Opportunities for Poets

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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. While this means we don’t accept unsolicited work for publication, we do invite poets to share their details via our Expression of Interest form so we can keep you in mind for future opportunities. You can also 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.

Don't ever miss another opportunity: stay informed about poetry news by subscribing to our newsletters.

  • Queensland Writers Centre’s Adaptable program seeks material for film or television adaptation, and accepts submissions of books and manuscripts across a broad range of genres and formats, including poetry — Closing Tuesday, 27 January 2026
  • Creative Australia through The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships offers talented young artists (21-35) the chance to explore, study and develop their artistic gifts through travelling either interstate and/or overseas. Scholarships are each worth $50,000, payable in quarterly instalments over two years. — Closing Tuesday, 3 February 2026
  • Emerging Writers' Festival has an open call for writers, storytellers and creatives of all kinds to be part of the fun — Closing Friday, 6 February 2026
  • Poetry in Action: Ambassadors Program is a new national program that will select three mid-career poets to join Poetry in Action as inaugural Ambassadors, marking our 20th year of celebrating the power of poetry in education — Closing Friday, 13 February 2026
  • The SCWC 2026 Poetry Award invites submissions responding to the theme 'states' — Closing Sunday, 22 March 2026
  • Uplift publishes newsletters showcasing poetry events, opportunities, book reviews, writing prompts, and keeps a log of poetic events across the country — Subscribe

Journal and Anthology Submissions

Residencies and Fellowships

  • The Botanic Gardens of Sydney Writers in Residence offers two Australian writers the chance to work with the Gardens for three months — Closing at 5pm on Tuesday, 27 January 2026
  • Varuna has a range of Residential Fellowship opportunities — Apply

Workshops and Writing Courses

Online Workshops and Writing Courses:

NSW

VIC

QLD

Opportunities for Young Poets

  • 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

Red Room Rewards: Poetic Perks

Red Room Rewards: 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.

  • Cath Drake’s The Verandah offers high quality online Professional Development for poets, led by top UK and Australian tutors and facilitators. Best of all, they're offering the Red Room Poetry audience 10% off the New Year Programme courses listed below. Use the code 'VERANDAH10' at checkout:
    • Poetry & Mindfulness Uplift is a four-session creative boost for your writing & yourself — Starts Tuesday, 20 January 2026
    • Craft & Choice in Revision is a small group workshop, with fun exercises and discussion to consider the power of lineation (line breaks), word choice and register — Monday, 2 March 2026


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

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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.