Published in Overland Issue Print Issue 199 Winter 2010 · Writing / Main Posts Salt Adam Ford He steps out onto the dry, white lakebed. Hears the crunch of crystals underfoot. Tries not to imagine whiteness creeping over rubber and dusting leather on its journey to his ankle. He keeps his feet moving all the same. He understands the science: the shallow root systems of introduced plants, the water that rises from deep underground, bringing with it things that are best kept buried. He invokes the mantra of electron transfer, of ionic bonds that form when water evaporates. Magnesium sulphate. Calcium sulphate. Sodium chloride. He knows the physics and the chemistry of it all, but when he bends down on one knee and takes a pinch between his thumb and fingers, feels the grains’ sharp edges intent on piercing skin, he knows it isn’t salt he’s standing on. It’s the powdered glass they put into the flour. Adam Ford Adam Ford is the author of Man Bites Dog, The Third Fruit is a Bird, Not Quite the Man for the Job and Heroes and Civilians. He has written for Australian Author, Desktop, Going Down Swinging and Cordite. He blogs at theotheradamford. More by Adam Ford › 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 First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202315 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ($6500) Editorial Team Supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, and named after the late Neilma Gantner, this prize seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This competition is open to all writers, nationally and internationally, at any stage of their writing career. First published in Overland Issue 228 8 September 202326 September 2023 · Main Posts Announcing the 2023 Judith Wright Poetry Prize ($9000) Editorial Team 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 anywhere in the world. In 2023, 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.
