The Unravel publishes short essays and non-fiction between 2000 and 4000 words. Although based in Australia, we’re open to submissions in English from anywhere in the world. In addition we’d love to showcase high quality photo essays – whether it be street photography, landscape or portraiture.
In terms of subject matter we’re open to a wide range of topics as long as you provide a bit of backstory. You’re writing for the sort of people that can spend the better part of an afternoon stuck in a Wikipedia-wormhole. Think Wired, but with more backstory, or the New Yorker after someone has taken a lint-roller to the prose. Travel writing with a focus on history is always appreciated – Atlas Obscura might tell you where to find weird landmarks but The Unravel will tell you where on earth they came from.
Owing to our ad-hoc publishing schedule we’re more interested in long-term trends than breaking news and we love deep dives into obscure topics. You don’t have to be a an academic to write something scholarly – that’s why the wonderful Library of Elbakyan exists.
For the time being The Unravel pays A$200 per article with a boost planned depending on how we go with our Patreon goals. We buy First Electronic Publication Rights and the non-exclusive rights to include the story in a print and digital anthology. All other rights remain with the contributor.
Our response time for submissions can be up three weeks but we aim for shorter turnarounds. Even if we don’t end up publishing your work we will get back to you with a short critique or a personal note.
All submissions can be sent to admin@theunravel.com.au