submission guidelines
for harvest
ISSUE TWO DEADLINES
16 May - closing date for non-fiction pitches
9 June - final closing date for fiction and poetry submissions
SO, YOU’RE ASKING, WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE PUBLISH?
harvest publishes thoughtful and considered non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Our word limits are generous, and our pieces are most likely not the kind of thing you can dash off the night before (although we’re not saying it can’t happen!)
You don’t have to have a publication history as long as your arm, or leg, to submit to harvest. That’s not what we’re about. But we’re not after your school projects, your embittered diatribes to former lovers, your dear-diary entries or your angst-filled poetry, either. We want well-drafted pieces that have gone through a little pruning before they reach our hands.
If you’d like to send us something, but you don’t have anything that fits our categories straight off, why not drop us an email? We’re always happy to hear your idea and see a couple of sample paragraphs. If we’re interested, you can spend the next few weeks watering and pruning your ideas until it’s in a shape we both agree is right.
A WORD ABOUT US BEFORE YOU START
We’d love you to submit to our dear little mag. We’re voracious readers, and we’ll read whatever you send, but please give us a little time. Remember that like you all, we too are tired and haggard from too many late nights and drinking and jobs that don’t fulfill us but pay the bills.
We’re grateful for the effort you put in researching our mag and its influences, and polishing something our readers will enjoy. In return we put in work with your pieces - every writer who submits to us will receive considered feedback. This may take the form of a manuscript assessment or a long thoughtful letter. It all depends on how many submissions we get and how much time we can take on each. Remember, we’re new to this game too!
LENGTH
will vary. We try not to be too prescriptive - why we’d like anywhere between 3,500 and 6,000 words, if your piece falls just a fraction outside these guidelines, send it to us anyway.
Poetry has a limit of 100 lines.
SUBJECT MATTER
Non fiction
is broader than you may think.
We publish literary journalism - that is, journalism that can be imaginative, emotive, sharp, salient or poetic. As a general rule we don’t publish the journalistic, newsy this-happened-then-this-happened style of non-fiction, but every rule can have an exception if you think you have something really good.
What we do publish is personal or reflective pieces that read like stories but are based on fact. Opinion pieces where the writer gets really riled up. Gonzo journalism where you’re right in the thick of the action. Memoir pieces that examine how things were, and how they are. Reviews that use a book or a movie as a frame to discuss wider issues. Social commentary that will make you see the world differently. Sweet, anxious pieces that reveal the writer’s foibles as they cast a discerning light on contemporary society.
Think Truman Capote, think Helen Garner, think Hunter S. Above all, just think!
Fiction
can be anything.
Poetry
can also be on any topic.
Note to poets
We do publish single poems, as well as features*. It will vary from issue to issue, depending on what comes through our letterbox. So feel free to send us a sample of your best poems (two to four) with a bio explaining who you are and what you plan to do with your life.
* Poetry features will consist of a selection of poems from a poet such as yourself, plus an interview with you or an extended biography, to give our readers a sense of where you’re coming from and the themes in your work.
PITCHES
are encouraged and are always most welcome. Send us 300-500 words about your non-fiction or fiction idea, giving as much detail as you can.
Please include the following:
- Who you are
- A brief synopsis of your proposed piece
- An outline of the structure of your proposed piece
- A rough idea of word length
- Influences - if it’s important to the piece. We may need to do a bit of background reading.
Those who include a couple of sample paragraphs will be looked upon favourably.
Pitches should be emailed to the following address:
with ‘NF Pitch’ in subject line.
SUBMISSIONS
are preferable in hard copy, unless you’re sending in poetry. Poetry we’d love to see submitted via email.
We can’t afford to print all the fiction and nonfiction submissions we receive, so if we’re not sent hard copies we have to read off screen. If you’d prefer your work read in hard copy (as we would) please submit it to the following address:
harvest magazine
PO Box 1115
Brighton Road LPO
Elwood 3184
Please include a covering note with contact details such as name, address, email and phone number. And a self-addressed stamped envelope (SSAE in the lingo) would be handy, helping to bring our feedback directly to you.
However, we don’t want to discourage those who are hard up for postage. You can also submit via email to the following address:
In your email please include contact details such as name, address, email and phone number.
OVERSEAS SUBMISSIONS
can be posted or emailed. We understand postage from Nicaragua can be a bitch, so we won’t hold emailed submissions against you.
FORMATTING
really should be minimal. WordArt is great company at home, but the kind of friend who embarrasses you in professional situations.
All we ask is that you double-space your text and use a font size that’s amenable for the reader, i.e. between 11 point and 16 point.
PAYMENT
$100 for fiction and non-fiction pieces. $100 for a poetry feature. Single poems per quarter page.
We wish we could pay more, but can’t. However, feel free to drop us a line if you suddenly inherit a squillion to lavish on new publishing ventures.
AUTHOR BIOS
must be provided with each piece. They can be as detailed as you like, as long as not more than twenty pages. They shouldn’t be unnecessarily self-congratulatory. They shouldn’t be overly abstract but essentially meaningless, as per current trends. They shouldn’t contain the word ‘postmodern’.
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS
are encouraged. But there’s a limit of three per person. Across all categories.
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED WORK
can’t be considered.
GETTING BACK TO YOU
can vary from a week to a couple of months. It depends how inundated we are, and what else we have on our plates. We can give you the guarantee of reading your piece, though.
Submissions will be returned to those who provide the aforementioned SSAE.
TROUBLESHOOTING
If, by any chance, you’ve sent us something incredible and haven’t heard back in a couple of months, please resend us the piece with a nasty email. It may be our fault, or the wonderful world of modern technology.
OUR INFLUENCES
The Believer
This dapper journal throws its hand at anything - reviews, features, opinion pieces, columns, and we admire that. Worth reading to see how their writers explore ideas in a generous word length.
The Monthly
The Monthly sometimes publishes literary journalism, albeit it mostly from well-known Australian writers. Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man (winner of a Walkley, and also re-published in an issue of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern) is one example of what we really like from this mag.
Voiceworks
One of Australia’s oldest youth magazines, and long-time producer of various literary luminaries. Voiceworks columns are a great way to see how other writers go about exploring an idea and constructing an argument based loosely on theme.
Modern Drunkard magazine
Speaks for itself.
We recommend you look at some of these sources before submitting to our magazine.
LASTLY, WHAT’S NOT FOR US
is fantasy and fan fiction. We hate to be prescriptive, but it’s really not our thing. If you want to challenge our ban with something really clever, go ahead. But only if it’s really clever.
SO, WITH THAT
Good luck! We look forward to seeing something from you soon.
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