Varnish is a literary journal dedicated to ensuring that exceptional written works last.

Proudly independent, we believe that a greater number of journals that are art-driven rather than profit-driven nurtures a broadening space for literary culture; more opportunities for writers to be published grants readers access to a greater diversity of voices.

Our aim is to publish evocative written art with timeless beauty, with the writer’s vision enriched and preserved beyond the moment in which it is published. We encourage writers to find joy in language and be inventive with form.

The online collection, Varnish Online, is a gallery dedicated to exhibiting writers whose careers could falter without their first publication, those still on the outside of the constrained publishing industry.

Our flagship print product, Varnish, is a collection of works selected purely for artistic merit, stylistic ingenuity, and complex examinations of lived experience. The print journal is a tactile object, containing the written work of an array of artists. To us, the physicality of print anchors creative community and deepens emotional resonance with literature.

Varnish is based on the unceded lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong / Boon Wurrung peoples of the Kulin and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.