Author Guidelines for Submission

Villanelle is a biannual Lesbian literary and art magazine with themed issues seeking work by lesbians from a lesbian lens.

The work itself does not necessarily need to be about lesbianism. We welcome classical and experimental pieces which play with form, genre, and style.

We are an Australian magazine; however, we accept submissions from all over the world. We accept pieces in English and bilingual, however, please ensure they are proofread for spelling and grammar consistency before submitting.

Please do not submit anything that has used AI in the creation of the work, whether visual or literary.

We accept submissions of poetry, short fiction, non-fiction, reviews, interviews, comics, visual art and photography. See below for formatting information.

 How to Submit

  • Issue Two is on the theme of Bridges and Boundaries. Submission deadline is Sunday 1st March 2026. Reviews will be complete by 30th April 2026.
    Please ensure that your submitted work is relevant to the theme.

  • To submit, email villanellemag@gmail.com with subject line ‘Submission: Issue [Number]’ and your work attached.

    Please also include a brief biography of yourself, written in third person, 50 to 100 words. Include any social media links you have, as we are both a digital and print magazine.

    We only accept work that has not been submitted in print elsewhere, so please indicate whether your work is not under consideration elsewhere in the email.

    As we conduct blind reviews, please remove any identifying information in the attached document or image/s. Only include author details, including contact information, in the body of the email when submitting.

    • Poetry: 1 to 5 per submission, however not all will necessary be published in the issue. Times New Roman font, 12pt, double spaced. Each poem on a new page or document. Include titles of work in the body of the email.

    • Fiction: short story or flash fiction 150 to 5,000 words. Times New Roman font, 12pt, double spaced. Include the title of your work in the body of the email.

    • Non-fiction: essay or memoir 500 to 5,000 words. Times New Roman font, 12pt, double spaced.

    • Reviews: 500 to 1,250 words. Times New Roman font, 12pt. Include the information about the work (e.g. book, art, exhibition) as the title of the review.

    • Interviews: 500 to 3,500 words with new, emerging, and established artists and/or authors. Times New Roman font, 12pt.

    • Comics, Visual Art and Photography: 1 to 5 per submission. Submit as JPEG for review. Will contact for higher quality image if necessary when publishing.

    For written pieces, you are welcome to submit relevant accompanying images. However, we reserve the right to use something else if it is more suitable.

    We do not accept submissions which have used AI in any aspect of the creation of the work, whether visual or literary.

  • If you would like to respond or comment on the works of the previous issue, we welcome a Letter to the Editor.

    Please keep it under 1,000 words. If you are responding to a particular work in the issue, include the title of it in your letter.

    Submit via email to villanellemag@gmail.com with heading “Letter to the Editor” and the issue number.

    There is no guarantee that your letter will be included in the subsequent issue.

  • The submission deadline is 1st March 2026.
    You will receive an acknowledgement of receiving your email.

    Your work/s will be under blind review and will then receive notification on whether it has been accepted by 30th April 2026. We may ask for revisions. The editors also have a right to refuse to publish your work for any reason.

    Publication of Issue Two will be mid-June 2026. Once published, it will be uploaded to the National E-Deposit (per ISSN requirements) and available for purchase in the Villanelle shop.

We look forward to receiving your submission