ISSUE NO. 20
MARCH 2026

Creative

This section publishes creative contributions mostly from currently and formerly incarcerated people. It includes short-stories, poetry, creative nonfiction, art, and much more.

If you have something creative to submit to us, we would love to read it, or see it, and publish it in About Time – please write to us!

Latest

I Am Tired

By Anthony

Tired from being told what to do. I am tired of love, tired of being deemed guilty, tired of my own remorse. I am tired of my own self-doubt, my own shadows and especially tired of my own face.

ISSUE NO. 20
Mr Challis draws from a prison in QLD.

‘I Still Stand Tall Like A Tall Oak Tree’

By Little Savage

Being in prison is lonely at night. It’s waiting for letters that friends and family forget to write. It’s sitting around with nothing to do just figuring out who is who.

ISSUE NO. 20
1 MIN READ
Drawing also by Little Savage
By Anthony

Tired from being told what to do. I am tired of love, tired of being deemed guilty, tired of my own remorse. I am tired of my own self-doubt, my own shadows and especially tired of my own face.

ISSUE NO. 20
By Mackenzie

Hate’s a strong word, but for you it’s reserved. I hate what you’ve taken from me, my parents, my childhood and my glee.

ISSUE NO. 20
1 MIN READ
By Matt

Prison is not fun, prison is not jolly, there’s rarely any smiles and for the tears, bring your brolly. Prison is dirty and prison is hard, lose focus for a minute and get done in the yard.

ISSUE NO. 20
3 MIN READ

Previous Editions

ISSUE NO. 5
November 2024

No Regrets

By Alex

My partner and I are both currently locked up down here in Tasmania. Your newspaper has been a huge hit in both the women's and the men's prisons, so I thought I'd send you something from both of us.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 4
October 2024

Not Going Home

By Lance

When in jail some don’t want to go home, it’s true. Hard to believe, so I will find out more for you. Are the dudes for real, or a screw loose in the head. They would rather stay in jail, than going home instead.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 4
October 2024

Not Just Words

By Ashleigh

The voice is beautiful; my lungs fill with a relieved gasp. I expected a prison sentence. A feeling of chest tightening, breath weak, metal and voices. A life of strip searches and beatings.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 4
October 2024

Dream Girl

By Bukks

The woman of my dreams; she isn’t there. The woman of my dreams; she doesn’t care. The woman of my dreams; she isn’t real. The woman of my dreams knows not how I feel.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 4
October 2024

The Birds and the Bees

By Lance

Behind cement walls and razor wire, I can see a tall tree – swaying in the breeze it reminds me, the day I’ll be free. Then in come the birds from out of that tree, I watch these birds with envy and I wish it was me.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 4
October 2024

Heaven From Above

By Malsnight

A wee bit of heaven, drifted down from above. A handful of happiness, a heart full of love. The mystery of life, so sacred and sweet, the giver of joy, so deep and complete. Priceless and precious, so loveable, too – the world’s sweetest miracle, baby doll, is you!

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 3
September 2024

Paradise or Prison

By Joseph

Our faces are seen above uniforms of green, we parade in this prison, all shaven clean. "Another day in paradise", we sarcastically wink, "we fake it till we make it", we tell our shrink.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 3
September 2024

Inside/Outside

By Joshua

Outside these prison walls exists real life, going daily about their business in haste. The hustle and bustle, too busy to stop, lives synchronised, and no time to waste.

3 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 3
September 2024

Legal Dogma

By SKS – 7K2

Obey you must O’feeable citizen, do you dare to cross the line?

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 3
September 2024

Love Breaks Chains

By Malnight

Oh how I can’t stand these nights alone, wishing that I could just go home. Never thought this is where I’d be, constantly dreaming of being free.

2 MIN READ

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