Are you an emerging writer/editor/publisher with some serious opinions about the book industry? Grattan Street Press wants to hear from you!

We are currently accepting original pieces between 1000-1500 words to feature on our student-run publishing blog! This is a great opportunity to showcase your writing for the first time or build your portfolio, while working alongside a team of passionate writers and editors.

If you have a unique perspective on current literary affairs, have beef with style guides or just want to rant and rave about your favourite BookTok trends, this is the place to do it! We accept pitches on anything related to publishing, and are keen to hear your weird and wonderful ideas.

Keen to write but need some inspiration? Below is a list of prompts to get you going. Have your own idea? Email us your pitch—we’d love to hear it!

Submit your work via Submittable.

Pitches or any other questions? Here’s our email: website@grattanstreetpress.com

Good Luck!

Prompt List:

• AI, and how it is impacting writing, editing and publishing at large: Is AI art actually art? Does it provide more accessibility to creators with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses?
• Interview an industry professional! Our GSP blog team is collating a list of people we would like to profile. Or even better, reach out to someone yourself!
• Diversity in the publishing industry (or the unfortunate lack of). Is this changing and how can writers and publishers do better?
• Discuss, analyse and dissect the latest Booktok controversy. Sick of smut? Or are you an avid defender of Hockey romances? Perhaps you just want to gossip about the latest Booktok drama?
• Destruction of the creative state: is the writing culture in Victoria dying? Can it be saved? (think of all the recent defunding of writing programs)
• The Death of the small press: with more and more small publishing houses being swallowed by big corporations, what does this mean for the publishing industry as a whole?
• Confessions of an ex-fanfic writer. If you were ever in the trenches of AO3/Wattpad, this is for you! How has your fanfiction and fandom experience shaped your practice as a writer today?
• Literary Festivals and Bookish events: do you think literary festivals still have a future? Are they drawing in new readers, or are they too exclusive to survive?
• My literary heroes (or enemies): this is simple – write about your authors, or even better, detail a literary figure’s public fall from grace (think Neil Gaiman, Craig Silvey).
• Fiction in translation: does it deserve more? What pieces are prioritsed? Are translations still too Western centric? What gets left out? (think international booker prize long list)
• On ‘reading’ vs. ‘being a reader’: how has reading become performative, why do we do it? Is it a red or green flag? Does it affect the industry? (think men reading feminist literature on the tram, people’s proclaimed favourite books vs their real favourite books etc.) Celebrity memoirs, celebrity authors: is it really a good thing that celebrities and influencers are getting book deals? Why do we take some celebrity authors seriously and not others (think Jennette McCurdy).
• Prizes and Prestige. What are your thoughts on literary prizes? (The Stella, Miles Franklin, the Booker). How do these prizes contribute to ideas of cultural capital and literary prestige? Is this a good or bad thing? What prizes do you wish existed?
• Graphic narratives and comics: what’s happening in the comic and graphic novel scenes? Why is this genre so often overlooked? Or is it having a resurgence?

The MZ Blog is a place for thoughtful reflections and think pieces that explore the lived realities of Gen Z and Millennials. We’re interested in what’s catching your attention. What can’t you stop noticing? What’s making you wonder?

We want to read pieces that start small – maybe you’ve discovered a new niche hobby or tv show, or overheard something at uni – but that seem to speak to something broader. Whether it’s a personal essay, a piece of investigative writing or a reflective take on something quietly shifting around you, we’re here for all curious, conversational writing that connects the dots and taps into what it actually feels like to be a young person right now.

Pieces should be between 500 and 1,500 words. We welcome your draft via Submittable, or shoot us an email at mz@grattanstreetpress.com.

We’re interested in what interests you! If you’re short on ideas, here’s some things we’ve been thinking about:

If you’re not sure if your idea is right for the blog, reach out! We’d love to hear about what’s got you thinking.

Happy writing!

Prompt List:

• Media Literacy (and its supposed decline): do corporations have a hand in this? (think second screen policy)
• The internet, technology & social media: why are we returning to physical media? Will we still be using this media 10 years from now? Is it nostalgia, consumerism or something more? (more and more people seem to have vinyl/cd/cassette/dvd collections, record stores are cool places to go)
• Cultural and media criticisms: Let us know your take on the latest online/TikTok trend/controversy, Kendall Jenner betting ad, sports or political happenings, or the newest show to take over streaming (think final season of Stranger Things, latest season of Bridgerton etc.)
• Culture and identity: how does Gen Z interact with each other? How do situationships impact our wellbeing? Are we treating each other badly? Is individualism killing us? Is there a generational divide as to what constitutes Aussie culture? Do you feel represented in Australian culture?
• Being alive in 2026: how do we manage? Can we still enjoy things/media, or should we be devoting our time to fixing the world’s issues? What niche spaces do you escape into? How does the current cultural landscape impact the mental health of gen Z/millenials?
• Celebrity book clubs: Reese Witherspoon, Dua Lipa, Laufey. The good, the bad, the movie rights, what are your thoughts?
• Hospitality & nightlife in Melbourne: the Melbourne nightlife scene, good or bad? (think Cherry Bar and Yah Yahs owner controversies, why there are no/so few lesbian bars, why do so many queer club owners end up being controversial, what is the difference between inner city clubs and those further out?)
• Living on campus/sharehousing struggles: who gets to do it, who doesn’t? What is the culture in these spaces like? What are the pros/cons? (think of international student housing, sharehouse conflicts and college insularity, what is the cost – literal or emotional – of living near the city/uni?)

Have you read something recently that you’d like to review? The GSP Book Review Blog would love to hear about it! We are seeking enthusiastic writers to review recent contemporary fiction, non-fiction or poetry works from talented Australian writers.
 
Formal reviews should be 500-800 words in length. Each review should follow a general structure which introduces the book and the author, summarises the plot in up to 200 words. The rest of the wordcount should focus on offering your perspective and analysis of the work. Your analysis is the part of the review which interests us most!
 
Below is a list of titles which we would love to see reviewed. If you are interested in reviewing any of the titles on our list and would like to have your thoughts published on our site, please send your submissions for appraisal to Submittable.
 
Alternatively, if you have a contemporary Australian title in mind which is not on our prompt list, we welcome your pitch to: editorial@grattanstreetpress.com.
 
We look forward to reading your unique perspectives on the Australian literary scene.

Happy writing!

Book List:

Fiction

• Crimson Light Polished Wood, Monica Raszewski
• The Immigrants, Moreno Giovannoni
• Lonely Mouth, Jacqueline Maley
• The Passenger Seat, Vijay Khurana
• Mother Tongue, Naima Brown
• Wild Dark Shore, Charlotte McConagh
• In a Common Hour, Sita Walker
• Gravity Let Me Go, Trent Dalton
• Discipline, Randa Abdel-Fattah
• The Ruiners, Ellena Savage

Nonfiction

• Torn, Nicole Madigan
• Cult Bride, Liz Cameron
• Desire Paths, Megan Clement
• How to Dodge Flying Sandals, Daniel Nour
• Someone Like Me, Clem Bastow and Jo Case
• People Who Lunch: On Work, Leisure, and Loose Living, Sally Olds

Poetry

• In Your Dreams, Šime Knežević
• Not Telling, Alison J Barton
• Ritual, Sara M Saleh (ed.), Zainab Syed (ed.), Manal Younus (ed.)
• these memories require, Jacinta Le Plastrier
• Eclipse, Kirli Saunders
• Fitzroy North 3068, Yvette Henry Holt
• Leaves Fall Off to Create Drama, Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle

Grattan Street Press is seeking short stories and chapters/extracts from larger works for the Work in Progress (WIP) feature on our Publishing Blog! 

For fiction, we’re looking for chapters/extracts from larger works and short stories, of any genre from literary fiction to fantasy. 

For non-fiction, we’re looking for chapters/extracts from larger works that explore contemporary social, political and cultural issues that resonate with a modern audience.

When submitting fiction, please include the following:

• a short story or chapter/extract of no more than 4500 words (less is fine!)
• a short summary of the complete work (if submitting a chapter/extract)
• a brief author CV

When submitting non-fiction, please include the following:

• a brief author CV
• a chapter/extract of no more than 4500 words; please choose a chapter/extract that can stand on its own and that can be understood by the average layperson
• a table of contents
• a 500-word outline of the proposed work