FAQs

Thanks for your interest in Red Room Poetry! Our vision is to make poetry in meaningful ways.

Our poetic projects are created in collaboration with a spectrum of poets, communities and partners for positive impact in core areas of environment, amplification, First Nations, learning and marginalised voices. We aim to make poetry highly visible, vibrant, relevant and accessible, especially to those who face the greatest barriers to creative opportunities.

How can I have my poetry published on the Red Room Poetry website?

The most common way we work with poets is via commission, whereby our project producers invite poets to create new work depending on the unique requirements of each project, and often in consultation with key project partners. We also engage poets for live readings using the same approach.

If you are interested in becoming a commissioned poet please use our Expression of Interest form to submit a brief bio and no more than 3 poems, ideally with links to published works or collections or spoken word video. We do not guarantee any commission opportunities from this form, however we keep all EOIs on file for consideration for future projects. Please note that our commissions are drawn from a number of additional sources.

At times, we also run public submission projects or have open calls for submission. These will be visible on our website, and you can sign up to our newsletter and follow us at @redroompoetry on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to be the first to know when opportunities like these arise.

Another key way we select poets for commissioned publication is through our 30in30 Writing Competition - a daily competition run on our social media channels across Poetry Month in August. Every day a new prompt is posted, and you have 24 hours to submit your 3-line entry. Every day a book of contemporary poetry is awarded to a daily winner, and at the end of the month 3 emerging voices are selected to develop their poem with Red Room Poetry staff for a paid commission and publication on our website. Check out the most recent #30in30 prompts here.

I have sent my expression of interest. Why haven’t you contacted me yet to commission me as a poet?

Our producers will only be in touch with you if there is a project matching your profile. Their selection process is dependent on a wide range of factors unique to each project. We really appreciate your interest in becoming involved with Red Room Poetry and encourage you to attend our events, subscribe to our newsletter and engage with us on social media.

My bio has changed since I was published. Can I get it updated?

While we appreciate that your biography will change and grow throughout your career, unfortunately we don't have the capacity to accept requests for poet biography changes unless it is within six months of your most recent publication with us.

Do you have opportunities for emerging poets?

Once a year, we run an Emerging Poets Residency on Yuin Country in Bermagui (South Coast of NSW) with two available places. At least one of the two places is reserved for an emerging First Nations poet. Please find more details about the residency here. This page will be updated when applications next open.

As part of Poetry Month in August, we run the 30in30 daily poetry competition. Each day, a new prompt is released and you can enter in the comments on our social media platforms. One poet is selected each day to win a newly published book of contemporary Australian poetry, and 3 poets are selected at the end of the month for paid publication of their poem. Follow us at @redroompoetry on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to take part.

Do you run workshops or classes for poets?

We regularly run online and in-person workshops in connection with specific projects, including for youth poets via DART for the POEM FOREST Prize, during Poetry Month in August and for MAD Poetry, our project focusing on poets with lived mental health experience. You can find our upcoming workshops and events here.

How can I get in touch with a Red Room poet?

While we never share contact details of our commissioned artists without permission, we do pass on enquiries to the contact details of the artist that we have on file. If interested and available, they will be in touch with you directly.

I work at a school/public library/council. How can we engage with Red Room Poetry?

Our current dedicated education program is the POEM FOREST Prize, which plants a tree for every nature poem received. It is open to young people 18 and under and accredited teachers. The Prize runs from March to September each year. You may be interested in holding local writing events, such as streaming one of our digital workshops, featuring exciting poets helping to guide students in writing nature poems for submission to the prize. You can book live and recorded online workshops via our DART profile, download our free, curriculum-aligned learning resource and subscribe to our education newsletter for more poetic activities.

We also work with sponsors, partner organisations and local councils to create new work depending for specific projects. Feel free to reach out via the contact form linked below if you have an idea for a collaboration, and the relevant project producer will be in touch.

Still have questions? Feel free to contact us.