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. 13
August 2025

Beautiful Souls

By RM

Why should you suffer for my pain. Knowledge in this I should try to gain. Does it feel I have left you alone? It may feel I have cut you to the bone.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Losing Control

By Goodj

The calls we hear every day, whether guilty or claiming you’re innocent, there’s a price we each must pay. “It’s a privilege not a right” you’ll hear the screws say, but the moment you’re behind those bars, your control is taken away.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

I Will Always Love You

By Jack

A poem for the one true love of my life, I wish I could change the past, but I can only change my future.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Mistakes (For My Mother Toni)

By Megan

She saw his will and was convinced, she listened to his lies and was convinced, she looked into his eyes and trusted his smiles, she was convinced.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Imperious

By Belly

I yearn to spend loving time with my Mother, to reunite with my sister and brother, to introduce my kin to the new man I am.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Let Down

By Matthew

I hear the sirens wailing, I know the cops are coming, to my door, I let down my family, even my kids, friends and all.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Family Tree

By Erin

How would it be, to be set free, yes, I’d smile with glee, no guilty plea.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 13
August 2025

Sound Advice

By A.S.P.

Life is only short my son, with so many paths to take, life is an uphill struggle, with every step you make. That’s why you must treasure life, with every second of the day, because you may never know, when it’s your turn to go away.

2 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 12
July 2025

Against All Odds: The Story of a Little Shrub

By Sam

Once upon a time, a sleepy little shrub lived a contented but impoverished life in a quiet shady corner of a garden. Although the little shrub did not complain, it was much smaller than most of its other friends, and its branches were thin and twig-like.

6 MIN READ
ISSUE NO. 12
July 2025

Morgana

By Alex

I remember the day I saw you, I held your tiny form. The chilly air made you tremble, so, we took you home. You grew up so quickly, to our great surprise, and tore around the unit, right before our eyes.

2 MIN READ

Welcome to About Time

About Time is the national newspaper for Australian prisons and detention facilities

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