Poetry Competitions in Australia and New Zealand 2026
Quick answer: 11 Australian and New Zealand poetry competitions with fees in AU$ and NZ$, 0 taking entries right now (October 2026), followed by 4 open competitions that accept international entries. Each is listed with its entry fee, prize and recorded window. Check age, residency and other eligibility rules before entering. Dated source checks are shown per listing; recurring annual windows remain estimates.
Australia's poetry prizes are generous for their size: the Newcastle Poetry Prize pays AU$15,000 for one poem, the ACU Prize AU$10,000 and Australian Book Review's Peter Porter Prize AU$6,000, with the University of Southern Queensland's Bruce Dawe prize costing only AU$8 to enter. Several are for Australian citizens or residents only, so this calendar states each eligibility rule as the organiser writes it; Peter Porter, the New Zealand Poetry Society competition and the Caselberg Trust prize are open to the world.
Open now (0)
Upcoming, ended or dates to confirm (11)
- Peter Porter Poetry Prize (Australia). 2026 entry window ended; check the next call. Entry: AU$30 per poem, AU$20 for ABR subscribers. Prize: 1st AU$6,000; four other shortlisted poets AU$1,000 each. Run by Australian Book Review. Entries are judged anonymously; previously published, prize-winning and broadcast poems are not eligible. Eligibility: Living poets worldwide, any age; an unpublished poem in English of up to 60 lines per entry. No translations. ABR staff and board members are ineligible.. 2027 prize: closes October 14, 2026 at 11:55 pm. Confirm the timezone in the official terms before submitting. Official date source, checked 2026-10-02.
- ACU Prize for Poetry (Australia). Typical April–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: AU$25 per poem. Prize: 1st AU$10,000, 2nd AU$5,000, 3rd AU$3,000, highly commended AU$750. Australian Catholic University prize on a set theme each year, for Australian residents including enrolled international students; poems up to 60 lines, running 1 April to 1 July with results in November.
- Newcastle Poetry Prize (Australia). Typical September–December window; current dates to confirm. Entry: AU$35.20 per poem, AU$30.25 for Hunter Writers Centre members (2026 round). Prize: 1st AU$15,000, 2nd AU$3,000, 3rd AU$1,500, plus named prizes and AU$100 for each shortlisted poem. Australia's richest single poem prize, from the Hunter Writers Centre for Australian citizens and residents aged 18 or over; up to 200 lines, unpublished. The next round opens 23 September and closes 6 December 2026.
- Caselberg Trust International Poetry Prize (New Zealand). Typical June window; current dates to confirm. Entry: NZ$20 for up to two poems. Prize: 1st NZ$600 and a week's stay at the Caselberg house, 2nd NZ$300, up to five highly commended; winners published in Landfall. Dunedin trust prize open to anyone anywhere, poems up to 40 lines, judged blind, no AI; runs through June each year with results in November.
- Bruce Dawe National Poetry Prize (Australia). Typical April–September window; current dates to confirm. Entry: AU$8 per poem. Prize: AU$3,000 to the winner and two highly commended awards of AU$500. Run by the University of Southern Queensland for Australian poets, new or established; one to five unpublished poems of up to 50 lines each, the 2026 round closing 22 September.
- Judith Wright Poetry Prize for New and Emerging Poets (Australia). Current dates to confirm. Entry: 2025 fees: AU$20 per poem, AU$12 for Overland subscribers; next call to confirm. Prize: 2025 awards: 1st AU$6,000, 2nd AU$2,000, 3rd AU$1,000, all three published in Overland. The official page still describes the 2025 round, open 9 October to 5 December 2025, for Australian and New Zealand poets with no more than one solo collection and poems up to 80 lines. The next call is not verified. The cited call is for 2025; its dates are not a current opening. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
- Arts Queensland Val Vallis Award for an Unpublished Poem (Australia). Typical August–September window; current dates to confirm. Entry: AU$25 per entry, AU$20 for Queensland Writers Centre members and concession holders. Prize: AU$3,500 and publication in Westerly; runner up AU$500 and publication. Part of the Queensland Poetry Awards, for Australian citizens and residents; one unpublished poem or suite of up to 80 lines, up to five entries, results in December.
- Woollahra Digital Literary Award (Poetry) (Australia). Typical April–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: No entry fee is mentioned in the conditions of entry. Prize: AU$1,000 for poetry; fiction and nonfiction AU$2,500 each, digital innovation AU$1,500. A council award for work already published online, entered as a URL or PDF, for Australian residents over 16; the 2026 round ran 17 April to 19 July with the shortlist in October.
- Blake Poetry Prize (Australia). Opens periodic windows. Entry: AU$30 per entry. Prize: AU$5,000. Run every second year by Liverpool Powerhouse and WestWords for poems of up to 100 lines on spirituality, religion or belief, open nationally and internationally; the 69th prize closed in December 2025, so the next is expected to open around September 2027.
- Kathleen Grattan Poetry Award (New Zealand). Typical August–July window; current dates to confirm. Entry: No entry fee is mentioned on the official page. Prize: NZ$10,000, a year's Landfall subscription and publication of the winning collection by Otago University Press. A book length manuscript award run every second year for New Zealand and South Pacific citizens and residents; entries are open now and close 31 July 2027, one entry per person, judged blind.
- New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition (New Zealand). Typical March–May window; current dates to confirm. Entry: Per poem fees are shown in Submittable while the competition is open, with a discount for members. Prize: Open: 1st NZ$600, 2nd NZ$250, 3rd NZ$200; haiku 1st NZ$250; junior and school prizes; placed poems published in the annual anthology. Open worldwide with adult, haiku and junior categories, running 15 March to 31 May every year with results in July; no AI.
Open competitions accepting international entries (4)
- Writory International Poetry Contest (International). Open, closes the 25th. Entry: Shown in your local currency (a free entry option is available each month). Prize: Cash prizes, a certificate for every poet, and a five criteria score. Opens on the previous month's 26th, closes on the 25th, results on the 30th, or the last day in February. Every poem is scored on creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance.
- Poetry Society of America Annual Awards (United States). Open, closes December 15, 2026. Entry: Free for PSA members; US$10 per single poem award and US$15 per multiple poem award for non-members. Prize: Seven awards from US$250 to US$2,500, the largest the Robert H. Winner Memorial Award for poets over 40. Seven individually judged awards open to PSA members and non-members. Select an award and read its requirements before submitting via Submittable. Eligibility: Original poems primarily in English; no translations or coauthored work. Age, manuscript and prior-publication rules vary by award.. 2027 awards: entries October 1 to December 15, 2026; the published cutoff is 11:59 PM EST. Official date source, checked 2026-10-02.
- The Moth Poetry Prize (Ireland). Open, closes December 31, 2026. Entry: €17 per poem. Prize: 1st €6,000, three €1,000 runner-up prizes and eight €250 awards. The 2026 call opened on 3 October and closes on 31 December at 11:59 PM GMT. Open worldwide to writers over 16, for unpublished poems in English, including translations; judge Diane Seuss. Published cutoff: 31 December 2026, 11:59 PM GMT. This edition does not reopen automatically next year. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
- Magma Poetry Competition (United Kingdom). Open, closes January 31, 2027. Entry: £5 first poem, £4 second, £3.50 each after; less for subscribers. Prize: 1st £1,000, 2nd £300, 3rd £150 in each of two categories. Two prizes, the Judge's Prize and the Editors' Prize for shorter poems. The current call opened on 1 October 2026 and closes on 31 January 2027 at 11:59 PM GMT. The organiser's 1 October 2026 announcement confirms the current call and its 31 January 2027, 11:59 PM GMT deadline. Official date source, checked 2026-10-06.
Questions poets ask
Which Australia & NZ poetry competitions are free to enter?
None of the Australian and New Zealand prizes listed here is free this year, though several give free entries to members, students or writers on low incomes and the fee column says so. Writory gives a free entry to each month's winners and to poets who enter three months in a row.
What poetry competitions in Australia and New Zealand close next?
No dated Australian and New Zealand deadline is available from the recorded windows. Check the organiser's current call, including regional or unconfirmed dates. Writory's featured listing comes first, then contests within their listed submission window, ordered by deadline. Check the official closing time before entering.
Are Australian poetry competitions open to overseas poets?
It varies more than in the UK or the US. The Newcastle Poetry Prize, the ACU Prize, Bruce Dawe and the Val Vallis Award are for Australian citizens or residents; the Peter Porter Poetry Prize, the Blake Poetry Prize, New Zealand's Caselberg Trust prize and Poetry Society competition, and Writory's monthly contest are open worldwide. Each row's notes give the organiser's own rule, so read them before paying an entry fee.
What do Australian poetry competitions cost to enter?
Between AU$8 and AU$35 a poem, usually less for members or subscribers. The prize money is high relative to the fee: Newcastle pays AU$15,000 for one poem, ACU AU$10,000 and Peter Porter AU$6,000. Writory shows the current entry fee before payment.
How is Writory different from the Australian and New Zealand competitions here?
Writory opens its next monthly round on the 26th and closes it on the 25th. Results arrive on the 30th, or the last day in February. Every entrant receives a score out of 100 and a certificate; written feedback is an optional paid add-on. Poets from Australia and New Zealand compete in one worldwide field. Current entry fees are shown before payment.
Other countries
By the Writory editorial team. Statuses computed October 2026. Writory's contest for poets in Australia, Writory's contest for poets in New Zealand, enter Writory's monthly contest, how to enter a poetry contest.