Opportunities for Poets

About Red Room

Red Room Poetry isn't a literary journal and we don’t run ongoing open submissions. Instead, we commission poets based on the needs of each project — which means our producers carefully invite artists whose voice and style are the right fit, often in collaboration with our project partners. Please check out our FAQs to learn more about how we work with poets.

Opportunities for Poets

Whether you’re an emerging or established poet, we’ve compiled a list of opportunities currently open for submission for writers in Australia — from writing prizes, awards and competitions, to residencies, fellowships and courses.

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Prizes and Competitions

• The Southerly Poetry Prize is now open for entries — Closing Wednesday, 15 April 2026
• Liquid Amber 2026 Poetry Prize is inviting poets to respond to the theme ‘Poetry on Fire’ — Closing Sunday, 3 May 2026
• Poem Forest will open for entries in April — Learn more
• The KYD Poetry Prize will open for submissions in July 2026 — Learn more

Journal and Anthology Submissions

• Splinter Journal — Submit
• Island Magazine — Submit
• The Suburban Review — Submit
• Creatrix Poetry —Submit
• UNSW Press — Submit
• Portside Review — Submit
• Overland — Submit
• Westerly — Submit
• The Marrow — Submit
• Loom — Submit
• Debris Magazine — Submit
• Takahē (NZ) — Submit
• Poet Lore (US) — Submit
• Zine Machine (US) — Submit
• Waxwing (US) — Submit

Residencies and Fellowships

• Create NSW invites eligible NSW literature practitioners (including poets) to apply for 12- or 24-month residencies in terrace housing on Cumberland Street, The Rocks — Closing Thursday, 23 April 2026
• Varuna has a range of Residential Fellowship opportunities — Apply

Workshops and Writing Courses

Browse the range of online and in-person workshops, writing courses, masterclasses and intensives, designed to support your writing journey and deepen your poetic craft.

Online Workshops and Writing Courses:

• Varuna offers a range of online masterclasses and intensives, designed to support writers to develop their craft — Enrol now
• Kill Your Darlings offers a range of poetry courses from award-winning writers — Enrol now
• Cath Drake's The Verandah offers a range of poetry masterclasses, writing and mindfulness workshops — Enrol now

In-Person Workshops and Writing Courses

VIC:

• Playing with Poetry: Make Your Own Writing Game is a unique workshop with poet and board gamer Indrani Perera, where you will create your own poetry game — Saturday, 18 April 2026

QLD:

• Museum of Brisbane invites you to their Ekphrastic Writing Club — First Saturday of every month

Opportunities for Young Poets

• Little Stories, Big Ideas is a flash writing competition open to Australian secondary school-aged students across the nation —Closing Sunday, 17 May
• Voiceworks is on the lookout for poetry from writers under the age of 25 — Submit
• Pulch Mag is seeking poetry from WA-based young writers aged 16 to 26 — Submit
• Queensland Writers Center hosts monthly creative writing workshops for young people aged 10-16 — Saturdays, monthly

Opportunities for Educators

• Red Room Poetry has a bunch of free Learning Resources for Educators — Find out more
• Beyond the Frame is a free Learning Resource developed by Red Room Poetry in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia for Poetry Month — Explore the resource
• QLD Artsbook is an accessible, user-friendly platform that connects Queensland schools and educators with high-quality touring and local artists, arts organisations and institutions — Find out more
• ClickView offers a range of free curriculum-aligned video resources on YouTube - where you can also find our Poetic Devices Video Resources produced in partnership with ClickView — Find out more
• The Australian Museum offers learning resources including virtual excursions, at-home experiments and activity booklets such as Power through Poetry, developed by Red Room Poetry in partnership with the Australian Museum — Find out more
• Cool Australia create evidence-based, curriculum-aligned education resources for teachers and parents, including a digital library for students — Find out more

Red Room Rewards: Poetic Perks

Poetic Perks offers curated discounts, invitations, and special access to events—available only to our Red Room audience. A small thank you for walking with us through poetry.

• There are currently no perks available; come back another time.

Other Opportunities

• The Office for the Arts maintains a register for those interested in being considered for appointment to statutory and non-statutory boards, councils and committees within the portfolio of the Minister for the Arts — Submit your EOI

Be in the know

Want to be the first to know about new opportunities for poets? Subscribe to our newsletters to receive the latest poetry, news, events and opportunities from Red Room Poetry straight to your inbox.

Have a poetic opportunity you think we should feature? We would love to hear from you. You can send us a message via our Contact Us page.