Published 4 November 20234 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 It’s Subscriberthon weekend! Reason #2 to subscribe, or, an appeal from our operations manager, Stephanie Holt Editorial Team Subscribe to Overland and every few months a sweet little package of fiction and poetry, essays and critique will drop in your (real or electronic) mailbox. It might come in a plain enough envelope, but it’s dressed in beautiful cover art and spiced up with intriguing images and signature flair. Dip in slowly or whip through it quickly—either way you’ll end up with some great reading and plenty to think about. Behind the scenes, we get to do both—spend time with each piece as it arrives and goes through the editing process, and read each issue as a whole as it gets closer to publication. My first encounter tends to focus on the minutiae (“avant-garde” with a hyphen, and artefact with an “e”, “pièce de résistance” with the accents but “cafe” without, and is that cheeky homophone poetic wordplay, a deliberate pun or just a plain old misspelling?). The last read is a chance to savour the serendipity and surprises. Different resonances will sound for every reader. A chance to look back over the last year reminds me of the explorations of language in #249: Bonnie Etherington losing hers in A Fried Egg in Space, Natalia Figueroa Barroso recovering hers in Mother Tongue, Avi Leibovitch’s talking cat in Ticket. In #251, some heavy-duty opening lines: “To be Indigenous is to share cascading crises with the earth” declares Hana Pera Aoake; “the jumpers I lent never find their way back” writes Luoyang Chen. Subscribe to Overland and support all those writers and so much more—the writers and artists whose work appears on Overland online, the aspiring editors and emerging writers who intern and volunteer with us, the activists and progressive organisations we platform, an online archive of almost seventy years’ worth of writing, each past issue a snapshot of the literary and cultural concerns of its day. There’s no need to subscribe to Overland of course—there’s no paywall, and after a while what doesn’t start online will end up there. But wouldn’t you rather get in early with each new issue, and know you’re helping us keep all this happening while you’re at it? If you support the rich literature, poetry and essays in our (online and print) pages, show us by subscribing, renewing or donating during this one very important week. Anyone who subscribes, renews, donates or gives a gift subscription until midnight Friday 10 November goes into three prize draws—major prizes, daily prizes and regional prizes—for the chance to win some very cool prizes (our coolest yet). You also get a year’s worth of great poetry, essays and literature to look forward to! An annual subscription—which includes four print issues, the daily online magazine, invitations to subscriber events, discounted entry to Overland competitions, and other opportunities and giveaways—is just $70 full and $50 students/unwaged. We also have a $50 digital subscription, for those of you running out of space on your bookshelf! Speaking of prizes, we are extremely thankful to our generous friends and supporters who made this year’s Subscriberthon possible! Read about them and their work here. Major prizes MAJOR PRIZE ONE What’s in this major prize? A stunning original artwork by Sofia Sabbagh, sponsored by the kind folk at CoPower: Snow Gums on Mt Bogong, October 2023. Oil and acrylic on canvas. 452 x 594 mm. “This work is inspired by the snow gums on Mt Bogong, where I supported the research into the decline of bogong moths/debera on Taungerong and Yaithmatang Country. While bogong moths are a migratory, ephemeral keystone species in the ecosystem, snow gums are there all year round, glowing in the wildflower heathland and supporting the colourful community of plants, animals and humans. It is with grief that I paint the alpine region, knowing it is one of the communities most threatened by climate induced catastrophes.” MAJOR PRIZE TWO What’s in this major prize? A double pass to each of La Mama’s primary season shows in 2023/24, plus 2 x drink tickets per show and the La Mama book (MUP). MAJOR PRIZE THREE A HUGE haul of House of Darwin goodies, the hottest 100% Indigenous owned, NT-based social enterprise around. This extra-special pack includes: A limited edition skateboard deck, sporting the original design of NT artist Ray Mudjundi A pack of Salty Plums A Laundry Gallery weaving kit A pack of HOD stickers A HOD stubby holder A HOD enamel mug A HOD Barra cap (coal) A HOD ABC tea towel Today’s daily prize is … What’s in this prize? The latest issue of Aniko magazine A two-for-one voucher to a That Paper Joint workshop A copy of Scrivener, “the go-to app for writers” A $50 voucher for Paperback Bookshop A subscription to Rabbit poetry journal A pack of House of Darwin stickers Regional prizes AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY What’s in this prize? An annual subscription to Westerly magazine An annual subscription to HEAT magazine A $100 voucher for Noisy Ritual wines A $30 voucher for Bookshop by Uro A membership for MARION writers’ centre NEW SOUTH WALES What’s in this prize? A membership to Writing NSW An annual subscription to Griffith Review A 3-class course voucher (plus free practice lesson!) for The Pottery Shed A $30 voucher for Bookshop by Uro A selection of great books from Fremantle Press NORTHERN TERRITORY What’s in this prize? A NT Writers’ membership An $100 Red Kangaroo Books voucher A Magabala Books book pack A $30 voucher for Bookshop by Uro QUEENSLAND What’s in this prize? A 1-year Meanjin subscription, plus a pack of back issues, and a Meanjin tote bag A UQP book pack of recent and newly-released titles 2 x QLD Writers Centre memberships A $30 voucher to Bookshop by Uro SOUTH AUSTRALIA What’s in this prize? An annual Writers SA membership A $30 voucher to Matilda Bookshop An annual subscription to Voiceworks, plus back issues A $30 voucher for Bookshop by Uro A selection of great books from Vagabond Press TASMANIA What’s in this prize? A $100 voucher to Du Cane Brewing A 3-issue subscription to Island magazine A print subscription to Australian Poetry Journal A $30 voucher to Bookshop by Uro VICTORIA What’s in this prize? A double pass to see Caroline Polachek at The Capitol, thanks to the Wheeler Centre A $30 voucher to North Melbourne Books A membership for Writers Victoria, plus issues of The Victorian Writer A Triple R membership and merch pack A $100 voucher for Noisy Ritual wines A $30 voucher to Bookshop by Uro WESTERN AUSTRALIA What’s in this prize? A book pack from Fremantle Press A subscription to Westerly magazine A poetry book pack from Upswell A $30 voucher to Bookshop by Uro TAKE ME TO THE SUBSCRIPTION OPTIONS Editorial Team . More by Editorial Team › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 10 November 202311 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the final day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s most important members get to have their say Editorial Team BORIS A quick guide to another year of Overland, from your trusty feline, Boris. I liked the ginger cat story, though it made my human cry. I liked the talking cat, too, but I’m definitely in the “not wasting my time learning to talk” camp. But reading is good. And writing is fun, though it’s been challenging […] 1 9 November 20239 November 2023 · Subscriberthon 2023 On the second-last day of Subscriberthon, Overland’s co-chief editor Evelyn Araluen speaks truth to power Editorial Team To my friends and comrades, I’m not sure if there’s language to communicate how this last month has utterly changed me. This time a few weeks ago the busyness and chaos of bricolage arts and academic labour had so efficiently distracted me from my anxiety about the upcoming referendum that I forgot to prepare myself for its inevitable conclusion.
