Submissions
Our submissions portal is open year-round - with selected works considered for publication in our digital journal and annual anthology.
Current submissions are being considered for debut anthology “Her Beauty and Her Terror: The Australian Country Women’s Anthology”
Make your words count.
Submit your poetry for the chance to be published on our digital platform, In Her Own Words. Selected pieces will also be considered for inclusion in our annual print anthology.
Her Beauty and Her Terror will be published as a beautiful coffee-table style paperback, featuring over 100 women's voices and artwork. It will be available Australia-wide through direct, online sales and via participating retailers.
Are you a visual artist?
As part of our commitment to showcasing the creative voices of Australian women, we're looking for powerful visual artwork to bring the pages of Her Beauty and Her Terror to life.
We’re inviting visual artists to submit an Expression of Interest to be featured in the anthology. Whether you work in illustration, photography, digital art or fine arts - we want to hear from you.
Selected artworks will be printed alongside poetry and storytelling submissions from women across the country. This is an opportunity to amplify your work, celebrate your creative voice, and be part of a national publication that puts women at the centre.
To express your interest, please send a short bio, a sample of your work, and a short explanation of how your art aligns with the theme.
We can't wait to see what you’ve created - in your own words, and your own style.
DEBUT ANTHOLOGY
Her Beauty and Her Terror: The Australian Country Women’s Anthology
*The phrase "her beauty and her terror" is borrowed from Dorothea Mackellar's iconic poem 'My Country,' and captures the fierce, untamed spirit of the Australian landscape and the emotional complexity of the women who live within it.
From its blazing red-centre to its rugged mountain ranges, Australian women can be found scratching their deepest desires and saddest stories into the margins of pages, pouring their unheard truths into haunting melodies and poignant lyrics. Yet, too often, their tears are left smudged on crumpled notepads, pages curling in flame, sacred ink scattered like ashes in the wind - their beauty lost to the passage of time.
Her Beauty and Her Terror aims to reclaim those lost fragments of sacred ink, gathering them into one daring collection that will immerse readers in the intimate and authentic narratives of these women's lives.
From its first page to its last, her words will raise you, devastate you, move you and haunt you, as you are carried through the raw, untamed landscapes of Australia and the equally wild depths of the human heart. Soaked in light and darkness, this anthology is a testament to the fated knots of joy and sorrow, hope and despair, and beauty and terror of life on earth.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Yes, there are some guidelines to ensure consistency and readability across the anthology. We ask that submissions adhere to the following formatting requirements:
Poems should be submitted in a standard font, such as Times New Roman or Arial, with a font size of 12.
Each poem should be titled and submitted as a separate document.
Please include the title, author’s name and contact information in the document header or footer.
Poems should be formatted as single-spaced with a clear distinction between stanzas, if applicable.
We recommend limiting poems to a maximum of two pages in length to accommodate various contributors and maintain reader engagement.
Submissions should be in a common file format such as .docx or .pdf.
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At the time of submission, you’ll be asked to sign a non-exclusive copyright agreement. This means you retain full ownership of your work and are welcome to share, publish, or use it elsewhere at any time.
The anthology will be available for sale, and may also be featured in events, media, and creative projects to help promote rural women’s voices and experiences. While the project may generate revenue to support its production and future editions, it is built on a foundation of fairness, celebration, and creative respect - your work remains yours, always.
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Yes! When submitting, there’s a section where you can indicate your preference - whether you'd like your poem to be considered only for the anthology, only for the digital platform, or for both. Just tick the option that best suits you.
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We welcome all styles of poetry that deal with any topic or theme for our general submissions pool.
Our debut anthology, however, will centre around the theme “Her Beauty and Her Terror” - a kaleidoscope of emotions, contradictions and lived experiences. While all submissions are considered, poems that explore emotional complexities mirrored in Australia’s natural landscapes are most likely to be selected for publication.
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For our general submissions pool, we’re not looking for anything too specific - we try to publish as many voices as we can, in as many styles and subjects as possible. If it’s honest, well-crafted, and speaks to something real, we want to read it.
For our debut anthology, the biggest criteria is that the poem fits the theme: “Her Beauty and Her Terror.” Beyond that, we’ll also consider things like emotional impact, originality, language, and how the piece complements the wider collection.
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As many as you like!
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While we're unable to offer traditional royalties at this stage, as we're channeling all proceeds back into sustaining and growing the anthology as a platform for women's voices, we aim to provide as much in-kind support as possible. We focus on providing meaningful support through promotion, publishing opportunities, and connections that help contributors advance their writing profiles.