''Kill Your Darlings'' (KYD) is an Australian online

literary magazine A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry, and essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letter ...

dedicated to arts and culture. ''Kill Your Darlings'' was established in March 2010 with a mission of "reinvigorating and re-energising this medium – to shake it up, if you like, and publish literature that bites back". It publishes new fiction and commentary, memoir, interviews and reviews. The magazine name comes from a quote regularly attributed to the American novelist

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

: ‘In writing, you must kill all your darlings.’ The publishing director is Rebecca Starford, and the editor is Alan Vaarwerk.

History

''Kill Your Darlings'' was established in March 2010, supported by funding from the

Australia Council The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

. Founding editors Rebecca Starford,

Hannah Kent Hannah Kent (born 1985) is an Australian writer, known for two novels – ''Burial Rites'' (2013) and ''The Good People'' (2016). Her third novel, ''Devotion'', was published in 2021. Early life and education Kent was born in 1985 grew up in t ...

, and Jo Case set out to create a new kind of print literary journal. The first issue was positively received. In 2017, after 29 issues, KYD ceased publishing its flagship quarterly print magazine in order to focus on its growing online publishing program. In 2019 KYD began publishing a yearly print collection of short stories titled ''New Australian Fiction''. The 2019 and 2020 editions were both well received. The ''Age/Sydney Morning Herald'' described the 2019 edition as ‘a consistently high-quality collection', and said of the 2020 edition: ‘At a clutch moment in Australian publishing, the volume certainly has its finger on the pulse.' KYD contributors include Benjamin Law,

Clementine Ford Clementine Shepherd Ford (born June 29, 1979) is an American actress known for her appearance as Molly Kroll on Showtime's ''The L Word''. In April 2009, she joined the cast of the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' in the role of Mack ...

Jane Caro Catherine Jane Caro (born 24 June 1957) is a feminist social commentator, writer and lecturer based in Australia. Early life and education Caro was born in London in 1957 and emigrated to Australia with her parents as a five-year-old in 1963. ...

Ron Rash Ron Rash (born September 25, 1953), is an American poet, short story writer and novelist, is the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University. Early life Rash was born on September 25, 1953, in C ...

, Antony Loewenstein,

Chris Womersley Chris Womersley (born 1968 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian author of crime fiction, short stories and poetry. He trained as a radio journalist and has travelled extensively to such places as India, South-East Asia, South America, Nort ...

, Rebecca Shaw,

Gideon Haigh Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh (born 29 December 1965) is an English-born Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport (especially cricket), business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Ge ...

, Krissy Kneen, Nayuka Gorrie, Ellena Savage, Maria Turmarkin,

Jennifer Down Jennifer Down (born 1990) is an Australian novelist and short story writer. She won the 2022 Miles Franklin Award for her novel ''Bodies of Light''. Biography Down was in born 1990. She studied arts at Melbourne University before studying ...

Omar Musa Omar bin Musa (born 9 January 1984) is a Malaysian-Australian author, poet, rapper and visual artist from Queanbeyan, New South Wales, Australia. He has released three solo hip hop records (including ''Since Ali Died'') and three books of poetr ...

Toni Jordan Toni Jordan (born 1966 in Sydney, Australia) is a Melbourne-based novelist best known for her debut novel ''Addition'', an international bestseller long listed for the Miles Franklin Award. In 2017 her fourth book, ''Our Tiny Useless Hearts'' ...

, Jack Cowell, Melanie Joosten and

Jon Bauer Jon Bauer is a Canadian contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, worship leader, and songwriter from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada. Bauer leads worship, speaks, and performs over 100 concerts around the world each year. Some of his most well-known ...

. KYD produces a regular podcast, provides professional writing services such as online workshops, mentorships and manuscript assessments, and hosts literary events.

Awards

KYD runs two annual writing awards: the New Critic Award and the School Writing Prize. The awards are designed to support the development of early-career writers, give them the opportunity to work with industry professionals, and assist them in creating publishing pathways in the future.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.killyourdarlingsjournal.com/ Literary magazines published in Australia Online magazines English-language magazines Magazines established in 2010 2010 establishments in Australia Magazines published in Melbourne

History

Awards

References

Further reading

External links