I wrote the first lines of a poem in 1970 and didn’t write creatively again until late 2013 when I tuned 60 years of age. I finished that poem for a workshop with Mark Tredinnick who told me I, “demanded a lot of the reader but it was worth the journey”.
I suppose that was the moment, along with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald placing a poem in the then Saturday Spectrum in May 2014, and then a number of placings in local and international poetry competitions in quite rapid succession.
It must have all been bottled up there somewhere and got released nearing retirement.
The Montreal International Poetry Prize was founded and incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 2010 by the poet and critic Asa Boxer, with the help of Peter Abramowicz and Len Epp. It sponsors a crowd-funded biennial competition, awarding one prize of $20,000 to one poet for a single poem.
The Montreal International Poetry Prize has become a truly global competition, supported by its international jury of award-winning poets from North America, the Caribbean, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India, Nigeria, and Uganda, and with participants from more than 100 countries.
Susan Wald’s Queenscliff Monotypes is opening on 26 March 2026, and continues until 13 April 2026, at Queenscliff Gallery. She will be at the gallery on Sunday 29 March 2026 to talk about the work. Details below …
Alex Skovron’s new book, Switchpoints, is a collection of 100 narratives in prose and verse. It was published in March 2026. A link to the publishers, Puncher & Wattmann, can be found at the foot of this page.
A philosopher sets about compiling an encyclopaedia of embraces; an artist accuses her mirror of a lifetime of dishonesty; a flâneur collects melodies from the faces of passing strangers; an author envisions the ultimate map charting every single move of his existence; a girl dreams of a magic box that would tell her everything …
Switchpoints, Alex Skovron’s twelfth book, is a collection of 100 short narrative pieces, some in prose, others in verse. It is inhabited by a broad assortment of individuals of all ages, from children to the elderly, visited at particular and possibly significant moments in their daily life—moments of doubt or discovery, inertia or inspiration, of personal reflection, reminiscence or philosophical musing. There are skewed apprehensions and tender recognitions, lingering regrets and poignant realizations—‘switchpoint’ moments that trigger a jolt in thought or demeanour, or signal a shift in viewpoint or sense of self; or may not. The prod might be a line from a novel or poem, a painting or a piece of music, a landmark, a famous disaster, or perhaps no more than a sudden idea, a fading dream or an elusive recollection. Underpinning it all is a fascination with the workings of mind, the riddles of memory, the mystique of time.
This is the offiicial WestWords YouTube channel. WestWords is dedicated to celebrating and championing the stories of the people, places and cultures that comprise the heart of Western Sydney. WestWords Centre for Writing is based in Parramatta. A guiding philosophy of WestWords is a belief in the power of literature and literacy (written, oral and visual), self-expression and creativity to change lives and the experience of communities. With a strategic focus on children and young people and through a comprehensive program of workshops, residencies, fellowships and support for writers we offer professional opportunities for the growth of distinctive voices. WestWords’ […]
Aesthetica is a worldwide destination for art and culture. In-depth features foreground today’s most innovative practitioners across art, design, photography, architecture, music and film.
Submission to Cordite 122: THRUM, with poetry guest-edited by Thabani T. Tshuma and Georgia Kartas, closes 11.59pm Melbourne time on 4 October 2026. We celebrate 30 years of publishing in 2026. Ple…
Jacaranda Journal is a literary publication in Brisbane known for its commitment to empowering emerging writers and showcasing the best new Australian poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction.
Important Dates December 18, 2026 Works published between July 1 and December 31, 2026 are to be received by the third Friday in December to be considered for the 2027 Griffin Poetry Prize March 24, 2027 Griffin Poetry Prize Longlist Announcement April 21, 2027 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlist Announcement MAY 5, …
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The Peter Porter Poetry Prize, presented by Australian Book Review, is one of Australia's most prestigious prizes for a new poem. The Prize – now open to all poets writing in English – is named after the great Australian poet Peter Porter (1929–2010). The Prize was first awarded in 2005 (Stephen Edgar) and was renamed in 2011, following Peter Porter's death.
Poetry Sydney is an independent literary organisation committed to a presence for poetry in our culture.
The Australian Poetry Publishers directory is a portal for poets to have their poems published, to encourage Australian poetry to be purchased and to support Australian Poetry Publishers in enabling poets to have the opportunity to be published. Publishers on this list are those who publish poetry within Australia.
