Payment
Bowen Street Press (BSP) is an independent student-led publishing house run by the Master of Writing and Publishing at RMIT University.

As we’re student-run and not-for-profit, BSP is unfortunately unable to provide monetary compensation for any published work; however, all contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the publication alongside promotion across our industry networks and social media channels.

Rights
For books, magazines and zines produced solely by Bowen Street Press, BSP will hold non-exclusive usage rights for the life of the publication, so contributors are free to republish their works elsewhere. Contributors retain the copyright of their individual works, while the BSP holds the copyright to the collective volume.

We are seeking expressions of interest from emerging and established designers to create both text and cover designs for all new titles forthcoming from Bowen Street Press.

If you are interested or have any questions, please email zoe.dzunko@rmit.edu.au with:

• your portfolio and/or links to previous work or your website

• a short email letting us know who you are

• which project(s) you’re interested in working on (if you don’t have a preference, that’s fine too!).

Please address your EOI email to Zoe Dzunko (Bowen Street Press), with ‘Designer Expression of Interest’ in the subject line.

EOI DEADLINE: midnight Monday 17 March 2025. Project descriptions can be found by expanding the titles below, which include A5 B&W anthologies and full colour magazines and zines.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: We will respond to your expression of interest by Wednesday 19 March 2025. The following is a rough production timeline (open to negotiation):

• Text design brief: Friday 21 March 2025

• First text design roughs due: midnight Sunday 6 April 2025

• Final text design templates: Friday 17 April 2025

• Cover design brief: Friday 2 May 2025

• Cover design roughs: midnight Sunday 18 May 2025

• Final cover design due: 25 May 2025

Blossom is a zine exploring nature as a driving force of change throughout our lives.

From the sharp nip of ice-cold air on your nose, to the heat of the sun beating down onto your exposed skin; from playing outside as a child, muddying the newly cleaned floors much to your mum’s dismay, to tending your own veggie patch. Each new season not only brings about change among the birds and the trees, but also within you.

Nature is part of the human experience, whether it be life-changing or mixed in with the mundanity of everyday life. Time in nature can shift your perspective, solidify existing truths or grant you a sense of renewed energy. How does the changing of seasons influence our lives? How does nature alter the way we see the rest of the world? Are there films/books/stories that forever changed the way we understand the natural world? What environments encourage us to ‘blossom’?

This zine is nostalgic and uplifting, using memory, childhood wonder and curiosity to explore how we feel in and about the natural world. Think Studio Ghibli vibes, especially Ponyo, Arrietty and Princess Mononoke.

SUBMISSIONS

Your submission can be just about anything you can think of, so long as it’s short and sweet! As long as you want to tell it, Blossom is here to listen.

What we’re after:

• Short fiction or non-fiction (max. 200 words)

• Poetry (max. 20 lines)

• Photographs/artworks/illustrations

• Quotes

• Other mediums, e.g. recipes for natural remedies, personal mantras, etc.

Submission guidelines:

• Submissions should include: title; contributor name; contributor bio (50 words max.); contact details (email/phone number).

• Texts should be submitted as editable Word or Pages document (not PDFs).

• Artworks should be submitted as hi-res SVG, PDF, TIFF or JPEG files (min. 300 dpi, at page size 210 x 148 mm)

• Please save file as [Title]_[Author/Contributor Name]

Where to submit: blossom.zine.bsp@gmail.com

Submission deadline: Sunday 23rd of March 2025, 11:59pm.

Note: We will only publish original work. If you would like to be published anonymously let us know in the submission email.

Do you stand accused of being a silly little guy? Was your hyper-fixation too obscure? What earnest expression of yourself is too embarrassing to share with the world? 

Cringe is a recollection of the awful, mortifying, dastardly, and overall joyous aspects of the human experience, allowing them to blossom to the surface instead of being kept inside. This anthology is a collective diary, a confession, and a breath of fresh air that shines a light on the humiliating, the awkward, and the discomfort of our lives. Your personal journey hurdling towards cringe, scampering away from it, or soaking it all in will form the basis of this anthology—open yourself up to being vulnerable, the worst thing anyone can do is accuse you of being earnest!  

We’re looking for a reflection of you—whatever that forms takes! Ideally submissions will comprise the following, but we're flexible if you have a great pitch:  

🫃 Short creative non-fiction pieces (under 1,500 words) 
😳 Short fiction pieces (under 1,500 words) 
🍆 Short non-fiction (under 1,500 words)
💯 Poetry (no more than 2 pieces) 
🔫 1-2 sentence confessions you've always wanted to share! 

SUBMISSIONS

• Submit your works via the form.

• Please submit all texts as word documents. PDF will unfortunately not be accepted. Further instructions for submission are included in the form. 

• Submissions close midnight Sunday 23 March 2025, and Cringe is aiming for publication in early June.

A cringy anthology made by cringy humans about cringy topics reclaiming what it is to be cringe. If you think this doesn't relate to you—it definitely does! 

How do you feel about the ocean? Does it scare you? Excite you? Does it seem intriguing? Mysterious? Enchanting?

Head Under Water is an upcoming fiction anthology featuring writing on otherness, identity and everything in between, as expressed through aquatic imagery. The seas are a vast realm for imaginative storytelling, and we're searching for prose and poetry that use the worlds above and below water to wade through the complexities of life on land.

We want your stories about hidden depths, treasures, lighthouses, and odysseys! We are encouraging submissions from artists who want to engage with tumultuous waves and sheltered bays; selkies, sailors, and sirens; and epic seafaring quests of self-discovery. An anthology for adults, we welcome literary as well as genre fiction and fairy tales — a well told tale can appeal to all ages. Queer and/or neurodiverse authors and creators are encouraged to submit.

SUBMISSIONS 

We are looking for:

• Short fiction (1000 to 2000 words)

• Poetry (15-40 lines)

• Art/graphic pieces

Submission guidelines
Send your submission to headunderwateranth@gmail.com.

Unfortunately, submissions via message in a bottle will not be accepted at this time.

What to include:

• Author name

• Contact details (email and phone number)

• Author bio (50-100 words)

• Title of piece

• Text submissions as an editable document (Word or Pages document)

• Illustrated submissions (photographs/artworks) as hi-res SVG, PDF, TIFF or JPEG (300 dpi at page size (210 x 150 mm) and in CMYK.

Deadline: midnight, Sunday 23 March 2025.

All feminists were ‘not like other girls’ at one point. We’re all guilty of thinking we’re the only ones who want to escape traditional gender roles. Of being ‘different’. 

Oh, the beauty of hindsight.

When your growing identity is shaped by ever-changing gender expectations and representation, misogyny buries itself deep. But these views can and do change with our greatest tool: time. It’s how these views change through lived experiences that we’re interested in hearing.

Hindsight is an anthology exploring how women are—and have been—viewed in society, art and pop culture. Specifically, it will look at how our own experiences and perceptions of femininity have changed, evolved, or perhaps, dissolved over time.

SUBMISSIONS

What we’re looking for

We want to re-interrogate ideas and stereotypes around femininity and gender through art—in whatever form that takes. Both non-fiction and fiction art forms grounded in the idea of Hindsight are welcome, including (but not limited to):

• Short fiction

• Creative non-fiction

• Essays

• Poems

• Photographs

• Drawings or illustrations

• Lists

• Letters

• Diary entries

• Recipes

• Collages

• And other creative mediums (text message threads, hand-written notes, overheards, doodles, comics, and anything else you can think of).

Importantly, you don’t need to identify as a woman—submissions from anyone who resonates with the theme of the anthology are welcome (and encouraged)!

The nitty gritty

Submit your completed piece to hindsightanthology@gmail.com by 11:59pm AEDT Sunday 23 March, with your full name, pronouns, and a short (150 word) third-person contributor bio.

• Written submissions
  All written forms will have a word count of 1500 max, submitted as a working Word document. We welcome published works, but kindly ask you to provide information on where it’s already published.
  

• Visual Submissions
  All images and artwork must be owned and produced by the contributor. Visual files must be submitted as a PDF, SVG, JPEG or TIF in CMYK colour and as 300dpi at A5 print size. *Please note this anthology will be printed in black and white.

Nesting is a new lifestyle and literary magazine all about homebuilding for young people. Inspired by the instinctual way birds build and decorate their nests in the soft soil or treetops—one twig, leaf, or precious shiny gum wrapper at a time—Nesting is interested in how people create a sense of belonging and contentment in their space.

For this issue, we want to know about the first shiny item you brought to your nest. What is the most important thing you need to feel at home? This could be a memento you pack when you travel, an item of furniture you take every time you move, or that weird piece of decor everyone asks you about. Maybe there is a favourite comfort meal you like to make or a piece of advice you rely on when in a new place. Whether your home is shared or solo, far away or not a place at all, we want to know what makes it yours.

Here are some prompts for you!

• How did you get your favourite piece of furniture or art?

• What’s the first recipe you made in your kitchen?

• What’s your guide to the best housewarming gifts?

• What’s your guide to finding/creating a home in a new city?

• Write a love letter to your home—whether a person or place.

SUBMISSIONS 

We’re looking for:

• short fiction or non-fiction stories, personal essays, interviews (max. 2000 words)

• guides and recipes (max. 1000 words)

• poetry (max. 50 lines)

• photo essays/series (max. six images)

• visual art submissions

We accept a maximum of two submissions per person, and we encourage the submission of related pieces across different mediums (for example, a recipe with photo submissions related to it).

Submission guidelines
Send your submissions to us at nesting.bsp@gmail.com. Send your writing as a Word document (.docx) and your photographs/artwork as a high-resolution (300 dpi at A4 size) JPEG, PDF, SVG or TIFF file. Please include:

• author/creator name

• title of your piece + genre (e.g., Homecoming: poetry)

• contact details (phone number and email address)

• short author/creator bio (50-100 words). 

Deadline: midnight Sunday 23 March 2025. Feel free to email us any questions up to a week before the deadline.

LISTEN TO US! WE HAVE NOTHING TO SAY BUT WILL SAY IT WITH GUSTO!

We are looking for submissions for our new non-fiction anthology NOISE.

We’re all surrounded by noise, whether loud and chaotic or quiet and soothing, ‘noise’ is always here … unless we’re out in space! Take a moment to exist. What noises surround you? Do you have loud wallpaper? Can you hear the breeze or is it masked by a brazen air-conditioner? Do you have a mind that won’t shut up? We want to know how noise connects you to others or how it overwhelms; the noises you avoid and the noises you seek out with intention.

Concepts to consider: noise pollution and the right to silence; ambient, natural, intentional, textual and/or mechanical noise. Memories of a sound that has vividly remained with you; noise you can’t escape; the soundscape in your head.

We are particularly interested in:

• hybrid forms like autofiction or autotheory

• sound poems

• reflections on visual and cultural noise.

SUBMISSIONS

Submission guidelines

Submit via email to noiseanthology@gmail.com

• Personal essays (2000-words max)

• Autofiction (2000-words max)

• Poems (12-120 lines)

• Photos, art and comics (2-pages max). 

What to include:

• Author name

• Work title

• Contact information (phone and email)

• Please ensure your submission is an editable Word or Pages document and any photographs or artworks are in CMYK and a hi-res SVG, TIFF, PDF or JPEG file (300 dpi at page size (210 x 150 mm)).
  

Deadline: midnight AEDT on Sunday 23 March 2025.

In our fast paced world full of white noise, it can start to feel like time is constantly rushing past us. We are consistently bombarded by sounds, sights, and smells, overstimulated and always focussed on the next destination. So rarely do we stop and think about a particular moment until after it’s passed us by. What we experienced, how it made us feel, how it shaped who we are and how we interact with the world around us beyond that singular moment. After all, that's all time really is: a series of fragments of moments and memories, one after the other. All it takes is one fragment in time to change us irrevocably, to forever alter the way we see our lives. We invite you to tell us about one such fragment in time. A song, a memory, a photo, a childhood artefact, a journey, a day. The opportunities are endless. Whatever it is: we ask you to slow down and share what that snapshot meant to you.

SUBMISSIONS

• Submissions can include photographs, poetry, songs, recipes, short stories (fiction or non-fiction), comics, illustrations, and personal anecdotes of life. Anything that translates to a snapshot or moment in time that you find meaning/significance/emotion in.

• Within your submission, you may include a “primary” artefact (photograph, song, smell, playlist, recipe, artwork, etc.) and the accompanying associations. We encourage the possibility for cross-media elements as well–such as QR codes linking to soundscapes, playlists, or narrated versions of stories.

Formats

• Acceptable submission formats: text (maximum 1500 words), images, links to song/playlists.

• For works that include images or other media, please provide an accompanying description/piece of writing.

• For visual/artwork submissions, acceptable files must be in CMYK, and file types can be PDF, SVG, TIF or JPEG. Resolution should be 300 dpi @ A4.

Instructions
Please submit your entry to submissions.snapshot@gmail.com accompanied by a short bio (50 words max) by midnight Sunday 23 March.

Rights
Any work submitted must be original and not plagiarised, and cannot have been previously published. The BSP will hold a non-exclusive licence for the life of the book (i.e., contributors are free to submit their work elsewhere). Contributors retain the copyright of their individual works, while the BSP holds the copyright to the collective volume.

Sundowner is a zine for all your late night stories, poems, artwork and secrets ready to see the light of day.

Bizarre encounters with unreal people, sleep-deprived half-dreamed thoughts and fears, empty parks and silent streets—late night parties, drunken escapades, decisions that you swear were a good idea at the time—all under the the sunless sky. From the mundane to the morose, the supermarket to the supernatural, Sundowner is an introspective look into one of humanity’s most highly investigated queries: what happens when the sun goes down.

Shimmering or bumping in the night, there's a home for it in Sundowner.

SUBMISSIONS

We’re seeking:

• essays, short stories, creative non-fiction, poems: 1500 words max.

• recipes: 800 words max. 

• photo essays, photographs: 12 photos max.

• comics: five pages max.

• crafts i.e., digital or hand-drawn illustration, collage, embroidery, etc. (photographs of the crafted works should be submitted).

*Note: This A5-sized zine will be printed in colour.

Submissions guidelines
Submit via email to sundownerzine@gmail.com by Sunday 23rd March 2025 (midnight AEDT).

What to submit: 

• Author/creator name

• Contact details (email and phone number)

• Author/creator bio (50-100 words)

• Word document (.DOCX) and any photographs or artwork as a hi-res SVG, PDF, TIFF or JPEG file (300 dpi at A5 size (210 x 150 mm)) in CMYK.