Submission Callout

SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR VOLUME 17: ISSUE 5

PAVLOVA

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It’s time for Grapey’s annual Australian issue, and we would love to hear from everyone – from born and raised Aussies and Indigenous voices, to international students who are still trying to find their feet.

 

There has been a longstanding debate about whether the iconic Pavlova has Australian or Kiwi origins, with both nations taking claim to it being their respective national dessert.

 

So for 2025’s Australian edition of Grapeshot, we invite you to explore and dig into Australian culture. For this theme, you might want to take a dive into the trivial debates, like the pavlova’s origin or if rugby union or rugby league is the superior sport. You could take a more serious stance, and discuss controversial issues that plague Australian society. The ideas are endless, and the world truly is your oyster, so it’s time to SEND IT!

 

Grapeshot accepts everything from feature articles to news pieces, short fiction, guides, comics, artworks, poetry, photographs, reviews, essays, memoirs and more – so get creative and feel free to DM us with any questions!

SUBMISSIONS CLOSE Wednesday 27 Aug 2025. Using your student email, send your submissions to: grapeshot@mq.edu.au with the subject line: “Issue 5 Submission + [Composer’s Name] + [Form of Work]”. Ensure written contributions are Word documents.

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WHO CAN SUBMIT?

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We welcome submissions from any and all currently enrolled Macquarie University students. 

 

All types of submissions are welcome, for publication in the physical magazine, on the website, and in our newsletter,  Grapevine. If we cannot publish your piece in the physical magazine, we will do our best to publish it online, though this cannot be guaranteed.

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Each physical magazine has a theme, which is used as a means to inspire and provoke thoughts, opinions, and questions surrounding a particular concept. Although Feature articles must be directly related to the issue’s theme, submissions for other sections (especially in News) need not adhere to the theme.

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If you submit work, be prepared to work with a Section Editor from the Grapeshot team to make structural changes to your article if the editor thinks that is necessary.

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THE SECTIONS OF THE MAGAZINE

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If you want to submit a piece for publication, think about what section you would like your piece to be in. Physical Grapeshot magazines are divided into the following sections: 

 

NEWS

Short news pieces, campus news, and national and international feature-length pieces that might be of concern to MQU students.

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FEATURES

Lengthier topic-specific articles which have a ‘human side’ to them, soft news pieces, personal essays and memoir pieces. 

 

CREATIVES

This section houses works from our talented creatives on campus. It includes fictional short stories, poetry, artwork, photography, comics, etc.

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VARIEGATED

Fun, short and miscellaneous. Variegated is where we put the pieces that don’t fit in other sections but are just too good to pass up. This includes short biographical pieces and fun articles.

 

REPEAT OFFENDERS

Recurring sections with a theme or objective. These include MOB, Pop-culture rewind, Challenge, I Don't get it, You Are Here, Nic’s Flix, Grapey Book Club, Horoscopes, Grapey Playlist, Aunty Grapeshot and more.

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Sometimes it is a bit of a blurry line between a feature article and a news piece, or a review and an opinion piece. Your opinion and intention as the creator of the piece is therefore most important to how we decide where to place your submission within the magazine. Think about including this in the body of your submission email.

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HOW TO SUBMIT

 

Written Articles/Creative Pieces:

• Save the word document as titleofpiece_yourname.docx

  • ​Example: NationalNews-Ukraine_NikitaByrnes.docx

• ​Email the article to grapeshot@mq.edu.au with the subject line: “Issue #[X]  Submission + [Composer’s Name] + [Form of Work]”. 

  • Example: Issue #4 Submission + Nikita Byrnes + News Article 

 

Other Types of Submissions: 

• Grapeshot welcomes all types of creative works, especially if they fit the theme of our upcoming issue! 

• “Other Types of Submissions” encompasses visual works that can be printed:  photo essays, and physical and digital artworks. 

• Please send an email to grapeshot@mq.edu.au and in the email write a short synopsis of: who you are, and what your work is about/showing. Indicate your interest to be published in the upcoming issue. We will get back to you about what form in which to send your work through.

• Be prepared to work with a design assistant or the Creatives Section Editor to make sure your work is published in the way most faithful to your intention!​

 

WORD LENGTH

 

Our word count is flexible but for a general guide:

• 1-page in our magazine = approximately 800 – 1000 words.

• 2-page spread = 1200 – 1800 words.

• 3-pages and above = over 2000 words. 

Send submissions to grapeshot@mq.edu.au

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*A reminder also that only Macquarie University students can contribute, so please submit your articles using your Macquarie University student email in order to be eligible for publication.