Kill Your Darlings publishes commentary, essays, memoir, reviews and interviews online, with a particular interest in writing on culture, politics and society with a personal, accessible approach.
If you’d like to pitch to KYD we strongly recommend that you read our content first to familiarise yourself with our tone and style.
Kill Your Darlings is proud to publish writers at varying stages of their careers, from new and emerging voices to established and well-known writers. We encourage writers from diverse backgrounds and at all levels of experience to pitch and submit to us. We’ve put together a list of tips on pitching to help you put your best pitch forward.
Kill Your Darlings pays all contributors. Our minimum standard pay rate is $300 for an article of approx. 1200–1500 words.
Active submission portals will appear below. For upcoming projects and submission dates, visit our Write For KYD page.
Please note that Submittable, where we accept pitches and submissions, is a separate platform to the KYD website, so you’ll need to create a new account here and cannot use your KYD login details.
Now in its seventh year, the KYD School Writing Prize gives a voice to young people exploring aspects of contemporary life and society that concern them.
In 2025, we are seeking entries from students that explore the theme of ‘leadership’.
We are looking for writing entries of between 1000 and 1500 words that responds to this theme as widely and creatively as possible in the following genres:
- Short fiction
- Essays
- Personal reflections
- Memoir and biography
- Genre pieces (fantasy, sci-fi, historical, romance, crime)
Entries open: 10am AEST, Monday 12 May 2025
Entries close: 5pm AEST, Friday, 1 August 2025
Judge: KYD Editor Suzy Garcia
Prize: $500 cash prize and publication in KYD magazine
Entry to the KYD School Writing Prize is open exclusively to KYD School Members and their students. There is no additional entry fee.
KYD School Members also have free access to two 45-minute online courses designed to assist students in writing pieces to submit to the Prize.
For full terms and conditions on the 2025 Prize, click here.
Extra resources:
- View our School Writing Prize pdf
- Download a poster/flyer to print for your school
- Download social media tiles to share information about the prize
- Download our guide to preparing work for submission to the prize
- Download previous winners’ stories in a user-friendly pdf
- Download the full 2025KYD School Writing Prize Submission Guidelines and Terms & Conditions
Please email info@killyourdarlings.com.au if you have any questions!