Aurealis

Subscriptions

Australian 4-issue subscription (save 23% on RRP) $38.50
Australian 2. 4 - issue subscripton $65.00
New Zealand 4-issue airmail subscription $45.00
US/UK/other overseas 4-issue airmail subscription $50.00

Contact Aurealis

* For subscription enquiries, SF&F Writers' News, and editorial queries contact Stuart Mayne. or Stephen Higgins

* For submissions enquiries contact Submissions

* For website comments and corrections contact the Website Manager.

* For artwork submissions and enquiries contact the Art Director.

* For information about the Aurealis Awards contact the Awards Director.

Aurealis Office

Aurealis Magazine
PO Box 2164
Mt Waverley
VIC 3149

Chimaera

Chimaera Publications
PO Box 2164
Mt Waverley
VIC 3149

Submission Guidelines

Fiction

Aurealis is looking for science fiction, fantasy or horror short stories between 2000 and 8000 words. All types of science fiction, fantasy and horror will be considered, but we do not want stories that are derivative in nature, particularly those based on TV series.

Stories do not have to be explicitly Australian, although we always like to see some with Australian characterisation and background, provided the local element is not merely a self-conscious insertion into a standard plot.

Please only submit one story at a time. Stories must be unpublished and if accepted must remain unpublished until they appear in Aurealis. Although Aurealis does have new editors, many of our readers remain the same and we're not interested in seeing stories that have been previously rejected by the magazine.

All stories are judged on merit. Submissions from subscribers will be fast-tracked through the assessment process. If you are a subscriber, please indicate this clearly in your e-mail or at the top of your manuscript.

Please use standard Australian punctuation and spelling for your submissions.

Please include at the front of your story a cover page with the author's name, email address, postal address, phone and fax numbers, the title of the story and the word length. All manuscripts should be double-spaced with broad margins and numbered pages, and printed in 12 pt font. If making a hard copy submission, please print on one side of the page only and staple in the top left corner.

Aurealis pays between $20 and $60 per 1000 words, depending on the level of government grants received, and payment will be made soon after the publication of the issue containing your story. Minimum payment is $20. You will also receive a contributor's copy of the issue containing your story, and the option to buy additional copies of the magazine containing your story at a special contributor's rate.

We buy First Australian Serial Rights, the non-exclusive rights to publish the story electronically and the non-exclusive rights to include the story in an anthology. All other rights remain with the author.

Our response time is no more than three months. Please do not query us before then. Where time permits, unsuccessful authors will be sent or emailed a reply in the form of a checklist critique and/or a personal note. All submissions by subscribers will receive a personal note or email.

Aurealis does not publish poetry or novel extracts that aren't self-contained. We do not serialise longer stories.

Submitting

All submissions to Aurealis must be by email.

Hard copy submissions will no longer be read or responded to.

Aurealis is primarily a market for Australian stories but we are interested in publishing some stories from overseas authors every year. If you're outside of Australia and would like to submit, please query first stating the genre of your story, the word count and your previous publishing history. Aurealis does not publish reprints.

Please e-mail submissions to: submissions@aurealis.com.au. The subject line of your e-mail should read "SUBMISSION: Your story title".

Please include the following information with your submission:

1. The subject line of the email must be in the following format:

Aurealis submission: <"Title of story"> <(word count)> by <"Author name">
eg Aurealis submission: "The Attack of the Cyber-witches" (2500 words) by Sy Fixion

2. The body of the email should include:
* A repeat of the email subject line
* Your name, address, all phone and email contact details
* A brief cover letter (max 200 words)
* A brief bio (max 200 words)

3. The story itself should have the following on the first page and should follow normal manuscript guidelines for formatting:
* Title of your story plus word count
Your name, address, all phone and email contact details

Please note that there is no guarantee that the editors will respond if your submission does not match the Aurealis guidelines.

Please direct all queries to: Queries

Non-fiction

We are interested in articles between 500 and 4000 words about Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror, as well as articles of interest to Australian writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror. We will consider reviews between 300 and 500 words of recently released Australian science fiction, fantasy and horror books. We would also appreciate any market and publishing news of interest to Australian readers and writers of science fiction, fantasy and horror, including individual sales of short stories to paying markets.

Art

Aurealis is looking for strong, vibrant colour cover art that draws attention to the magazine.

Do not send originals! Post good quality colour photocopies with sufficient postage if you want them returned. Alternatively, forward details of the website where your work can be viewed.

Aurealis buys the rights to use the cover on an issue of the magazine as well as for subsequent promotional purposes including on our website. We acknowledge the artist in the issue in which the work appears.

Internal artwork is commissioned, but we will consider samples of your black and white work if accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope or your email address.

Artwork and artwork enquiries can be sent to:

Art Director - Aurealis
c/- Kephra Design
PO Box 31
Toongabbie
NSW 2146
AUSTRALIA

Or emailed to: The Art Director

Our payment is $75 for cover art, $25 for black and white story illustrations, and $10-15 for graphics. Payment is made soon after the publication of the issue with your work.

While the utmost care is taken, Aurealis Magazine cannot accept responsibility for the loss or damage of any manuscripts or artwork

Aurealis House Style Notes

A house style is a set of formatting, punctuation and spelling rules that a publishing house follows when editing work for publication. Following the Aurealis house style when submitting your story will not affect your story's chances of being selected, but it makes our lives easier if we do decide to publish your story.

The house style will be added to from time to time.

Spelling

As a general rule, use Australian English rather than American English and follow the Macquarie Dictionary. The following list shows Aurealis's preferred spelling and capitalisation of some common words.

A - acknowledgement
air-conditioning
all right (not alright)
analysed
anticlimax
artefact
as-yet unwritten
Aurealis
Aurealis Awards

B - backyard
bi-annual
billy-can
blackmarket (adj)
boatshed

C - changeover
cheque
chequebook
co-operate
crisscrossed
cut-throat

D - desktop
Dr no point

E - email
equalled

F - favourite
first-hand
five-figure sum
flagship
focused, focusing
forever
four-wheel drive

G - g'day

H - half-baked
hand-made
historical, a (not an)

I - ice-cream
initials: N E Smith not N. E. Smith
Internet

J - judgement

K - knowledgeable

L - laneway
lifeblood
lifetime
light-year
line-up
liquorice
livingroom

M - make-up
marketplace
mass-market
middle-aged
matte black
melee
Mmm
moustache
Mr, Mrs, Ms no points

N - night-time
no man's land
non-fiction
no-one

O - okay
ongoing
online
open-plan

P - percent
PhD no points
pinstripe
postmodern
prehistoric
printout
program

Q -

R - reanimation
red dwarf
riverbank
role-playing

S - screensaver
seatbelt
secondhand
see-through
self publish
semicircle
shapeshifter
shoestring
sizeable
spaceport
state-of-the-art

T - traveller
travelling
trenchcoat
t-shirt

U - USA (noun)
US (adjective)

V - verandah

W - website
well-known
whiskey
woollen
workstation

X - X-ray

Y - yellow dwarf

Z -

Punctuation

* ellipsis (... ) no space before, one space after
* text dash: use spaced em dash ( - )
* single quote marks (' ') for speech, in-text phrases and short-story titles
* double quote marks (" ") for quote within quote only
* book and film titles in italics

Formatting

* indent each paragraph, with no line space between
* new sections start flush left
* for section break to indicate long passage of time, use three centred asterisks: * * *
* for scene change but no long passage of time, indicate with a blank line

Numbers

* spell out one to ninety-nine, except when used in measurement (eg. 40 kg) or list (eg. 2 cows, 5 horses and 1 sheep)
* 3000 (not 3,000) but 30,000
* 31 January 1998 no punctuation
* September 97 not '97
* 90s, 80s, 70s no apostrophe
* 19th century but hyphenate if adjective
* nineties, eighties no caps
* 8.30 pm
* 44 BC small caps
* 100 kg, 50 cm, 1000 mL space before units but 37°C, 100%

Return to Top      Go to their Website