Folly welcomes submissions from around the world.
We open for submissions on the 18th of January 2026 via Submittable. This can be accessed directly from our website on the button below, or via the Submittable platform.
We are particularly interested in personal essays and journalistic-style articles, as well as short stories and poetry. Most accepted submissions for Folly Journal explore society, politics, culture and the sensual side of life - sexy, raw and honest.
This year, 2026, we will also be accepting submissions of novella length manuscripts, short story or essay collections, and erotica for potential publication as individual books and collections.
Submission guidelines
Public Submissions to Folly Journal
We accept flash fiction, short stories, essays, nonfiction and poetry. Individual entries mustn’t exceed 2500 words. Don’t take this as a target, we love short and snappy prose of around 500 words too and even better if you can wow us on just one page.
Submitted work must be in English, with 1.5 spacing and in a standard font.
We will endeavour to respond to all submissions within two weeks, and all shortlisted submitters within four weeks. Due to the influx of submissions, our response times may vary at times.
Nonfiction pitches to Folly Journal
We pay a flat $300 NZD fee to professional writers whose works are accepted following a direct pitch to our editor. We have space for up to four nonfiction essays or works per year in this category.
Due to the quantity of pitches, we can not respond to all pitches. However, all submissions submitted through our Submissions Portal are reviewed within three weeks.
Submissions to Folly Press
We are experimenting this year with the possibility of publishing additional books through our Folly imprint. These can be submitted through Submittable.
Payment Policy for Folly Journal
Folly is an independent publication that does not receive public grants or other funding. Like other international literary publications, we endeavour to create a viable publication with longevity for the writing community. At this current time, our fundraising efforts, sales and small reading charge enables us to:
Ensure our contracted production team, excluding our founders, receive a stipend or payment for their work.
Provides a professional payment to professional writers who pitch directly to us or are referred to us for a written piece of work.
Provide contributor copies or a small payment to all contributors whose works are submitted through the public portal.
FAQs
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Submissions open in mid January each year, closing around the end of April. Please keep an eye on our socials and our submission dates in Submittable - which are always up to date.
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If you have been longlisted, you will be notified as soon as possible and usually within a few weeks of submitting.
Those selected for publication will be notified within a week of submissions closing (end April).
If you work has not been longlisted, you will usually hear back from us within two weeks of submitting.
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We encourage you to purchase a copy of Folly to familiarise yourself with the tone and content we enjoy.
The only exception to this is the potential publication of an erotica edition. Which is purely due to the large amount of erotica we receive that is entirely unsuitable for Folly Journal, but most likely amenable to Whitcoulls, who banned Folly for being offensive but stocks much erotica.
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We have a small budget to split evenly amongst contributors. The amount paid will depend on the total number of submissions accepted but will be between $25 - $50 per entry.
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We appreciate that frankness and honesty in writing requires courage.
For this reason we happily accept stories and poems from writers who wish to use a pseudonym.
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Yes. Events are run as a Friends of Folly Members event. To be invited to a soiree, please join us as patron.
Our annual Folly Party is ticketed. Sales cover the costs of the party and ensure all staff, security and entertainers are paid.