UQP Call-Out for Submissions to Weaving Gold from Firelight: Fairytales with a Blak twist

UQP is delighted to announce a new anthology called Weaving Gold from Firelight: Fairytales with a Blak twist, which will collect up to twenty fractured fairytales by First Nations writers, edited by award-winning author Lisa Fuller, and generously supported by Creative Australia.

The anthology seeks to challenge mainstream colonial narratives, exploring ideas of otherness and exclusion, while celebrating First Nations cultures.

Published and unpublished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers are invited to reimagine their ‘favourite’ classic fairytale (think Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen) as a short piece of fiction suitable for children aged 8–12 years old.

A range of formats, including short stories, stories in verse, and graphic storytelling, is welcomed. The pieces must not infringe on First Nations peoples’ spiritual beliefs or conflate First Nations beliefs with ‘fairytales’.

Submissions close 1 June 2026. Email weavinggoldfromfirelight@gmail.com for queries, but please note that the editors will not be able to provide feedback on submissions that are not selected for publication. All contributors will be paid a minimum AUD$500.

Guideline summary:

• Submission deadline: 11:59pm AEST, 1 June 2026. Late submissions will not be accepted.
• The author/s must be at least 18, and be of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, must personally identify as such and be accepted by the community in which they live/d.
• Word counts: short stories 1000–2000 words; stories in verse 500 words maximum (no rhyming, please); comics 5–10 pages (sample artwork is acceptable at this stage).
• Target audience: middle grade, ie, children aged 8–12 years old.
• Entries must be standalone pieces and not be previously published.
• First-time and emerging writers are encouraged to submit.
• All forms of difference and inclusion are welcome and encouraged, but please do not take on the voice of a minority of which you are not a part.
• All stories are to be human made. Content created wholly or partly by generative AI will not be accepted.
• All stories should be a reinterpretation of a classic fairytale, but the link to the source material may be as subtle or as obvious as you wish.

How to submit:

• Work should be submitted as a Word document via email to weavinggoldfromfirelight@gmail.com
• Please use a legible font in 12-point, double spaced with page numbers. Do not send links. If necessary, sample artwork may be supplied as low-res jpegs.
• We will contact you only if you are successful. No feedback will be provided.
• Please put your name in the document file name (for example, Lisa_Fuller_Scarlet_Wold.docx)
• Include a 50–100 word bio with your submission.
• You may submit more than one entry.

For further information and a sample story, please click here.

"Was the villain really that bad? Or did the protag get a jump on the PR? Maybe the ‘villain’ is just happy with who they are and doesn’t need a sugar-frosted fairytale? Who is that character outside of the trope, or inside it? What does ‘happily ever after’ mean and for whom? There are so questions, and so many ways to twist them.

Pick your ‘favourite’ fairytale and go to town, being sure not to infringe on anyone’s copyright, so think Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. The pieces must not infringe on peoples’ spiritual beliefs, including our own, or conflate First Nations beliefs with ‘fairytales’. I’m open to audience-appropriate content, all fiction genres welcome, and in a range of formats." - Lisa Fuller