Djed Press is created on the colonised lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Sovereignty has never been ceded. This land has always been, and always will be, Aboriginal land.

Submit

We prioritise submissions from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, on whose land we live and work and whose sovereignty has never been ceded.

Submission Guidelines

Send your pitches or submissions to submissions@djedpress.com.

Please note that we only accept submissions from Australian and/or Australia-based Bla(c)k and other POC creators.

This is important so we’re putting it first: work may be edited. Please don’t submit to Djed if you’re uncomfortable with being edited.

As a policy we believe in the importance of preserving an author’s voice and vision, but even the best writing needs tweaks here and there at a minimum and a full edit at a maximum. And we do expect best writing – we prefer to work on final, polished pieces, not second drafts. Rest assured! No major edits will be made without running them past the creator first.

We accept previously unpublished:

  • short fiction
  • narrative non-fiction/prose
  • opinion/commentary pieces
  • poetry (written or performed on video)
  • visual art in any style.

No restrictions on subject matter, theme or style; whatever works for you works for us too. The important thing is to get creative! We’re looking for engaging, exciting, thoughtful, fun, beautiful, moving, intersectional, visceral… and a whole lot of adjectives besides.

NOTE: One piece per submission, please. Unless it’s poetry, in which case you can submit up to 3 poems in one submission. If you’ve sent in a submission and we haven’t gotten back to you about it yet, please hold off on sending any new pieces until we’ve replied.

Submissions should include:

  • author name, or author pseudonym if you prefer to publish under one
  • title of work
  • for non-written pieces, please submit a transcript or description to go along with it
  • short author bio that includes author’s connection to colour or culture
  • links to author’s personal blogs/sites if applicable
    hi-res author photo or image to put in place of photo if not comfortable using one (image permissions must be cleared to use).

Payment

<500 words: $50
500-1000 words: $75
>1000-1500 words: $100
>1500-3000 words: $150

If your text exceeds 3000 words, please discuss with a Djed editor before submitting.

<1 minute: $30
1-2 minutes: $40
>2-3 minutes: $50

Videos should not exceed three minutes.

Simple: $50
Moderate: $75
Complex: $100

If submitting visual art, please include a description of the work in your submission.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I submit more than one piece at a time?
A: No – one piece per submission, please. Unless it’s poetry, in which case you can submit up to 3 poems in one submission.

Q: How often can I submit? Are you still accepting submissions?
A: If you’ve sent in a submission and we haven’t gotten back to you about it yet, please hold off on sending any new pieces until we’ve replied. We’re currently always open for submissions for all of our categories and series.

Q: Are simultaneous submissions okay?
A: Yes, but please let us know at the time of submission, or as soon as you submit elsewhere if we haven’t gotten back to you yet.
If what you’ve submitted is accepted elsewhere or you’d like to withdraw your submission for any reason (provided payment hasn’t already been made) please let us know as soon as possible, as we tend to schedule pieces for publication well in advance.

Q: Do you accept pitches, or do you prefer to only receive completed work?
A: Since we don’t generally accept longform pieces, we prefer to see the entire finished piece rather than a pitch. That said, if you have an idea for a piece and want to check if we publish the kind of work you’re thinking about before you go to the effort of writing or creating it, just send us a quick email or message via social media with a short explanation of the concept – it doesn’t have to be too formal.

Q: I’m a new writer and I’m not sure my work is up to standard, can I still submit?
A: We encourage writers/creators at all levels to submit their work. At Djed we pride ourselves on working with you to get your story in shape for publication, if needed (though it’s often not). We currently don’t turn down submissions too frequently and when we do it doesn’t usually have anything to do with the quality of writing.

On that note: here’s a list of things that, if we find present in your work (and not just what you’ve submitted to us, mind) will automatically result in rejection of submission.

  • Racism
  • Anti-blackness
  • Anti-semitism, Islamophobia, religious intolerance of any kind
  • Homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia of any kind
  • Ableism
  • Sexism/misogyny
  • Work that goes against the concept of #ownvoices

Q: Is there a theme? Does my writing have to be related to race and racial identity?
A: Djed Press was born in part out of frustration with the fact the Bla(c)k and other POC writers and creators are frequently only invited to speak when it’s a ‘diversity’ or ‘minority’ topic – like, ‘hey Black Muslim Female! Tell us about being a Black Muslim Female!’

Sure, we can (and should) write about that, but it’s limiting. We can do so much more. We can create rich fantasy worlds, we can write torrid romances, we can talk about motherhood and toxic masculinity and speak poems with such raw emotion you’ll weep. We’re good at a lot of things beyond our features and identities. The aim of Djed is to give Bla(c)k and other POC creators a space where, essentially, they can create and write whatever the hell they want. And to be compensated for their labour.

So no, submissions don’t have to relate to race, and we don’t specialise in any topic. Fundamentally we only care about publishing creative works and writing by underrepresented voices, whatever those works might be.

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