New Contrast Literary Journal

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New Contrast Literary Journal Get published in New Contrast, The South African Literary Journal. Both our Nobel Literature laureates are patrons.

We accept submission in flash fiction, short stories, poetry, poems, essays, reviews, and artwork. Over the years, Contrast and New Contrast have brought many of this country's best writers to public notice. New Contrast provide a platform for writers of poetry and prose to get their work published and noticed.

Dear New Contrast Supporters, please join us for a very special afternoon as we celebrate Keith Gottschalk and his many ...
01/10/2026

Dear New Contrast Supporters, please join us for a very special afternoon as we celebrate Keith Gottschalk and his many years of dedicated service to New Contrast.

Enjoy an afternoon of poetry, conversation, tea and community while helping to raise funds for the future of New Contrast. This promises to be a memorable occasion as we honour Keith’s remarkable contribution and support of the continued work of the journal.

Scan the QR code for tickets or visit the link in bio.

‼️EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT‼️ The New Contrast Editorial team is so thrilled to welcome Kopano Maroga on as Guest Editor for...
27/08/2026

‼️EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT‼️

The New Contrast Editorial team is so thrilled to welcome Kopano Maroga on as Guest Editor for Issue 213, entitled HOLY F*CK. 🙂‍↕️

Kopano Maroga (they/them) is a South African performance artist, writer, educator and cultural worker. They are a PhD candidate at the Royal Institute for Theatre, Cinema and Sound in Brussels, Belgium and incumbent interfaith minister through The Thread Interspiritual Seminary.

Their debut poetry collection, Jesus Thesis and Other Critical Fabulations, was released through uHlanga Press in 2020, shortlisted for the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences award for Best Fiction (Poetry) and later translated into German through akono Verlag in 2023.

They very much believe in the power of Love as a weapon of mass construction.

Welcome to the team, Kopano, we are beyond excited to work and learn with you!

Submissions for 213, HOLY F*CK are now OPEN till September 21st.

Visit the feed or the link in bio for more details.

New Contrast is calling for submissions for Issue 213, entitled HOLY F*CK!Centred around the intersection between the Er...
26/08/2026

New Contrast is calling for submissions for Issue 213, entitled HOLY F*CK!

Centred around the intersection between the Erotic/Eros and the Divine/Sublime, we seek provocative prose, poetry, reviews, art, and criticism to reclaim, reimagine, and celebrate desire in all its forms.

We want bold voices – fresh takes on love, passion, pleasure, divinity and intimacy. We invite submissions that delight in the messy, the sweaty, the carnal, the ravenous, the transcendent and the damned.

We also invite submissions that do not shy away from our reality as a country (and world) besieged by sexual violence. A world that weaponises the Erotic and the Divine for domination and expansion.

There is pain and there is pleasure here. Gods and devils and demons and h***y, half-human half-goats. Take us by the hand and show us the Erotic in the Divine and the Divine in the Erotic.

Submit on Submittable via the link in bio.

‼️ Submissions close at midnight on the 21st September 2026 ‼️

Design by Stoep Collective London | Narrative and Editorial Studio

New Contrast is calling for submissions for Issue 213, entitled HOLY F*CK!Centred around the intersection between the Er...
26/08/2026

New Contrast is calling for submissions for Issue 213, entitled HOLY F*CK!

Centred around the intersection between the Erotic/Eros and the Divine/Sublime, we seek provocative prose, poetry, reviews, art, and criticism to reclaim, reimagine, and celebrate desire in all its forms.
We want bold voices – fresh takes on love, passion, pleasure, divinity and intimacy.

We invite submissions that delight in the messy, the sweaty, the carnal, the ravenous, the transcendent and the damned.

We also invite submissions that do not shy away from our reality as a country (and world) besieged by sexual violence. A world that weaponises the Erotic and the Divine for domination and expansion.

There is pain and there is pleasure here. Gods and devils and demons and h***y, half-human half-goats. Take us by the hand and show us the Erotic in the Divine and the Divine in the Erotic.

Please visit the link in bio to submit via Submittable.

‼️Submissions close midnight 21st September 2026‼️

The board and editors of New Contrast journal stand with J M Coetzee — we honour his decision to decline to participate ...
20/05/2026

The board and editors of New Contrast journal stand with J M Coetzee — we honour his decision to decline to participate in the Jerusalem Festival and deplore the selective publication of his correspondence with the organizers. This act, intended to cause injury, has instead sparked collective support for John from fellow writers and bodies like the National Writers Association of South Africa and Pen South Africa for his empathy and solidarity with Palestinians and for refusing to erase the genocide in Gaza.

New Contrast joins our fellow writers and artists in standing with John, whom we honour as a writer, teacher and voice for an ethical relation to the world. We join him and other South African writers in rejecting the use of culture to obscure and justify genocide.

John, New Contrast stands with you as you have done with us for decades and we are with you now in solidarity with the people of Gaza!

SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR ISSUE 212 ARE NOW OPENWe are accepting submissions for poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non...
19/05/2026

SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR ISSUE 212 ARE NOW OPEN

We are accepting submissions for poetry, fiction, flash fiction, creative non-fiction and reviews.

Please read our guidelines carefully to make sure your submissions will be read and considered.

We accept submissions in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans.

Please note we only accept submissions via Submittable! No email or DM submissions will be considered. Link in bio.

Artwork is from our 211 cover by Ruschka Du Toit

Happy writing! ✍️

📚 OPEN BOOK WORKSHOP WEEK 📚Join Robyn Paterson and Shane van Der Hoven for a session discussing all things submissions!T...
08/05/2026

📚 OPEN BOOK WORKSHOP WEEK 📚

Join Robyn Paterson and Shane van Der Hoven for a session discussing all things submissions!

This workshop will provide writers with tools and practical knowledge that will help give them the best chance at getting published in a literary journal. We will run through common errors, how to properly read a submission call, what editors are looking for in a submission, the importance of workshopping a draft before submitting, submission no-nos and etiquette and crafting a compelling cover letter and bio.

The workshop will be interactive, have exercises and time for loads of questions. Plus, it’s free! Limited space so sign up early! Link in bio.

LAUNCH TIME! This month we’re launching a very (very) special issue in memory of Diana Ferrus and Zoë Wicomb.The issue i...
04/05/2026

LAUNCH TIME!

This month we’re launching a very (very) special issue in memory of Diana Ferrus and Zoë Wicomb.

The issue is filled with heartfelt tributes to both writers, with reflections on their work, friendships and indelible mark on South African literature. We also have some incredible prose, poetry and criticism from our most recent submission call.

Please join us in celebrating this issue in honor of Diana Ferrus and Zoë Wicomb at Spin Street Gallery on the 14th of May from 17h30 onwards.

will be selling some delicious eats, and Spin Street will have a cash bar with refreshments. See you there!

Cover artwork for issue 211 (featured on invite) is thanks to
Production design thanks to

‼️NEW CONTRAST SPECIAL ISSUE SUBMISSION CALL ‼️New Contrast is inviting submissions for a special issue, in partnership ...
25/04/2026

‼️NEW CONTRAST SPECIAL ISSUE SUBMISSION CALL ‼️

New Contrast is inviting submissions for a special issue, in partnership with the Ethics Lab at the University of Cape Town. We’re looking for previously unpublished African speculative fiction that grapples with the ethical questions of living alongside new and emerging technologies.

This submission call will be open to all writers across Southern Africa. English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa submissions accepted. Submission window will run from April 15th to July 15th 2026, with the issue being published early 2027.

Check the link in bio for more guidelines and info on how to submit! We’re so excited to read your work!

Gabeba Baderoon and New Contrast writers at the most recent The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Collective event! Thank you so mu...
03/04/2026

Gabeba Baderoon and New Contrast writers at the most recent The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Collective event!

Thank you so much to The Red Wheelbarrow Poetry Collective for hosting us! Such a wonderful evening of writing, conversation and community. 💚

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PO Box 44844, Claremont
Cape Town
7735

Telephone

+27832787370

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