'fourW35' Submission Guidelines (incl. Booranga Literary Prizes)

 

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 31^st 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