Please view our guidelines page on our website for information on required format and style prior to submitting your work. You are welcome to direct enquiries directly to the Editor.
Note that Folly Journal reserves the right not to award a prize for the 2024 Folly Prize should suitable submissions not be received. Let's not let that happen! Write on!
What is Reader Feedback?
Writers often ask for feedback from Folly. We endeavor to support writers to develop, as well as ensure our largely volunteer team is renumerated for their time. If you choose to purchase feedback you will be provided with a page of notes our readership teams thoughts on plot, pacing, character, dialogue with specific comments from our experienced team, including:
- strengths and development opportunities identified
- specific commentary from our editors and reading team about your story.
This service is provided for a fee of $25 NZD and covers the time required for our reading team to compile the assessment and review comments from our team into an email report for you.
When will I receive my assessment?
If the work you have selected us to provide an assessment for has been longlisted, you will be required to wait until after the short listing process for feedback. If your submission has been declined, we will endeavour to provide specific feedback as soon as possible. If your story has been shortlisted you will receive feedback at the end of the shortlisting process.
Why are you offering this service?
Folly stories often come from emerging writers, or people who are new to this craft. For this reason, many of our writers go through a thorough editing process with professional editors prior to publication. We are offering this assessment service to support other emerging writers who are looking to develop their writing, and better understand how they can better hone their stories for Folly in future submissions.
Why are you charging a fee?
The service fee for this assessment and feedback report goes directly to the costs of administering Folly journal, which includes renumerating our mostly volunteer team of readers and editors. The fee has been set in line with other literary journals who offer this service.
As a largely voluntary team, we simply can't provide specific feedback to all submissions.
We thought we would channel the New Yorker this year and see what budding cartoonists were out there. Keep with theme - social satire - and let's see if we vibe together.
Folly is looking for nonfiction works for 2024, Issue 2.
Do you write satire, humourous accounts of the social scene around you, or beautiful takes on love? Folly is looking for real life content that makes us choke into our coffee, cry with laughter or reflect on our lives.
Successful works will be between 500 - 2000 words.
We strongly suggest you read Issue 1 of Folly before submitting your work for Issue 2.
The Folly Short Story Prize is OPEN
Are you drawn to satirical takes on the social scene? Enjoy writing dark humour and starkly honest account of ordinary life? We are looking for content that takes risks, screams with honesty and celebrates life’s extraordinary moments.
Shortlisted entries will be considered for entry into the 2024 print edition of Folly. Those published in Folly will receive a complementary copy of Folly Issue 2.
Thanks to tour supporters, a prize pool of $1500 NZD is on offer.
- First Prize: $1000 NZD
- Runner up: $500 NZD
Note that unlike our other categories, stories submitted to this section are judged on face value. That means they are expected to be submitted to a very high standard with very little if any editing required.
Submission guidelines:
- Submissions close on 30 April 2024.
- Work must be in English and must be between 1000 - 2500 words.
- Work must be in Ariel or Times New Roman, in a type size of 10 or 12pt, with 1.5 spacing. Please view our submission guidelines on our website prior to submitting your work.
- Each submission must be individually submitted (one entry per submission)
- Copyright remains with the author.
- An entry fee of $10 NZD per entry helps to cover our overheads and contributes towards the cost of running and competition and the overall prize money on offer.
This free entry category is for short story submissions to the print edition of Folly, Issue 2 in 2024. We are looking for edgy, fun, vibrant stories. Stories filled with humour, that may be a bit racy, provocative or unusual. We strongly recommend reading Issue 1 of Folly ahead of submitting your work to Folly.
We welcome submissions from around the world, however successful submissions will be stories that resonate with New Zealand readers. This doesn't mean they need to be New Zealand based stories at all, but stories that are accessible for our native audience. Short listed and successful submissions for Issue 1 were from writers based in New Zealand, Australia, Canada, United States, Norfolk Island and the United Kingdom.
Published submitters will receive a complementary print copy of Folly.
Submission guidelines:
- Work must be in English and must be between 500 - 2000 words.
- Work must be in Ariel or Times New Roman, in a type size of 10 or 12pt, with 1.5 spacing. Please view the Submission Guidelines on our website. If you do not follow our submission guidelines, your work may not be read by our reading team.
- Each submission must be individually submitted (one entry per submission)
- Copyright remains with the author.
Folly publishes around eight pieces of poetry in each issue. We are looking for work of no more than one page, that is accessible to a general audience of readers (people who wouldn't usually go out of their way to read poetry). We strongly recommend you read the successful submissions from Issue 1, which included authors Joy Holley, Rowan Taigel, Robin Gow, Will Neuenfedt, Harret Salmon and Megan Mary Moore.
Submission guidelines:
- Work must be in English
- Work must be in Ariel or Times New Roman, in a type size of 10 or 12pt, with 1.5 spacing.
- Each submission must be individually submitted (one entry per submission)
- Copyright remains with the author.