In this highly anticipated new issue, we encounter brilliant examples of what writing can do in a hypernormal time – whether that's Benjamin Gready on the absurdity of fieldwork on land under active occupation or Zahid Gamieldien's short story about a dancing rat who finds itself enmeshed in systems too shadowy to be true. But, as with the emotional cycles of resistance, hope and snark are features too. Dan Hogan considers the lawn as a class obsession, and π.ο. asks a question: why people hate poetry? We also read about a rakhasa family who passes on wisdom to their young kin, a story by Shefali Mathew. And you’ll find new poetry by Eli McLean, Fiona Hile and Sol Chan, among others, as well as a comic by Safdar Ahmed, plus heaps more. Co-editors Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk write in the editorial, "Writing always matters, but it matters most directly in the face of this kind of thuggish assault on language, our first and last commons. We can’t let the bastards have it.”
Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets seeks poetry by writers who have published no more than one collection of poems under their own name (that is writers who’ve had zero collections published, or one solo collection published). It remains one of the richest prizes for emerging poets, and is open to poets from Australia and New Zealand.
In 2025, the major prize is $6000, with a second prize of $2000 and a third prize of $1000. All three winners will be published in Overland.
Entries open 10am Thursday 9 October and will close midnight Friday 5 December 2025. Please read the entry guidelines below to confirm eligibility.
Entry fees are $12 for subscribers and $20 for non-subscribers. You can also take out the special prize subscription, which gets you discounted entry and a subscription to Overland.
The judges for this year’s prize are: Shastra Deo, Harry Reid, and Andrew Sutherland.
Guidelines
A final note on submission guidelines:
In 2020 the Overland editorial team decided to include an additional question for entrants upon submission of their work to all major prizes. While we uphold the integrity of the blind judging process, it often places limitations on judges to properly assess the nature of a submission. Entries which speak directly to the experiences of marginalised or vulnerable communities are often difficult to assess with no knowledge as to whether the author has the relevant experience or cultural authority. It can be an agonising process for a judge to decide whether a piece is appropriate for publication when experience or identities are assumed or guessed. We want to encourage imaginative and provocative submissions without creating an additional burden for our judges, or potentially restricting the selection of sensitive pieces. You can read more about the policy here.
Entrants will have the option to answer the following voluntary question:
If your entry takes up the voice or experience of a marginalised or vulnerable identity, do you identify yourself as being a part of that community or experience? For instance, if your piece is written in the voice of an Aboriginal person, are you Aboriginal? etc.
Your response to this question is not mandatory, and your response will only be visible to internal editors, unless our judges request to know your response after the consideration of a piece.
New subscriber – $82 Take out a new subscription and enter the Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
New subscriber – $82
Take out a new subscription and enter the Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
Current subscriber – $12 Current subscribers enter the competition here.
Current subscriber – $12
Current subscribers enter the competition here.
Non-subscriber – $20 Non-subscribers enter the competition here.
Non-subscriber – $20
Non-subscribers enter the competition here.
