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About Overland
Overland – Australia’s only radical literary magazine – has been showcasing brilliant and progressive fiction, poetry, nonfiction and art since 1954. The magazine has published some of Australia’s most iconic writers, and continues to give space to underrepresented voices and brand-new literary talent every single day.
In 2021, Overland is a quarterly print journal (publishing essays, stories and poetry), and an online magazine publishing cultural commentary each week day, as well as occasional special online editions of fiction and poetry. The magazine also holds events, discussions and debates, hosts a number of major literary competitions , and runs a residency for underrepresented writers.
Overland’s mission is to foster new, original and progressive writing exploring the relationship between politics and culture, especially literature, and to bring that work to as many people as possible. Editorially, Overland is committed to publishing underrepresented perspectives on issues rarely given space in traditional media.
In Overland’s very first edition in 1954, Stephen Murray-Smith noted that the magazine would ‘publish poetry and short stories, articles and criticism by new and by established writers. It will aim high … [but] will make a special point of developing writing talent in people of diverse backgrounds. We ask of our readers, however inexpert, that they write for us; that they share our love of living, our optimism, our belief in the traditional dream of a better Australia.’
Sixty-seven years on, Overland maintains this founding editorial vision, though the outlook is more global. The magazine continues to document lesser-known stories and histories, dissect media hysteria and dishonesty, debunk the populist hype of politicians, give a voice to those whose stories are otherwise marginalised, misrepresented or ignored, and point public debate in alternative directions.
Overland accepts unsolicited writing for both the print and online journals, and is committed to paying all its writers.
Overland is published by a not-for-profit organisation on the Register of Cultural Organisations. It depends on its community for support. If you like what you read, please take out a subscription .