Voiceworks is now open for submissions to Issue #136, 'Quits!'
Theme: Quits!
VOICEWORKS QUITS! But from what? From who? From where? Why are there parts of ourselves we must leave behind? Will we ever be the same after calling it quits? In the aftermath of abandonment, are we new beings, spawned—stumbling, saved—simply from that five-letter, one-syllable word?
What is it that you are quitting? Which of the never-ending pathways are you choosing to break away from? How will you find catharsis in the fallout? How will you dismantle the myth of perseverance at all costs? How will your ego bleed and break out into the post-quit beyond? How will you defy the arc you’re destined to follow?
Quits! wants you to snap the pencil in half, close the book, leave the job, shed the identity—to finally say: enough. It's about the power—and the risk—of choosing your own ending. Explore the weight and wonder of abandonment as an art form, surrender as survival, refusal as clarity. Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is ruin the ending that has been written for you.
Blurb by EdCommers Adela Teubner and Chay Newman.
Print Guidelines
Voiceworks accepts fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art and comics, but before you send your work our way, here are some rules:
We are only able to publish writers and artists who are under the age of 25 (that is, 24 and under) at the time of submission.
We only accept work by people living in Australia (including international students) or by Australians living overseas.
We only consider previously unpublished work.
Each category has its own submission page with specific guidelines, but here are the basics:
Fiction: send no more than two stories, each no more than 3,000 words.
Poetry: send no more than three poems, each no more than 100 lines. We recommend reading our poetry guide here before sending us your work.
Nonfiction: we recommend that you pitch your nonfiction work before sending it to us. Head here for advice on how to construct your pitch and write good nonfiction. For completed work, send no more than two pieces, each no more than 3,000 words.
Art and comics: please keep in mind, we print in duotone (only two colours of ink) and our page dimensions are 170 x 245 mm. We recommend you pitch your comics before sending them to us. For advice on how to pitch your comics, check out our handy guide here. Please send no more than three artworks or comics.
We encourage you to submit across genres, but please send us no more than four submissions in total (excluding comics and art).
Deadlines
Nonfiction pitches—Sunday 7 September, 11:59PM AEST
Fiction, completed nonfiction and poetry—Sunday 14 September, 11:59pm AEST
Art, comics and comic pitches—Sunday 28 September, 11:59pm AEST
Rates of pay
$100 for written work and art
$150 for multi-page comics or suites of art
Please read the information carefully and contact Voiceworks Editor Joel Keith if you have any questions or concerns.
Remember, you don’t have to stick to the theme! Our themes are a prompt more than a selection criteria—a springboard to get the creative ideas flowing. Most of all, we just want good work.