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. 

We discard traditional word limits and encourage longer works, allowing more thematically complex and timeless explorations, aiming to introduce readers to fresh mental frameworks and unexamined connections.

Timeliness is a key feature of news journalism, which is vital work in the intellectual ecosystem, yet the literary work we seek transcends reportage. 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. 

Submissions are currently closed.


General Guidelines 

  • 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  • All submissions must be previously unpublished.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. 

  • We welcome and encourage international submissions.

  • Currently, all submissions must be in English.


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.


Non-Fiction Guidelines   

  • We encourage inventive essays on any subject, including memoir.

  • We are currently not accepting reviews or interviews.

  • We may accept reviews in the form of broader cultural criticism.

  • We also accept 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.


Poetry Guidelines 

  • We encourage longer 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. 

Varnish publishes a substantial print journal biannually and is continually building an online collection of written art. Your work may be selected for either project.

We guarantee we will read your entire submission.

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