Announcing the call for submissions for the 2023 CSFG anthology – BODY OF WORK

Mockup anthology cover, depicting a dark metallic humanoid figure with a red halo and various anthology submission details

Body of Work sample cover

What is a body? 

In the modern world, the body is an object, separate from the self. The body is an inconvenience whose needs are a barrier to overcome in pursuit of productivity. The body is a collection of features. The body is an asset in which we invest to increase value. The body is sanitised, with illness and death hidden from public view. The body is effortless; evidence of exertion is edited out, except perhaps a single drop of sweat for aesthetic emphasis. 

BODY OF WORK rejects this dislocation of the body from self. The body belongs to us in all its glory. This anthology seeks speculative fiction that explores the body and our relationship to it – how we live in it, how we die in it, and how we transform it – from the good to the bad to the just plain weird.

Australian authors are invited to consider the following themes and add their speculative spin: Bodily autonomy; Transformation and metamorphosis; Adaptation and mutation; Curses; Shapeshifting; Gender and sexuality; Illness and wellness; Disability and accessibility; Beauty standards; Body modification; Birth, aging, and death; Life cycles; Survival; Cyborgs, hybrids, and monsters; Medicine, medical history, and public health.

C Z Tacks will lead the editorial team for the next volume in CSFG’s long-running anthology series, Body of Work (working title). Tacks wants you to submit short stories up to 5000 words or poems up to 40 lines. Authors must be from or living in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. Submissions will close at midnight, 31 May 2023 (AEST).

For full details and submission guidelines – please read them carefully – check out the Body of Work submissions page.