What is   ?

demos journal is a volunteer-run progressive journal for emerging writers based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri land (Canberra). Originally formed and guided by our understanding of the need for a democratic response to climate change, we publish critical and creative writing and art addressing the climate crisis, capitalism, Indigenous politics, refugee justice, ecology and higher education.

demos publishes a variety of forms, including poetry, long-form articles, essays, short stories, mixed media creative writing, interviews, features, book reviews, memoirs and other non-conventional forms. We encourage writers to experiment, subvert expectations, be playful and use creative approaches that resist easy categorisation.

demos consists of themed issues, published online on this platform. We also intermittently publish joint print and online issues, such as our Student Activism, and The University issues. demos also organises events in Canberra and elsewhere.

As a previous demos editor and co-founder, Odette Shenfield put it in an interview:

One thing that unifies many progressive campaigns is that we’re up against an undemocratic, broken political system, where things like corporate influence, short-term election cycles and hegemonic free market ideology make it incredibly difficult for activists to affect change. I guess that’s part of the reason we decided to call the project ‘demos’ – to create a space where people can begin to imagine a different kind of politics, a politics, to paraphrase Schumacher, as if people mattered.

demos strives to support young and emerging writers. Since the first published issue in 2015 we have included new and unheard voices to respond to current issues in a way that challenges the anti-democratic capitalist consensus.

If you are interested in writing for demos journal, follow us on Twitter or Facebook and look out for our call for submissions. If you are interested in joining our volunteer team, click here. You can read all our past issues here, or visit the homepage for our current issue.