $100 is paid for short stories.


Poetry

1) The normal size of a poetry submission to Southerly is three to five poems, to a length of somewhere between three and ten pages in total. Larger submissions are not encouraged (Southerly does not consider whole manuscripts, that is, books or collections of poetry; these will be returned immediately to the sender.)

2) Southerly considers a wide range of poetry styles, from the traditional to the postmodern (etc.), and publishes poetry of a very wide range of topics and themes.

3) A minimum of $60 is paid for a poem published in Southerly. Generally the editors aim to pay at a higher rate than this.

Essays and Reviews

1) For articles and essays there is no special list of themes in which we are particularly interested. Authors and scholars are asked to bear in mind, however, that Southerly is a journal of Australian literature.

2) Southerly prefers endnotes to footnotes. These should be prepared, wherever possible, in accordance with the Modern Language Association (MLA) guidesheet. Writers whose work is accepted will be asked to adapt their endnotes to this system if they have not already done so.

3) While reviews are normally arranged by the editors, unsolicited reviews are sometimes considered. Reviews of a single book will normally be of approximately 1,000 words (of three or four books, 3,000 words).

4) Although the editors will consider essays on such topics, Southerly does not normally consider reviews of film, theatre or music/concerts.

If Your Work Is Accepted

1) You will be asked to now (and only now) submit your work electronically, and to accompany this work with a biographical note of 25-30 words.

2) You will be notified in due course of the amount you will be paid for your work, and requested to submit an invoice for this amount. You will also be requested to cite your Australian Business Number (ABN) on this invoice. If you do not have an ABN, you will be requested to complete and submit a Statement by Supplier form, giving your reason for not having an ABN. One of the possible reasons is that you are regarded by the Australian Tax Office as a 'hobbyist', that is, you do not earn a regular income from your writing.