Island magazine

31/10/2025

"The cultural work of Meanjin has been vital for its 85 years of existence, and its loss will be felt sorely. We write here, together, in dismay, sympathy, and outrage. That this cultural institution could be gutted so suddenly demonstrates a deep disregard for literary work" - a statement of solidarity with Meanjin from Australian literary magazines:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRw0vzqEJz_D5bqkyatz9_boVtYslVoJVnP6OrY6xkPx3ETlOsiEY8N7lprJJVumQ/pub

Thank you to Johannes Vermeer for the image...

30/10/2025

Congratulations to the winner of the inaugural Nature Writing Prize, Bridget Webster with her story 'Like all good fruit', and thank you to judges Ben Walter and Ted Lefroy.
Bridget’s work stood out to the judges for its remarkable and memorable perspective. Her short fiction evokes the beauty and horror, the transcendental wonder, of death and decay, as a bushwalker goes missing and a search party tracks her down. Through its representation of humans as part of nature and its poetic depiction of a body returning to the earth, Webster’s story offers a striking and deeply affecting view of the natural world. You can read 'Like all good fruit' in Island 176, published in December. The two shortlisted pieces, by Rosalee Kiely and Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun will be published in November on Island Online. The Nature Writing Prize is run in conjunction with Tasmanian Land Conservancy and Fullers Bookshop

27/10/2025

Tasmanian writers: do you want some help? We are offering free mentorships for Tasmanians working on a children's book, poetry, fiction, narrative non-fiction or memoir. You get ten hours of consultation with an award-winning Tasmanian author. To find out more visit islandmag.com/workshops-mentorships
Image: Suzy Hazelwood - Pexels

24/10/2025

The clock is ticking! Get us your graphic narrative pitches for eight page comics, to be published in Island magazine during 2026. Submissions close Wednesday 5 November. Visit islandmag.com/submit for more info.

23/10/2025

"Not long before the moths arrived, my father left. A retired Scottish engineer, he dealt with the news of his cancer by running away to Tasmania. He’d already packed his rusting four-wheel drive with camping equipment and enough dry food for six weeks. He was making his final checklists when he showed me his scan report for the first time. Multiple spots, scattered through both lungs."
Read 'Life span' by Fiona Reilly at islandmag.com/read

Image: Matze Bob - Unsplash

13/10/2025

The University of Tasmania is running two writing masterclasses in the north of the state with Hedberg Fellow Angela Slatter.
In Burnie on October 20 or Launceston on October 21, learn about 'The when and the where': A story's setting is a critical component in convincing readers that what they're reading is "true" – so how do you ensure your setting works the way it should?

To book for Burnie: https://www.utas.edu.au/events/2025/october/writing-masterclasses-with-angela-slatter2
To book for Launceston: https://www.utas.edu.au/events/2025/october/writing-masterclasses-with-angela-slatter

A story's setting is a critical component in convincing readers that what they're reading is "true". A sense of place is essential in both fiction and non-fiction, and it's an especially important element for writers of speculative fiction (fantasy, horror, science fiction and everything in between)...

10/10/2025

Tasmanian writers: would you like to be mentored by a Tasmanian Literary Award winner? Expressions of interest are now open to Tasmanian residents who would like ten hours of free mentorship from award-winning authors Katherine Kruimink, Pam Schindler, MacKellar or Johanna Bell. Find out more about this fantastic opportunity at islandmag.com/workshops-mentorships. Applications close 4 November. Thank you to Creative Australia for supporting this initiative.

09/10/2025

With programming for Island Readers and Writers Festival underway, who would you most like to see on the bill? Islandfest.com.au

07/10/2025

Thank you to everyone who submitted to the Nature Writing Prize, run in collaboration with Fullers Bookshop and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy. From a field of nearly 200 entries, the judges have selected a spectacular shortlist:

Frankey Chung-Kok-Lun for ‘Menura novahollandiae’
Rosalee Kiely for ‘Habitat’
Bridget Webster for ‘Like all good fruit’

The winner will be announced next month!
Find out more about the prize and the shortlisted authors at islandmag.com/literary-arts-news/nature-writing-prize-shortlist-announcement

04/10/2025

'I carry each refrain
of your petal fingerprints across the flowing
topography of my skin.'

Rae White asks 'What is devotion?' in a new poem on Island Online. Read more at islandmag.com/read

Image: Angele Kamp - Unsplash

02/10/2025

A blueberry, mosquitoes, droll, childhood, then childhood again - find out why in Beth Spencer's new poem, (five monostiches), free to read now on Island Online. Go to islandmag.com/read...

Image: Syed Ali - Unsplash.