Booranga
Writers’ Centre acknowledges the Wiradjuri people as the traditional custodians
of the land in which we live and work and write, and pays respects to Elders
past, present and future.
fourW thirty-five: new writing 2026
Submission Guidelines and Booranga Literary Prizes
December 2025
fourW
thirty-five: new writing will be published in July 2026. Submissions are now open and
will close 31st March 2026.
fourW is one of Australia's longest-running
annual anthologies of new poetry and prose from Australian and international
writers. It will be launched in Wagga Wagga and Sydney where we look
forward to some of our contributors reading their work.
For this
issue there will be three Booranga Literary Prizes each worth
$500: one for the best poem, one for the best short story and
one for the best ‘local’ piece. We define 'local' poetically
rather than legislatively, as 'coming from or living in or identifying with'
the land between the Lachlan and the Murray rivers.
All work
submitted for fourW thirty-five will be judged eligible for either the poetry
or prose prizes and, if applicable, for the local prize.
GUIDELINES:
Submissions
must be original poetry or short fiction not previously published in print or
online or submitted for any other prize. Any use of AI assistance will not be
accepted.
Submissions
are welcome from Australian and international writers. We are particularly keen
to encourage work from local, Aboriginal and Torres Strait, and Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse {CaLD) writers.
Formatting
should be: 12-point Times New Roman (fully justified for prose; usually LHS for
poetry – rather than centred, unless the position of the words is part of the
poem’s intended layout); line spacing 1.5; double quotation marks for all
dialogue.
Submit as an
electronic file in Word (not a PDF), attached to an email and sent to: submissions@booranga.com
Please
submit as individual poems or prose works (each work a separate doc) and
include your title in the file name, using the following format for each work:
Poem_Surname plus Title of your piece OR Prose_Surname plus Title of your piece.
Payment (see
below) must be received with submission. No refunds will be given.
Hard copy
submissions will not be accepted.
In your
cover email, please include
an author biography (up to fifty words), your postal address and
telephone number and whether you consider yourself eligible for the ‘local’
prize.
N.B. Works
are read ‘blind’; therefore, we request that you don’t include your
name and address on the page(s) of your submitted work – only in the cover
email message.
Due to the
large volume of work we receive we will not provide individual feedback.
All
successful contributors will receive a copy of the anthology in person or by
mail. Postage for extra copies will incur an additional charge, depending on
the Australia Post going rate.
No payment
is made to the author when work is included in the anthology.
All rights
remain with the author.
Submission
of work signifies that contributors understand and agree to the above
guidelines.
Poetry
•
Submissions are restricted to six poems (usually up to 60 lines each) – six
docs – per writer.
•
All efforts will be made to replicate the formatting provided, subject to fourW editorial
style.
•
Submission cost: $10 per poem
Short
stories
•
Submissions are restricted to three stories – three docs – per writer.
•
Short story word limit is up to 3000 words.
•
Submission cost: $15 per story
Publication
timelines:
• Closing
date for submissions is March 31st. Submissions and
payments received after this date will not be accepted.
•
All submissions will be read by the editorial committee during April/May
2026. The Editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered
into.
•
Contributors selected for publication in fourW thirty-five will
be contacted in May 2026. They will be provided with a proof copy
for approval.
•
Unsuccessful contributors will be advised of the committee's decision in June
2026.
•
Prize winners will be announced at the launch of the anthology in July
2026.
Submission fees may be paid by any of the following methods:
·
PayPal: officemanager@booranga.com
Ref: Surname, 4W Poetry or Prose
·
Direct Deposit to Booranga Bank account
Wagga
Wagga Writers Writers
NAB Wagga
Wagga
BSB: 082
811
Acc.
Number: 02951 4435
Ref:
Surname, 4W Poetry or Prose
- Online by card as per links
below Via Square
Poem submission fee $10
Scan QR Code
|
|
or Copy & Paste link to a new browser tab
https://square.link/u/xqJkwv8Y
Prose submission fee $15
Scan QR Code
or Copy & Paste link to a new browser tab
https://square.link/u/3jDDzN1i
