My first year as Overland fiction editor


A new issue of Overland (205) is out this week and marks the end of my first year as its fiction editor. So I thought it would be a good moment to reflect on this year of fiction, especially in light of the debates last year about the possibility of ‘politically engaged fiction’, which I said was the sort of fiction I was hoping to publish in Overland.

At the time I made it clear that by this phrase I didn’t mean social realism. I gave a few examples of the sort of fiction I did mean, including Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria, Zamyatin’s We, The Master and Margarita, 100 Years of Solitude, Brave New World, 1984. Other examples that spring to mind are Animal Farm, Catch-22, Vonnegut Jr’s Slaughterhouse-5 and Player Piano, Orhan Pamuk’s Snow, Christos Tsiolkas’s Dead Europe. These are among my all-time favourite novels. I think of them as ‘politically engaged fiction’.

Before I started at Overland, I’d given up working as an editor. The last book I edited was Christos Tsiolkas’s The Slap in 2007. But when Jeff Sparrow asked if I’d be interested in becoming Overland’s fiction editor, much to my surprise I said yes, immediately – because it was for Overland.

I love Overland’s political bent, its passion, argumentation, provocation, vision, big-picture writing about things that matter. I’ve especially enjoyed its feisty engagements with literature – as if literature had weight, really mattered – such as Alexis Wright’s essay on Oodgeroo Noonuccal, ‘A Weapon of Poetry’, and its meaty 3-person review of Christos Tsiolkas’s Dead Europe. Nothing less would have enticed me back to editing other people’s writing.

The first ever issue of Overland, Spring 1954, announced: ‘Overland is a new magazine, devoted to creative writing … It will make a special point of developing writing talent in people of diverse background. We ask of our readers, however inexpert, that they write for us; that they share our love of living, our optimism, our belief in the traditional dream of a better Australia.’ I like this ethos, its inclusiveness.

The early magazine’s focus on Realist fiction and its enthrallment to the 1890s Australia of Joseph Furphy, Henry Lawson and the Bulletin have been left behind, but its guiding vision has not. For me these words from Overland 7 best capture its view: ‘Writers are men and women who record the storms of history as they rage through the lives and minds of people.’ I think Overland continues to record the storms of history, be they political, economic, social, technological, cultural, environmental.

This year I’ve been looking for stories which grapple with, oh, the issues of the day, the times, the era (these were contested terms in 2010). I don’t think all literature must or should do this, but I do think it’s appropriate that Overland publishes fiction that attempts to do so – and when it does not, then I’m no longer interested in the job.

In the four issues of 2011, I’ve published eight stories and two novel extracts. I’ve published stories I love, stories that have moved me in one way or another, to laughter, tears, rage, wonder, astonishment, or all and more. And of course, given the above, I’ve tried to publish stories with a political dimension, however loose. And I’ve also tried to publish from across Australia and across genres – realist, surreal, science fiction, spoof, satire, comedy, historical – with a mix of established and new voices.

Here are the stories I’ve published this year:

Issue 202: ‘Finders, Keepers’ by Clare Strahan, a brilliant sci-fi reduction ad absurdum of consumer capitalism.

Issue 203: ‘Under skin, in blood’ by Larissa Behrendt, her first published short story, about hidden lethal invasions of Indigenous Australia.

The long way’, Paul Mitchell’s poignant story about men, land and cars in the aftermath of the Victorian bushfires.

Daylight’, Susan Bennett’s funny, angry spoof of the contentious blockbuster Twilight.

Issue 204: ‘How to tell if you’re the red herring’ – Jacinda Woodhead’s fierce and surreal vision of the illogic of racism.

An extract from Charlotte Wood’s rollercoaster new novel Animal People about the fine lines we draw between animals and humans.

Reading coffee’ by Anthony Panegyres, his powerful story of a young girl on the goldfields of Western Australia during the anti-Greek uprisings of 1916.

Issue 205: ‘Experiment No. 1 in Animal Tourism’ by Stephen Muecke, his elliptical fragments on the transportation of a Tasmanian devil.

‘Letter to a small village’, Louise Pine’s disturbing tale of the death of a child on a road in Africa.

The first published extract (a fragment) from Alexis Wright’s forthcoming novel The Swan Book.

Being Overland fiction editor is an exciting and agonising job. I’ve had to turn down many good stories – dozens arrive each month and we can only publish a dozen a year. I don’t see every story that’s submitted to Overland. They are read by a dedicated team of volunteers now guided by Clare Strahan. All of us who work with Overland’s fiction do it for love, not money, so I’d like to give a huge thank you to all those who have devoted their time this year to this important activity: publishing and promoting new short fiction in Australia.

I’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank by name the following tireless volunteers: Clare Strahan, Joshua Mostafa, Kathleen McLeod, SJ Finn, Trish Bolton, Miranda Camboni, Boris Kelly, Emily Laidlaw, Louise Pine, Mark William Jackson, Lina Vale, Elizabeth Reichhardt, Claire Zorn, Julie Perrin and Georgia Claire. THANK YOU SO MUCH. As I’m sure you’re only too aware, we couldn’t do it without you.

And the fiction doesn’t stop here. First up in 2012 Overland will be publishing James Bradley’s first zombie story, Paul Dawson’s spoof of twenty-first century academia and SJ Finn’s story of living beyond the law. So stay tuned.

Jane Gleeson-White

Jane Gleeson-White is a writer and editor with degrees in literature and economics. She’s a PhD student in creative writing and the author of Double Entry (2011), Australian Classics (2007) and Classics (2005). She blogs at bookish girl and tweets at @janeLGW.

More by Jane Gleeson-White ›

Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places.

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  1. Thank you so much Jane and thank you so much Clare.

    What a privilege it is to be part of such a wonderfully committed group and to have the opportunity to read stories that have challenged and confronted me and whose words have made me weep and laugh out loud.

  2. Glad being edited by me was good experience Clare – if long?! Good for me too baby. haha.

    And I totally agree about this committed group Trish – including you and all bloggers, volunteers, writers themselves of course, all led by excellent Jeff, Jacinda, Rjurik, Alex. It’s been a total pleasure.

    And yes Jeff, onwards and upwards to the zombie apocalypse. Is there a secret to killing a zombie corporation/financial institution? Perhaps James Bradley knows. Or perhaps they just self-destruct once we stop feeding them our brains? Occupy etc.

  3. So good to evoke such an unshakeable sentiment, Jane, as those original words. It’s the piece of sensibleness that most people know and which has, possibly (apart from the incredible diligence associated with the magazine) kept Overland the magazine it is. Words could hardly speak better. It is the bit that we know should survive. So thanks for reminding us.

  4. Looking forward to testing your warcry against the zombies MWJ!
    And Finn – how right you are, and I like your words ‘unshakeable sentiment’ about those original words.
    And thanks for your exclamations Rjurik, from your winter forest.

  5. Hi there,
    I totally understand that you all must be inundated with submissions – as the post states. However, it would be great to get an email rejection rather than login and see ‘declined’ next to my narrative. I figure that taking the time to write a covering letter deserves even just one line rejection.

  6. Dear anonymous – I’m extremely sorry to hear that’s happened and it definitely should not have happened. I have never declined a story without sending a letter to the author and as far as I know no one else at Overland has either. If you could send an email to Overland so we know which story you’re talking about, I’ll follow it up.
    In the meantime – I apologise. You are so right: all submissions deserve a reply. That’s how we run it.

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