A pioneer in the field, Rabbit has celebrated the potential for poetry to explore and interrogate the boundaries of nonfiction writing. Rabbit encourages poets to openly engage with auto/biography, history, politics, economics, mathematics, cultural analysis, science, the environment, and all other aspects of real world experience, recollection and interpretation.
Across its 40-issue history, Rabbit: a journal for nonfiction poetry has gathered together and disseminated poems from across the globe that have addressed themes such as Science, Geography, Politics, (Auto)Biography, Belonging, Form, Indigenous, Reportage, Archive, Architecture, Extinction and many more.
Some of the contributors to the journal include Jordie Albiston, Natalie Harkin, Johanna Drucker, Dennis Cooley, Craig Santos Perez, Jaya Savige, Justin Clemens, Jennifer Compton, Jane Hirshfield, Kenneth Goldsmith, Stuart Cooke, Melody Paloma, Lisa Gorton, Duncan Hose, Michael Farrell, Petra White, Cassandra Atherton, Liam Ferney, Miriam Wei Wei Lo, Amy Brown, Alison Whittaker, Anna Jackson, Alex Skovron, Alvin Pang, joanne burns, Robert Sullivan, Ian McBryde, Jeanine Leane, Kate Middleton, Jill Jones, Bonny Cassidy, Patrick Jones, Eileen Myles, Ann Vickery, Lesley Wheeler, Ania Walwicz, Pierre Joris, Peter Boyle, Ken Bolton, Fiona Hile and Pam Brown.
Rabbit Poetry is now moving into a new phase of showcasing exciting new ‘nonfiction poetry’ via the Rabbit Annual.
Following the release of our bumper 2025 Rabbit Annual, we are pleased to open for submissions for our 2026 Rabbit Annual of nonfiction poetry. Once again, we welcome poems that explore, interrogate and push the boundaries of nonfiction writing, and are interested in reading poetic engagements with auto/biography, documentary, history, politics, economics, mathematics, cultural analysis, science, the environment, and all other aspects of real-world experience, recollection and interpretation.
Your submission must include the following:
· 1-3 unpublished* poems (preferably in word doc, though pdf also acceptable)
· A short bio (50 words max.)
· A short answer to the following Rabbit question: What is a 'nonfiction poem' that you would offer to a young or new reader of poetry?
*We accept simultaneous submissions, but please let us know as soon as a submitted poem has been accepted elsewhere.
DEADLINE: 11:59pm, May 30, 2026
We are thrilled that our guest co-editors for this 2026 Rabbit Annual are Jaya Savige and Susie Anderson.
Susie Anderson's poetry and prose are rooted in her Wergaia and Wemba Wemba heritage, exploring memory, art, and connection to Country. Her acclaimed debut, the body country (Hachette, 2023), affirms writing as a form of return. She recently completed a Creative Australia BR Whiting Studio Fellowship in Rome to work on a novel, and is currently part of the Sydney Review of Books Emerging Critics program.
Jaya Savige's most recent poetry collection, Change Machine (UQP 2020), was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Poetry, the NSW Premier’s Kenneth Slessor Prize and two Queensland Literary Awards. Born in Sydney to an Indonesian father and an Anglo-Celtic Australian mother, Jaya grew up on Bribie Island and in Meanjin/Brisbane. His first book, Latecomers (2005), won the NSW Premier’s Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, while Surface to Air (2011) was shortlisted for the ALS Gold Medal and the Age Poetry Book of the Year. Jaya’s reviews and essays have appeared in Poetry (Chicago), Times Literary Supplement, London Magazine and throughout Australia. A former Gates Scholar at the University of Cambridge, he is also poetry editor for The Australian. He currently lives in London, and has held Creative Australia residencies at the B. R. Whiting Library Studio in Rome, and the Nancy Keesing Studio at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris.
Poetry submission terms and conditions:
- The submission must be an original work
- You must be the copyright owner of the material
- If you include any third party copyrighted material, you are responsible for clearing permissions and providing us with confirmation (e.g. usage of song lyrics, text or images)
- The submission must not be published elsewhere
- The submission must not contain anything defamatory/libellous
By submitting your poetry to Rabbit Annual for consideration, you are agreeing with terms and conditions set out above. Prior to publication, you will be sent out a permissions form for signature that covers the above parameters.
All contributors will receive a complimentary copy of the journal. We are only able to pay all Australian contributors.