Takahē  are looking for some new fiction readers to join our team at takahē magazine.

About takahē

takahē is an Ōtautahi-based arts magazine featuring short fiction, poetry, art, essays, comics, and reviews.

takahē has been in continuous publication since 1989 and currently publishes three issues per year: print issues in April and December (which are also available to purchase in digital format) and a free, open-access solely digital issue in August.

takahē has a strong kaupapa of publishing new voices alongside established ones.

About the fiction reading role

This is a voluntary role, but readers receive a complimentary subscription to takahē and acknowledgement in the masthead of each issue they read for. They also join a supportive network of readers, and gain valuable insights into the editorial and publishing processes.

Tasks include reading international and domestic submissions of short fiction, writing a paragraph of feedback in response to each one, and voting on whether the story should proceed to the next editorial round.

Readers must be able to proactively manage their own workload and ask for help ahead of deadlines if needed.

We prefer readers with creative writing qualifications who are familiar with close reading and critique, but a love of short stories and familiarity with the work takahē publishes are the only essentials.

FAQs

• Duration: We ask for a minimum of a one-year commitment, but you can opt out of one issue per year.
• Workload: This fluctuates depending on the number of submissions, but is approximately 15 – 30 stories per reader for each issue, broken up into smaller batches with 2-week turnaround times.
• Tools: We use Slack and Submittable to coordinate the reading work, so you need to be open to using them. They’re easy and help is available.
• Submitting your own work: Being a reader doesn’t exclude you from submitting your own work, but you must recuse yourself from reading the work of friends or whānau for takahē.
• Opportunities: Reading for more specialised fiction calls is occasionally available on an opt-in basis, e.g., our recent Matariki Short Short Story Celebration.
• Content warnings: Submissions are not screened before they are assigned to readers and we are unable to offer content warnings.

Get in touch

If you’re interested, email our Fiction Editor, Zoë Meager: zoe.meager@gmail.com. Tell her why you’d like to be a fiction reader and briefly describe your experience in reading, writing, and critique. She’d also love to hear about a story you’ve read in takahē and what you enjoyed about it.