#30in30 Writing Competition Commissions
Poetry Month
Each year as part of Poetry Month, we run the 30in30 Writing Competition. Writers from across the continent are encouraged to enter a 3-line poem or excerpt to win a book by a contemporary Australian poet every day of the month. Three poets were selected from over 2,400 entries to develop their poem further with editorial support from Red Room Poetry staff, and paid publication of their poem.
In 2024, the winners of the competition were Kathryn Reese, Natalia Figueroa Barroso and Bradley Bradley.
Check out their winning poems, plus the prompts and poems that inspired them below.
Commissioned Poets
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Hemiglossed
By Kathryn ReeseDad sits, crushed panadol and formula milk gravity fed into his belly.
On tv: sourdough, a sear of steak, a dressing of diced peach, torn mint, fresh red chilli—
He dozes, won’t turn it off.
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Edge Of The Ceramic-Rimmed-Potted Earth
By Natalia Figueroa Barrosoyour hardcover copy of Love in the Time of Cholera
rests on my nightstand like your bones
rest in peace wrapped in the soil of our homeland
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Between Cigarettes and Silence
By Bradley BradleyMy mother died of a cigarette in one hand
my voice in the other
to a detached handle
a closed door
