brief

The other New Zealand literary journal

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Brief issue 54

Brief 54 Cover

Special issue: Love

Edited by Olivia Macassey. 136pp.

Featuring work by: John Adams, Nick Ascroft, Cassandra Atherton, Stu Bagby, Cassandra Barnett, Iain Britton, Isaac Brodie, Berengaria Burns, Stephanie Christie, Mary Cresswell, David Lyndon Brown, Rene Harrison, Ted Jenner, Matt Kelly, Robert Kempen, Sid Khanzode, Harvey Molloy, Janet Newman, Piet Nieuwland, Keith Nunes, Sugu Pillay, Vaughan Rapatahana, Sean Redmond, Jack Ross, Carin Smeaton, Ruby Solly, Fiona Stevens, Richard Taylor, Richard von Sturmer, Bill Wolak, Mark Young.

Reviews: Michael Onslow-Osbourne reviews Carbon Shapes and Dark Matter by Stephanie Christie; Olivia Macassey reviews Song of the Ghost in the Machine by Roger Horrocks.

“Love, exciting and new/ Come aboard, we’re expecting you” (Paul Williams, Love Boat Theme)

Older issues 1995-2014

brief issue 1

For details of older issues of brief, we suggest you visit the excellent and comprehensive website A brief index.

The website includes a full list of contents pages, contributors and editors of each issue, as well as a breakdown by issue and contributor. It also includes other interesting material relating to the journal’s history, such as editorial statements and manifestos, and a list of books published by brief.

The magazine was founded in December 1995 by Alan Loney. Its format was simple: A4 sheets, copied exactly as their authors wrote them, stapled together, then distributed with bio notes and a cover.

Call for submissions: issue 54 – love

“Love, exciting and new/ Come aboard, we’re expecting you” (Paul Williams, Love Boat Theme)

“Once the first avowal has been made, “I love you” has no meaning whatever; it merely repeats in an enigmatic mode – so blank does it appear – the old message (which may not have been transmitted in these words). I repeat it exclusive of any pertinence; it comes out of the language, it divagates – where?” (Roland Barthes [trans. Richard Howard], A Lover’s Discourse)

Submissions are invited for the 54th issue of brief, which will be a thematic issue on love, edited by Olivia Macassey. Submissions are to be received by February 29, 2016, and can be emailed to brief.the.journal [at]gmail.com. Non-electronic submissions up to A4 in size can be mailed to the editor by prior arrangement.

View our submission guidelines here.

Brief, a biannual print journal (founded in 1995), is a space for new experimental writing, work that does something interesting, etc. It publishes poetry, prose, essays & criticism, hybrid forms, and occasionally visual art. Contributors receive an issue of the journal as payment.

Brief issue 53

brief issue 53

Anniversary 1995 – 2015

Editor: Alex Wild  (Poetry editor: Brett Cross). 150pp.

Featuring work by: Nick Ascroft, Sarah Bogle, Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle, Isobel Cairns, Joel Chace, Stephanie Christie, Kate Davis, Erin Doyle, Murray Edmond, Rachel Fenton, Fresh and Fruity Manifesto, John Geraets, Ted Jenner, Sid Khanzode, Geum Hye Kim, Olivia Macassey, Harvey Molloy, Jun Moungboon, Keith Nunes, Sugu Pillay, Vaughan Rapatahana, Manon Revuelta, Jack Ross, Carin Smeaton, Richard von Sturmer, Richard Taylor, Mark Young.

Reviews: Richard Taylor reviews The Blinding Walk by K. M. Ross; John Geraets reviews The Gold Leaves by Edward Jenner.

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