upcoming editions

Every year, we aim to publish three themed editions. We choose topics based on subjects we think are most engaging to students. Previous magazines have explored sex and health, the environment, and artificial intelligence. There’s prompts below to inspire your pieces, but submissions are by no means restricted to these lists. It’s important the magazine reflects a broad range of perspectives, so dive into the theme below and send your work to us at curieux@canberra.edu.au.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

  • Articles / Essays / Creative Writing / Reviews – 1500 words max.

  • Poetry – 40 lines max.

  • Lists – 15 items max.

  • Visual Art / (Photos of) sculpture / Photography – 4 images per submission max.

  • Film – 20 minutes max.

  • Original Music – 10 minutes max.

Note: If you can’t meet the guidelines, get in touch and we may be able to accommodate your piece.

SUBMISSIONS: NOW OPEN, CLOSING DECEMBER 29TH 2025!

How many times have you pondered the future, wishing someone would tell you what to expect?

Oracles have been embedded in culture, mythology and fiction for as long as time. They warn us, inform us, and leave us desperate for more. 

But, as with most phenomena, Oracles are multidimensional. Spirituality teaches us of metatemporalism, of manifestation, prophecies and fortunes. Fictional texts caution us of our destructive habits, of dictatorial societies or an inevitable doomsday. And our personal anxieties can leave us paralysed, questioning our intuition, inheritance and, of course, whatever happens after death.

Our newest Curieux issue is breaking new ground, transporting us from the present to the impending unknown. We want you to tell us your theories for the future,  or even how former Oracles have illuminated our present. 

Explore the topic as broadly as you’re inspired. We accept articles of up to 1500 words, as well as submissions of prose, poetry, visual art, photography and film. We can publish pieces anonymously or under a pseudonym. Submit your work on our website homepage or email curieux@canberra.edu.au. Check out curieux.com.au for examples of previously published work and get in contact if you have any questions.

PROMPTS FOR Oracle

ARTICLES:

  • Dreams are what happens in the afterlife.

  • Are AI robots going to take over dating?

  • Is the Oracle an overused trope in fantasy literature?

  • Is there truth to manifestation, does it truly influence the future?

  • Conduct a critical analysis of texts that explore time travel.

  • What is the role of heritage in predicting the future?

  • Does history predict the future?

  • What is the science behind chronophobia and/or thanatophobia?

  • Is a utopia possible? What could the future look like if so?

  • Explain the butterfly effect and other timeline inevitabilities.

  • Medical and technological advancements.

  • Scientific accuracy of the Doomsday Clock.

  • Have scientists have reversed aging?  

  • Is transhumanism just a tech bro dream? Or something we can all look forward to?

  • What does retrofuturist art tell us about our hopes and fears for the future?

  • Is dystopian fiction only good for catharsis? Or can it inspire positive action? 

  • What have we learned from reports of near death experiences?

  • Research an ancient ritual that is still being practiced today.

  • How likely is it that we are living in a simulation?

CREATIVE:

  • The Oracle challenges you to give up your most precious memory.

  • What would you do in a zombie apocalypse? 

  • Time travel and time capsules.

  • Write from the perspective of the Oracle, fiction or non. 

  • The perspective of a character with aphantasia 

  • Experience of chronophobia and/or thanatophobia.

  • Deja vu, jamais vu and how it feels.

  • The feeling of slipping into temptation.

  • Sleep paralysis and the inability to wake up. 

  • Creatively explore the butterfly effect. 

  • Doomsday clock hits midnight. 

  • Transhumanism and what it looks like. 

  • One day they'll find a cure for...

  • Discovering a childhood journal full of predictions for the future.

  • Humanity's encounter with a superior intelligence.

  • The next major evolution of the species.

  • It was happening just as she dreamt it.

  • His one hope was not to turn out like his parents.

  • The first generation that lives forever.

  • It's what changed her mind about having a family.

  • A visit to the local psychic.

  • How we discovered we're living in a simulation.

Design:

  • Create a visual representation of metatemporalism.

  • How would you portray sleep paralysis visually?

  • How does aging look in art?

  • Immortality: growing older than those you love.

  • Portray escapism visually. 

  • Visually portray the future of dating.

  • Explore human life as a simulation.

  • Depict a futuristic cityscape.

  • What we see when traveling through a wormhole.

  • A visual depiction of the butterfly effect.

  • Create an artwork that exhibits invisible strings.