At its best, writing bottles evocative and intricate ideas into playful experiments of form that encourage novel examinations of lived experience. This core belief drives our selection of work that gleefully wields words, maximising craft and expression.

Varnish discards traditional word limits and encourages longer works, allowing more thematically complex and timeless explorations, aiming to introduce readers to fresh mental frameworks and unexamined connections.

Give us writing that is as vital today as it will be ten years from now.

Play with form, play with length, play with the reader.

This is a home that’s open to extreme prose and poetry.

Submissions are now CLOSED the first print edition of Varnish. They remain open for Varnish Online.

Find out more about the print edition here.

Please send submissions to:

varnishsubmissions@gmail.com

General Guidelines

You must be eighteen years old or older to submit.
No hard limit on word count*.
All submissions must be previously unpublished.
We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.
While we are an Australian publication, we welcome and encourage international submissions.
Currently, all submissions must be in English.
Please specify the submission category in your email.
Please send us your submission as a Word file or a link to a Google Drive.
By submitting, you agree that, if chosen for publication, excerpts of your work may be published on our social media platforms.

Fiction Guidelines

Do not be afraid to prioritise narrative.
There is no such thing as ‘normal prose’.
Do not be afraid to submit work seen as ‘transgressive’. If you have something to say, don’t be afraid to shock.
Please submit no more than two submissions in a six-month period.
Please use 1.5 line spacing.
Please note that genre fiction is less likely to be accepted, as we are primarily interested in literary fiction. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our content before submitting.

Non-Fiction Guidelines

We encourage inventive essays on any subject, including memoir, review, and cultural criticism.
We encourage essays which respond to other published works.
Please submit no more than two submissions in a six-month period.
Please use 1.5 line spacing.

PoetryGuidelines

We encourage longer form poetry works.
Please submit a maximum of five poems (no more than ten in a six-month period).
Please use whatever line spacing is most applicable.

We are currently unable to provide payment for Varnish Online submissions.

*Works longer than 10,000 words better be good!

At its best, writing bottles evocative and intricate ideas into playful experiments of form that encourage novel examinations of lived experience. This core belief drives our selection of work that gleefully wields words, maximising craft and expression.

Varnish discards traditional word limits and encourages longer works, allowing more thematically complex and timeless explorations, aiming to introduce readers to fresh mental frameworks and unexamined connections.

Give us writing that is as vital today as it will be ten years from now.

Play with form, play with length, play with the reader.

This is a home that’s open to extreme prose and poetry.

Submissions are now CLOSED the first print edition of Varnish. They remain open for Varnish Online.

Find out more about the print edition here.

Please send submissions to:

varnishsubmissions@gmail.com

General Guidelines

You must be eighteen years old or older to submit.

No hard limit on word count*.

All submissions must be previously unpublished.

We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

While we are an Australian publication, we welcome and encourage international submissions.

Currently, all submissions must be in English.

Please specify the submission category in your email.

Please send us your submission as a Word file or a link to a Google Drive.

By submitting, you agree that, if chosen for publication, excerpts of your work may be published on our social media platforms.

Fiction Guidelines

Do not be afraid to prioritise narrative.

There is no such thing as ‘normal prose’.

Do not be afraid to submit work seen as ‘transgressive’. If you have something to say, don’t be afraid to shock.

Please submit no more than two submissions in a six-month period.

Please use 1.5 line spacing.

Please note that genre fiction is less likely to be accepted, as we are primarily interested in literary fiction. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our content before submitting.

Non-Fiction Guidelines

We encourage inventive essays on any subject, including memoir, review, and cultural criticism.

We encourage essays which respond to other published works.

Please submit no more than two submissions in a six-month period.

Please use 1.5 line spacing.

PoetryGuidelines

We encourage longer form poetry works.

Please submit a maximum of five poems (no more than ten in a six-month period).

Please use whatever line spacing is most applicable.

We are currently unable to provide payment for Varnish Online submissions.

Varnish Online