Gwen Harwood 2025 comp
Ends on
We are delighted to once again to present the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize, proudly supported by The Hobart Bookshop.
This year's Prize will be judged by Island's poetry editor Kate Middleton, along with Amy Crutchfield and John Kinsella (see bios below).
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
New poems up to 100 lines, in any form.
THE PRIZE
The winning poet will receive $2000 + four-issue subscription to Island*
Two runners-up will each receive $500 + four-issue subscription to Island*
All three poems will be published in Island issue 173, due for publication in March 2024.
All other poems will be considered for publication at our normal contributor rates
ELIGIBILITY
Entry is open to Australian citizens and residents only.
No age limit applies.
Current Island magazine staff, interns and board members are not eligible.
TIMELINES
Entries are now open. Closing 5pm AEST, Monday 16 December 2024.
Winning poems will be published in Island 173, due for publication in March 2025.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Entry fee of $18.00 per poem applies. You can enter as many times as you wish but each poem must be entered separately.
All entries are via Submittable only and your poem must be attached as a text document (acceptable file types: doc, docx, txt, rtf).
Entries will be judged ‘blind’, therefore please do not include your name on your poem.
Poems previously published are not eligible.
Simultaneous submissions are acceptable, but please withdraw your work if it is accepted elsewhere.
Judges’ decision is final, and no individual feedback will be provided.
Writers must guarantee that their work is original, does not plagiarise or infringe the copyright of any other party, and does not breach any other law or ethical principle of publication (e.g. defamation, libel, obscenity).
Copyright remains with the authors; however, writers must give Island exclusive publication rights for the work for three months from publication. Any further reproduction must publicly acknowledge Island as the original publisher.
The three winners agree to participate in any reasonable media events relating to their work, including radio and television interviews and online discussions.
*Subscription can start with either 172, or 173 (due to be published in March 2024). If you are a current subscriber this can either be added to your existing subscription, or you may gift the subscription.
MEET THE JUDGES
Kate Middleton
Kate is Island's Poetry Editor. She is also author of the poetry collections Fire Season (Giramondo, 2009), awarded the Western Australian Premier's Award for Poetry in 2009; Ephemeral Waters (Giramondo, 2013), shortlisted for the NSW Premier's award in 2014; Passage (Giramondo, 2017) and Television (2024). She was the inaugural Sydney City Poet from September 2011 to September 2012.
Amy Crutchfield
Amy's first collection, The Cyprian, was published by Giramondo in 2023 and received the Prime Minister’s Literary Award in 2024. She won the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize in 2020/2021.
John Kinsella
John is the author of over fifty books of poetry, fiction, criticism, plays, edited works and collaborative works. The three volumes of his Australian collected poems areThe Ascension of Sheep (UWAP, 2022), Harsh Hakea (UWAP, 2023) andSpirals (UWAP, 2024). Recent critical books include Beyond Ambiguity: Tracing Sites of Literary Activism (MUP, 2021), andLegibility: an antifascist poetics (Palgrave, 2022), and a recent collection of short stories is Beam of Light (Transit Lounge, 2024).
Further information
For more information about Island please visit islandmag.com or follow us for news updates on social media @islandmagtas.