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.”
Overland – Australia’s oldest radical literary magazine – has been showcasing brilliant and progressive fiction, poetry, nonfiction and art since 1954. The magazine has published some of Australia’s most iconic writers, and continues to give space to underrepresented voices and brand-new literary talent every single day.
Today, Overland is a triennial print journal (publishing essays, stories and poetry), and an online magazine publishing cultural commentary several days per week, as well as occasional special online editions of fiction and poetry. The magazine also holds events, discussions and debates, hosts a number of major literary competitions, and runs a residency for underrepresented writers.
Overland’s mission is to foster new, original and progressive writing exploring the relationship between politics and culture, especially literature, and to bring that work to as many people as possible. Editorially, Overland is committed to publishing underrepresented perspectives on issues rarely given space in traditional media.
In Overland’s very first edition in 1954, Stephen Murray-Smith noted that the magazine would ‘publish poetry and short stories, articles and criticism by new and by established writers. It will aim high … [but] will make a special point of developing writing talent in people of diverse backgrounds. 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.’
70 years on, Overland maintains this founding editorial vision, though the outlook is more global. The magazine continues to document lesser-known stories and histories, dissect media hysteria and dishonesty, debunk the populist hype of politicians, give a voice to those whose stories are otherwise marginalised, misrepresented or ignored, and point public debate in alternative directions.
Overland accepts unsolicited writing for both the print and online journals, and is committed to paying all its writers.
Overland is published by a not-for-profit organisation on the Register of Cultural Organisations. It depends on its community for support. If you like what you read, please take out a subscription.
Editors-in-chief: Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk
Managing Editor: Cher Tan
Editor – online magazine: Giovanni Tiso
Editor – fiction: Claire Corbett
Editor – poetry: Elena Gomez
Contributing editor: Sam Wallman
Website producer: Connor O’Brien
Media and communications: Emma Caskey
O L Society Limited, ABN 78 007 402 673. PO Box 12256, A’Beckett Street VIC 8006. Incorporated in Victoria.
If you would like to stock Overland, or to purchase a copy, please contact us directly at overland@overland.org.au. Alternatively, see our list of current stockists.
Godfrey Moase (chair): Executive Director United Workers Union, co-founder of Cooperative Power.
Dr Evelyn Araluen: Co-editor of Overland.
Dr Jonathan Dunk: Co-editor of Overland.
Jack Faine: Employment and industrial lawyer at Maurice Blackburn.
Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker: Nyungar writer, technologist and digital rights activist whose work explores our relationship to Country, activism and technology in imagining Indigenous futures.
Shane Reside: Sydney Branch Organiser for the Maritime Union of Australia.
Natasha Seymour (secretary): Overland ex-Managing Editor.
Veronica Sullivan: Festival Director of Melbourne Writers Festival.
Eli Sutherland (they/them) (treasurer): Freelance writer and consultant.
Umeya Chaudhuri (acting treasurer): Industrial officer at Australian Education Union.
Imogen Szumer: employment and industrial lawyer with Maurice Blackburn Lawyers.
Professor Ann Vickery: Head of Writing, Literature and Culture at Deakin University and author of a number of critical monographs and three poetry collections.
Refunds are at the discretion of the management team. We will refund customers for any purchases that aren’t fulfilled, where the fault is our own.
Once your work is up online or in our print magazine, it’s there to stay. Requests to unpublish your work (i.e. take it down from overland.org.au) will be considered by our editorial staff on a case-by-case basis, and granted only in rare cases where there are compelling legal reasons, safety issues, and/or you are at risk of unambiguous harm. In all other cases, we reserve the right to decline your request.
Overland advertising rates 2023 For inquiries and bookings please contact Emma Caskey at emma@overland.org.au. Overland’s audience Overland’s print magazine is distributed quarterly and has almost 1700 subscribers. The majority […]
Our fortnightly newsletter keeps you in the loop with Overland news, highlights the best of Overland online and new writing from the print journal, and regularly collates writing events and […]
A quick survey of the country’s major literary journals reveals just how little diversity exists in Australian publishing. This is, of course, not just a local problem – a recent […]
Contact Overland magazine: Overland magazine PO Box 12256 A’beckett Street VIC 8006 e: overland [at] overland.org.au Administrative inquiries: overland [at] overland.org.au Editorial inquiries: submissions@overland.org.au Reviews, prizes and publicity inquiries: ecaskey@overland.org.au
