Ends on 1/31/2015

Melbourne Spoken Word is proud to announce the launch of Audacious, a new audio journal of spoken word to be launched in 2015. It will feature poetic recordings to be available for download or as a CD and we are now seeking submissions to the inaugural issue.

We want Audacious to be true to its name and feature the boldest voices and sounds from Melbourne’s vibrant spoken word and poetry community from the quiet and profound readings in pubs to the in your face and vulnerable pieces delivered in slams, as well as everything in between. We want emerging voices as well as familiar names. We want important voices, funny, entertaining and even raw voices, a mix of the diversity of our scene.

We are seeking poetry that is judged not just on its poetic and thematic merit but on its aural qualities as well, the best use of the tools your voice offers. Submissions are now open for the first edition to be released in early 2015. We are seeking spoken word recordings not seeking written work. We may accept pieces but ask you to come into our studio to re-record the piece for better quality or record it live ourselves. We are also commissioning work and specific poets alongside open submissions.

We recommend that the pieces are no longer than 5 minutes, except if the work is exceptional. Please query beforehand for longer work. Poems should be strictly submitted in .wav files to maintain quality.

Submissions are open to everyone, including beyond Melbourne, but we admit to a bias toward Melbourne poets or those connected to the Melbourne community, and so we intend for that to be the primary focus whilst also not completely excluding outside voices.

We are looking for generally previously unpublished work. Publication does not include performance of work. We may accept some previously published work. Please query beforehand.

We expect more submissions than we could possibly publish and rejection does not necessarily mean a judgement on the quality of work. We may ask to keep some pieces for future editions. We encourage you to submit again, though.

Payment is a percentage of royalties split between the published poets paid around 3 months after publication. We hope to earn enough or have enough funding to pay poets a flat fee in future editions.

Any questions can be forwarded to benjamin@melbournespokenword.com

Please read the submission guidelines carefully and pay attention to the questions asked with your submission as not meeting the guidelines may mean automatic rejection of your work.