Kill Your Darlings magazine now accepts short fiction submissions from members year-round. (Not yet a member? Join here!) Minimum payment is $1000. We encourage you to read short stories we’ve published to get a sense of the kind of material we like! 

Please follow these guidelines:

• You must be a KYD member to be considered for fiction submissions. Memberships are $59.95.
• Stories must be between 2000 and 5000 words.
• Submissions should be in PDF or Word document format, size 12, double-spaced, Times New Roman font. Please leave your name off the document to assist with the judging process.
• Stories, or substantial portions of these stories, must be previously unpublished.
• Stories may be submitted/pitched elsewhere, but must be withdrawn if accepted for publication elsewhere. 
• Submissions are open year-round. However, to manage efficient reading, please only submit one active submission at a time. 
• Include a short cover letter with relevant biography (no more than 100 words).

We encourage writers from diverse backgrounds and all levels of experience to submit. All successful writers will be expected to undergo editing with KYD staff. Due to the expected volume of submissions, we will not be able to provide feedback on unsuccessful works. 

Interested in developing your writing? Check out our writing courses and manuscript assessments.

Please note that Submittable is a separate platform to the KYD website, so you’ll need to create a free Submittable account to submit your story.

We’re excited to launch the KYD Poetry Prize—a new initiative dedicated to creating new space for the beauty, experimentation and radical linguistic potential of verse.

We seek previously unpublished poems of up to 80 lines from new, emerging and established Australian poets. Submissions close midnight Sunday 2 August 2026. 

Esteemed poets Sara M. Saleh and Ender Başkan join KYD editor Suzy Garcia in the judging of the 2026 prize, the winner of the prize will receive $1000, and two runners-up will receive $500. All three pieces will be published online in Kill Your Darlings magazine.

Need some inspiration? Check out our courses: Writing Poetry with Evelyn Araluen, Structuring Poetry with Andy Jackson and Writing Memoir through Poetry with Sara M Saleh.

You must be a current KYD member to submit.

 Terms & Conditions 

• To enter you must be an Australian resident or citizen.
• To enter you must have a Kill Your Darlings membership active on the prize’s closing date. To subscribe from $59.95, please click here. (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers are invited to enter without a membership—please indicate on your entry if this applies to you.)
• You must be 18 years of age or over at time of submission.
• Submissions close at 11:59pm (AEDT) Sunday 2 August 2026. Entries submitted after the closing date will not be considered.
• Entries must be submitted using this Submittable portal. Submitting requires a free Submittable account—this is separate from the login associated with your KYD Membership. Entries submitted by email (unless in exceptional circumstances and with prior agreement from Kill Your Darlings) will not be considered.
• ‘Hybrid’ works including illustrations or other non-textual elements will be considered, but they must contain prose text within the stated word limits. 
• Entries must be an original and previously unpublished work. (Previously published writing can be adapted or built upon to form a new original work.) Entries may be submitted/pitched elsewhere during the prize period but must be withdrawn if accepted for publication elsewhere. 
• Submissions must not include AI-generated text, and any unidentified use of AI will be considered a form of plagiarism. 
• Completed stories must be attached as one single PDF or MS Word document. Numbered A4 pages with double-spaced 12pt Times New Roman (or similar) font is encouraged but not essential.
• Only one entry per person will be accepted.
• The decision of the judges is final. The judges will not enter into any correspondence and no individual feedback will be provided to entrants.
• The winner and runners-up will partake in a collaborative editorial process with the KYD team. Final decisions on formatting, images and titles are made in-house.