Overland (magazine)

History

Overland was established in 1954, under the auspices of the Realist Writers Group in Melbourne, with Stephen Murray-Smith as the first editor-in-chief. It was initially formed by anti-Stalinist members of the Communist Party of Australia and other members of the 1950s New Left.

Editors

The magazine has been edited by:

• Stephen Murray-Smith, 1954–1988
• Barrett Reid, 1988–1993
• John McLaren, Spring 1993 – Autumn 1997
• Ian Syson, Winter 1997 – Summer 2002
• Nathan Hollier and Katherine Wilson, Autumn 2002 – Spring 2004
• Nathan Hollier, 2005–2006
• Jeff Sparrow, 2007–2014
• Jacinda Woodhead, 2015–2019
• Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk, since 2019

Description

Overland describes itself as "Australia’s oldest radical literary magazine", which publishes fiction, poetry, non-fiction and art. It says it "continues to document lesser-known stories and histories [and] give a voice to those whose stories are otherwise marginalised, misrepresented or ignored, and point public debate in alternative directions".

Its formats are a quarterly print journal (which publishes fiction, poetry and essays) and an online magazine containing daily cultural commentary and occasional fiction and poetry. It also "holds events, discussions and debates, hosts a number of major literary competitions, and runs a residency for under-represented writers".

, the editors-in-chief are Evelyn Araluen and Jonathan Dunk, and it is published by a not-for-profit organisation. Its patron is Barry Jones.

Competitions

• Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets (), established in 2007
• Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ()
• Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for Young Indigenous Writers (, publication in the print magazine, and a writing residency at Trinity College, University of Melbourne
• Victoria University Short Story Prize for New Writers ()
• Fair Australia Prize ()
• Overland Kuracca Prize for Australian Literature in honour of Kerry Reed-Gilbert (A$8,000)

References

References

1. "Australian Magazines of the Twentieth Century". [[Austlit]].
2. Davidson, Jim. (2014-08-26). "Stephen's vector".
3. "Australian literary magazines". [[Government of Australia]] Culture and Recreation Portal.
4. (2018). "The far left in Australia since 1945". Routledge.
5. (May 2011). "Barrett Reid: a charismatic chameleon". La Trobe Journal.
6. "John and Shirley McLaren Collection".
7. (18 March 2002). "Vulgar values".
8. (5 May 2004). "Voices from the edge".
9. McLaren, John. (2014-11-12). "Bias Australian?".
10. "About ''Overland''".
11. (2 December 2019). "Judith Wright Poetry Prize ($9000)".
12. (2 December 2019). "Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize ($5000)".
13. (16 February 2020). "Nakata Brophy Short Fiction and Poetry Prize for Young Indigenous Writers".
14. "Victoria University Short Story Prize for New Writers – ($8000)".
15. "The $20,000 Fair Australia Prize – extended until 19 August!".
16. (2021-01-14). "Overland creates new prize in honour of Reed-Gilbert".