Jumpstart a Journal is back in 2026, and we’re open for applications from all aspiring editors or publishers. You don’t need any experience to join!
10–26 March (online)
Tuesdays & Thursdays 6-8 p.m. AEDT
Limited numbers available
Discounts for First Nations & regional or remotely based participants
Delivered by Erin McFadyen—editor, writer and dancer from Muloobinba (Newcastle)—you’ll get the expertise of the former Deputy Editor of The Suburban Review, and Artist Profile. Erin’s writing appears in Foam Magazine, Art + Australia, Running Dog and elsewhere, and her interests include visual and literary cultures, learning and education, and community-building.
Now, a bit about TSR! We aim to keep our local independent publishing sector vibrant, diverse, and equitable. But we don’t just do this by publishing issues of our own journal—we want to provide you the resources, knowledge, and experience you need to run your own show, too.
Jumpstart a Journal is a digitally delivered course which equips you to start and run your own journal, zine, or publishing initiative. It can be helpful for those already in the industry, too! Over three weeks, the team at TSR and guest specialists will walk you through all aspects of journal production: from the technical craft of editing to finance, project management, and production. We’ll also discuss the tenets of ethical publishing, healthy author–editor relationships, and legal considerations such as licensing and copyright.
‘Jumpstart a journal has turned a little spark of an idea into a well informed flame of inspiration to begin a small community poetry journal.’
You’ll receive four hours of class time each week through Google Classroom video conferencing, including lectures and small group tutorials, a set of reusable take-home resources to support your work into the future, and digital access to Hills Hoist Volume 5, the journal that we produce together over the course of the workshop. There will be a light homework load in addition to these hours of class time, primarily spent editing works for publication and communicating with your group partners.
The program will take place on weekday evenings, so that it’s convenient for participants all over Australia, with session recordings available to be watched back as well.
We offer discounted places on the Jumpstart a Journal program to First Nations and regional or remotely based participants.
‘I have never been in a group like this before and I can tell you I wept after the first night because it was so unusual and so long overdue.’
How is the workshop delivered?
Jumpstart a Journal is delivered through the Google Classroom video conferencing and online learning environment, with options for session recordings if you can’t make a meeting, or want to revise.
What are the outcomes?
Participants will gain mentored, practical experience editing work for publication, and hear from sector experts around a range of relevant topics including management of small teams and projects, funding options including grants, sales, and community initiatives, printing options, and principles of ethical publishing.
A set of written resources on these topics will be available for you to keep and reuse for your own projects. Participants will each receive a digital copy of the journal produced as the major project of the workshop.
Who should attend?
Jumpstart a Journal is ideal for anyone considering starting or working with an independent journal in any capacity, or in learning more about publishing in Australia. You might be studying publishing or a related field, you might be an emerging editor, designer, or arts worker, a writer or artist looking to expand your skill set, or you could simply be somebody wondering if a project in this area could be for you.
Requirements
- This workshop runs for 3 weeks.
- It involves participation in two-hour virtual classrooms twice weekly, as well as some learning material to get through at your own pace.
- Expect to commit 5-7 hours per week for the duration of the workshop. That’s 4 hours of virtual class time and 1-3 hours of homework per week.
- You will be actively editing the work of real writers within the workshop.
- You will be working in groups of 4-8 editors to craft one ‘chapter’ of your journal.
- If you are unable to attend more than 50% of the virtual class, please let us know at any point before or during the workshop, as this will impact your working group.
- Unfortunately, with the collaborative, team-based nature of the workshop, we won’t be able to cover all the content with you and would prefer to reschedule you in for a future session.
- You will need to use Google Classroom.
All participants will receive digital access to the publication outcome.
‘The TSR team really jam a huge amount of practical info and experience (which is really important because many people learn by doing), as well as treatment of important issues (e.g., ethics), into such a short space of time.’
When will the workshop take place?
6–8 p.m. AEDT Tuesday and Thursday evenings 10–26 March 2026; lecture-style sessions are on Tuesdays, with interactive group-work sessions on Thursdays.
Management: Tuesday 10 March (guest speaker to be announced); group work Thursday 12 March
Editorial: Tuesday 17 March (guest speaker to be announced); group work Thursday 19 March
Production: group work Tuesday 24 March; group work Thursday 26 March
What accessibility options are available?
Captioning is available for all Google Classroom video conference sessions. If you require any other adjustments to make Jumpstart a Journal accessible to you, please get in touch with us at support@thesuburbanreview.com.