Call for Submissions
Exhume is a new critical literary space designed to explore themes relevant to a history of Australian literary criticism.
exhume (verb):
to reveal; disclose; unearth; bring to light
to discover that which has been buried
to bring back from neglect or obscurity
to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting
to recover something for further examination
In Exhume we are seeking to delve deep into literature, uncovering and exposing unique histories, works, or authors. We are striving to promote literature and literary criticism that makes us think critically about the enduring worth of books in the Australian literary landscape.
Exhume is supported by the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing and seeks to promote literary and scholarly knowledge across Australian audiences.
We are currently seeking essay pitches for the inaugural issue.
Our aim is to foster the development of long-form literary criticism by new and emerging scholarly voices. Therefore, we are looking to publish contributions of 3,000-4,000 words by current HDR students and ECRs from across Australia and are especially interested in highlighting regional perspectives. A core value of Exhume is to bridge the gap between academic and popular writing, providing a publishing experience for contributors to further their creative, writing, and literary careers.
Contributions are expected to offer rich, in-depth analysis of specific authors, texts, genres, or themes related but not limited to Australian literature and literary cultures. Contributors are encouraged to structure their pieces as academically informed and well researched, but written for a broad and general audience. We direct interested contributors to model their work on pieces from sites such as the Sydney Review of Books, where reviews and essays consider various elements of Australian writing, situate the writing within specific histories, and contextualise authors within the catalogues of both their own work and that of their peers.
We welcome contributions that relate to current research projects, but all pieces must be previously unpublished and open to development through our workshopping process.
If your pitch is accepted
If your pitch is accepted, we invite you to take part in a series of workshopping sessions that offer peer-review in a supportive environment. This practice means you will receive feedback from the editorial team and another contributor on your draft to ensure your work reaches its critical potential. It will also provide you with the opportunity to read the work of others and provide your own feedback during this drafting process. It is important to us to be able to foster a supportive writing and editorial environment for everyone involved.
We value your time and work, and successful contributions will be paid at a rate of $300 per piece.
The publication will be a series of ten curated pieces, published on a dedicated substack. Accepted pieces will be posted over a staggered publication period throughout December 2025 and January 2026.
For our inaugural round of publications, we encourage submissions to consider the spirit of ‘exhume’ in the literary context. For an idea of topics that pitches might address:
skeletons in the closet, buried secrets, family histories, forgotten pasts, the ethics of silence
fact vs fiction: the truth behind a story; literary hoaxes, plagiarism controversies
an in depth investigation to the construction of a text or its sociocultural context for writing or publication
writing that corrects misconceptions or falsehoods, acts as testimony or justice-seeking
reviving forgotten or overlooked works or authors; uncovering neglected thematic investigations; the historical erasure of marginalised stories
This list is non-exhaustive and we welcome pitches that broadly and uniquely interpret the overarching theme.
Submission guidelines:
Submit via email to exhume.lit@gmail.com with the subject title “Essay Pitch - [Your Name]”
Please provide a short (approx 250 words) description of your proposed article
A brief author bio and affiliation, if relevant
Please submit your pitches by: 11 July, 2025
Accepted pitches will be notified by: 21 July 2025
Workshopping and peer review will occur throughout October 2025
Final pieces to be submitted by: November 2025
Please keep this timeline in mind when submitting a pitch.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Bianca and Johanna at exhume.lit@gmail.com
What is our stance on the use of AI?
We want to read and publish original work. If your proposed piece, in any part, relies on the assistance of generative AI, its use is to be acknowledged and justified as part of your pitch.
How are we defining ECRs?
While we consider ECRs recent alumni of postgraduate degrees, we also acknowledge that academic careers are not always linear and approach this term with openness. If you are unsure if this is you, feel free to reach out!
What is our definition of ‘Australian’?
We acknowledge that the identity marker of ‘Australian’ is loaded and complex. We certainly do not restrict our definition of ‘Australian’ to the confines or citizenship or country of origin. We are seeking contributions from those who are working with Australian-based affiliations or research institutions or are conducting work within the sociocultural Australian context.
