Splinter journal spotlights the next generation of literary voices in its fourth issue, which launched on May 21.
The new issue of the South Australian-based literary journal features new fiction, essays, literary criticism, memoir, and poetry by 21 writers from across Australia and the world. Now distributed by Simon & Schuster through a partnership with Pink Shorts Press, the nascent journal is on track to reach a broader audience
Editor Farrin Foster says issue four introduces readers to “the best writers you haven’t read, yet.”
“Every issue, we have been excited to bring our readers some startlingly magnetic new voices, but issue four is particularly densely packed with freshly-discovered talent,” she says.
“It’s an issue filled with writers who have found their voices in a period of escalating global chaos. While each of them has a style that is unique and wholly their own – and that’s why we love them – there is also a thread that ties them together. It’s a combined sense of tenderness and bitterness that feels strangely comforting and very appropriate to our current moment.”
Throughout the issue writers explore the tender nature of a bitter life by peering deeply into some lesser-explored nooks of existence. In a short story by Angus McGrath, a parasocial relationship blurs the line between fandom and cannibalism. Meanwhile, essaysist Mx Sly chronicles their experiences of navigating consent in kink, and Melanie Saward questions if the moniker social media is appropriate now online platforms are so openly hostile to their users. There’s also a surprising amount of analysis of Kath Day-Knight (yes, of Kath & Kim fame) thanks to writer Heather Taylor-Johnson.
“The issue is full of writing that is sometimes very serious, but never self-serious. And often, it is quite funny,” says Foster. “What we want is writing that makes us understand something in a new way and keeps our eyes stuck to the page. These 21 writers have more than delivered.”
The writers in issue four are based in Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, India, and Palestine. Seven of the 21 featured writers are South Australian-based.
The full writer list is: Alex Sawyer, Angus McGrath, Aries M Gacutan, Audrey Menz, Brett Dionysius, Caitlin Farrugia, Eniola Abdulroqeeb Arowolo, Heather Taylor-Johnson, Jake Dennis, Johnny von Einem, Kate Maxwell, Koushiki Dasgupta Chaudhuri, Lucy Van, Mahmoud M Alshaer, Melanie Saward, Mx Sly, Olivia De Zilva, Tehnuka, Thomas Gloyn, Tikari Rigney, and Zarah Yakubu.
Issue four of Splinter is out now via bookstores and splinterjournal.com.
ABOUT SPLINTER
Splinter is published every six months out of Tarntanya (Adelaide) by Writers SA. The journal is created in partnership with Adelaide University and Flinders University, and with support from CreateSA.
Splinter is a literary journal for writing that is sharp and hard to ignore. It is published in print out of Tarntanya (Adelaide, Australia) biannually. The journal is dedicated to showcasing local voices in their rightful place alongside national and international writers, with at least 25 per cent of its published content authored by SA writers.
