30in30 daily poetry commissions
Every day across Poetry Month, 30in30 delivers new original text/video poems, poet reflections and writing prompts from some of the country’s leading poets, authors, and spoken word artists.
30in30 is the centrepiece of Poetry Month in regards to new work from across the country and features original commissions from our Poetry and Youth Ambassadors, our Red Room Poetry Fellow Scott-Patrick Mitchell, the 2022 City of Sydney Poets in Residence Dan Hogan and Mohammad Awad, collaborative poems from Fair Trade, and new lines from the likes of Maria Tumarkin, Stephen Edgar, Jazz Money, Eloise Grills, Elfie Shiosaki, Damon Young, Gavin Yuan Gao, Huda the Goddess and more.
Keep an eye on our socials during August to read the best of new poetry, write your own and win daily prizes!
#30in30 daily poetry competition
30 chances to win a daily book prize with 3 lines!
How it works
Running 1-31 August, we'll be releasing a new daily writing prompt created by one of our 30in30 commissioned artists. To view the daily prompt, follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
You’ll have 24 hours to compose a poetic response comprising of no more than three lines (this can be an excerpt from a longer poem). Winners will be announced weekly on a Monday for the week beforehand - a winner will be selected by Red Room Poetry staff and volunteers for each day of the month.
Finally, and best of all, three lucky poets from across the month will receive editorial feedback from Red Room Poetry staff and paid publication of their 30in30 poem!
How to enter
- Every day at 3pm, a new prompt is posted on our social media channels. Comment on the post or thread before 3pm AEST the next day to be in the running. Remember: the clock starts ticking again on the new day's prompt at 3pm AEST each day, so make sure you get in within 24 hours!
- Your poetic response must be no more than three lines (of any length) to be considered. This can be a 3-line poem, or an excerpt of a longer piece.
- Each week, the winners from the week prior will be announced on a Monday - with one winner selected for every day of the month. (So on Monday 8 August, the winners from 1-7 August will be announced and so on)
- Each writer can submit once per day across the month. You're welcome to enter the competition on as many days as you like for the chance to win a book of contemporary poetry daily.
- We will get in touch with you via the social media platform you entered via to arrange postage within Australia. You must have a postage address within Australia to enter.
FAQs
- Who is judging the entries? Red Room Poetry staff and volunteers are reading and selecting the winning works. We are all poets of different stripes, tastes and histories.
- What are you looking for? This competition is very much about encouraging you to be playful and experiment with your practice! There's no set criteria we're looking for in what makes a winning poem, but we love to see when people are having fun or tilting us sideways with their responses to the prompts.
- Can I take part if I don't live in Australia? We'd love for you to draw creatively from the prompts - but unfortunately you do need to have a postal address within Australia to enter.
- What if my poem is longer than 3 lines? Love that for you! It's our hope that these prompts inspire many poems to sail out into the world. You can choose your favourite 3-line excerpt from your work and submit that to be part of the competition.
2021 Winners
Looking for some inspiration? Check out the incredible poems penned by our 3 overall winners last year:
- 'Current' by Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker
- 'Denim' by Rohan C. King
- 'You Are Poetry' by Daley Rangi
Be part of Poetry Month 2022
Want to see what else is on during Poetry Month? Our Poetry Month Calendar is your one-stop-shop for all things happening in August, from our signature initiatives to community-led events.
