Youth Poet Laureate

Every moment needs fresh voices

Red Room Poetry is building Australia’s first Youth Poet Laureate Program for poets aged 18-24.

We’ll elevate the nation’s most brilliant young poets, embed their voices in public life, and gather audiences to enjoy their work.

This isn’t just about publishing and performance — it’s about leadership, learning, and using poetry to shape change and speak on behalf of a generation.

How will it work?

We’ll be casting our net wide for the nation's most talented young poets, partnering with libraries, festivals, slam communities, and poetry organisations to find and support young poets to apply and get involved.

We will select 8 State or Territory Youth Poet Laureates (aged 18-24), with one becoming the national representative. They’ll be mentored, paid for their work, and invited to speak and perform at public events across the country, from writers’ festivals to test matches, from music festivals to openings of Parliament.

For more info and FAQs, read this story on our blog.

What about the under 18s?

For the Under 18s, there's our Schools Poet Laureate Program. We’ll support schools to teach poetry and run a program to select their own School Poet Laureate. Teachers will feel more confident to teach poetry and kids will feel more confident to write it. And each school will have a chance to create their own poetry heroes.

When will it happen?

We’ll launch the Youth Poet Laureate Program and Schools Poet Laureate Program in late 2026. The first Laureates will be selected in early 2027, and their appointment will run until the end of 2028. From then, the program will run on a two-year cycle.

How can I help?

Thanks for asking!

This is Australia’s first ever Youth Poet Laureate Program, and we need your support to make it happen.

Sign up to our Newsletter to follow news about the program. When the time comes, apply yourself, or encourage the young poets in your life.

And, if you are able, please make a tax deductible donation today. Your gift will support the Youth Poet Laureate Program, and donations made before 31 May 2026 will be matched by the Australian Government through Creative Australia's Plus1.

Youth Poet Laureate Pilot

In 2025 we piloted the program with our Youth Ambassadors - four young poets published, programmed and mentored by four senior poets.

They shared their love of poetry and hopes for the Youth Poet Laureate Program in a series of conversations, interviews and panels.

We will select four more Youth Ambassadors for a second pilot later in 2026.

Two decades of supporting young poets

Red Room Poetry has a powerful heritage of supporting emerging poets and kick-starting careers. Our Emerging Poets Residency supports emerging writers to develop their craft. Our Education Programs reach children and teens across the nation. Our website is the world's largest digital library of Australian contemporary poetry, featuring poems by writers of every age and stage. Our Line Break segment brings poetry to ABC RN every Wednesday, and Poetry Month and Contains Strong Language have taken our poets to the nation and the world.