Starling

09/10/2025

TODAY’S THE DAY: Submissions for Issue 21 of Starling close at midnight! If you’re an NZ writer under 25, we’d love to read your poems, short fiction, essays, or any other new creative written work for the issue!

Full submission guidelines can be found at starlingmag.com/submissions.

08/10/2025

Joshua Toumu’a (), ‘Autumn Famine’
Starling Issue 20
Winter 2025

08/10/2025

Submissions for the Issue 21 of Starling close in THREE DAYS! New Zealand writers under 25, send us your best poetry, prose, and anything in-between by 10 October 2025 - full submission guidelines are at starlingmag.com/submissions.

05/10/2025

Tayi Tibble (), ‘Kaleidoscopes’
Starling Issue 2
Winter 2016

02/10/2025

Submissions for the next issue of Starling close in one week on October 10! New Zealand writers under 25, send us your new work and be a part of the first issue under new editors Tate Fountain and Maddie Ballard - full submission guidelines can be found at starlingmag.com/submissions!

30/09/2025

ten small poems from starling issues 1-10

Naomii Seah, ‘Daughters’
Starling Issue 10

Sophie van Waardenberg, ‘Small’
Starling Issue 9

Joy Tong, ‘Tiny Love Poem’
Starling Issue 8

Ella Borrie, ‘Enderby Island’
Starling Issue 7

Zoë Higgins, ‘The Beach’
Starling Issue 6

Modi Deng, ‘安慰 (An Wei)’
Starling Issue 5

Sharon Lam, ‘Housesitting for Max Key’
Starling Issue 4

Henrietta Bollinger, ‘Relative Proportions’
Starling Issue 3

Anuja Mitra, ‘Precarious’
Starling Issue 2

Alexandra Hollis, ‘In the Future’
Starling Issue 1

30/09/2025

"Sometimes you come across a work of art that you click with, that makes you feel more like yourself in ways you can’t explain." Ash Davida Jane reviews Sophie van Waardenberg's NO GOOD at The Spinoff:

“Sometimes you come across a work of art that you click with, that makes you feel more like yourself in ways you can’t explain. For me, No Good is one of those.” Ash Davida Jane reviews Sophie van Waardenberg’s debut poetry collection.

28/09/2025

There are two weeks left to submit for the 21st issue of Starling! If you’re an NZ writer under 25, send us your best poetry, prose, and anything in-between by 10 October 2025 - full submission guidelines are at starlingmag.com/submissions.

27/09/2025

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to our Tāmaki launch party for Issue 20, including Starling favourites past and present! Especially thanks to The Open Book for always being such wonderful hosts, and to our amazing readers: Sophie van Waardenberg, Katherine Knight-Maclean, Anuja Mitra, Lily Holloway, Elise Sadlier and Zephyr Zhang!

26/09/2025

Xiaole Zhan 詹小乐 (.zhan), ‘The sky rained with millet and the ghosts wailed in the night’
Starling Issue 20
Winter 2025

25/09/2025

We are extremely excited to announce the new editors of Starling: Tate Fountain and Maddie Ballard! Tate and Maddie both bring a huge amount of experience, energy and dedication to this role, and we are looking forward to seeing them lead Starling into our next chapter.

This also means that after ten years and twenty issues, founding editors Louise and Francis will be stepping back from our editorial roles, but we will still very much be involved behind-the-scenes, taking care of anything needed to keep this good ship and its opportunities for young writers afloat. And you can be sure you’ll see our faces at any Starling related events nearby.

Ten years ago, we set out to establish a literary journal that could give space to and help to grow a community of young writers that supports and celebrates each other. We are so proud of how the writers that make up each issue of Starling have taken up the journal and made it your own, and part of protecting that means that Starling must always evolve. We hope that Starling will be around for as long as young writers need it, and we can’t wait to see what’s to come.

Each new issue you see will have been shaped by Tate and Maddie, with continuing support from editorial committee members Joy Holley and Ruby Macomber. More to come on each of these wonderful people in the coming weeks. Expect some gradual changes to our website and a social media refresh in the new year.

Congratulations Tate and Maddie!

P.S. Save the date for something special! Wellington 7 November x

23/09/2025

Loretta Riach (), ‘Labora et Amare’
Starling Issue 20
Winter 2025