If you subscribe to Overland you will be able to read, alongside all the great fiction and non-fiction we publish, a whole range of poetry—10 pages per print issue of the latest work from some of the best poets, emerging and established, across Australia. This year saw outstanding new poems by Panda Wong, Heather Taylor Johnson, Josie/Jocelyn Suzanne, Jini Maxwell and Mitchell Welch, among many others, as well as the unmissable winner and runners up of the 2022 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize, Abbra Kotlarczyk, Yeena Kirkbright and Chris Brown.
We have also expanded our online Friday poem series by publishing some fantastic, often topical poems by the likes of joanne burns, Leni Shilton, Ouyang Yu, Jill Jones, Louis Armand, and the late Catherine Vidler, who passed away a few months ago (RIP), and whose visual poetry we were permitted to publish—a beautiful, previously unpublished “Chaingrass” poem beside two others we featured in 2016.
The Friday poem series continues today on the first day of Subscriberthon with “our neighbours poem”, by Ender Başkan. This prose poem, somewhat in the style of Ania Walwicz’s performance poems, is an expansive take on every aspect you might think of when considering the neighbourly, including various positive qualities that are so glaringly lacking, to put it mildly, in many nation states at present.
There’s still one week to get your entries in for the 2023 Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New & Emerging Poets, which will be judged by poets Autumn Royal (author of The Drama Student), Elena Gomez (author of Admit the Joyous Passion of Revolt), Andy Jackson (author of Human Looking, winner of the 2022 Prime Minister’s Literary Award and the ALS Gold Medal) and myself. Submit here by the end of Friday 10 November! And if you subscribe first, you can enter at a discount price. We’re looking forward to reading your poems.
I’m otherwise looking forward to publishing new poetry in the forthcoming issues of Overland, in which subscribers will get to read poems from the 2023 David Harold Tribe Poetry Award, a once-in-every-five-years prize out of the University of Sydney that is currently the richest for a single poem in Australia. We will publish the incredibly moving winning poem about the intergenerational traumas and ongoing resilience of Aboriginal women, “Water under the bridge”, by Wiradjuri writer Jeanine Leane, alongside some of the shortlisted poems, in issue 253. These are brilliant long poems not normally printed in literary journals, and the only way to be the first to read all this vital new poetic work is to subscribe!
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 (acrylic/oil on canvas) by Sofia Sabbagh, sponsored by the kind folk at CoPower.
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 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?
For our first daily prize we have a seriously exciting haul for you, including:
- A 1-year digital membership to Kill Your Darlings
- The “Corpo Drone Starter Pack” from Kuuracorp
- The latest issue of Aniko magazine
- A $50 voucher for Paperback Bookshop
- A double pass to see Caroline Polachek at The Capitol, thanks to the Wheeler Centre
- 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
