Five Islands Prize: For a first book of poetry
We are excited to announce a new annual prize for emerging poets.
This Prize for a first book of poetry includes a cash prize for the publisher as well as the chosen poet.
As many readers and poets know, Five Islands Press was a prominent independent Australian poetry publishing house for thirty-four years, from 1986 until 2007 under the direction of Ron Pretty, then until 2020 under a changing team of editors who kept the press going strongly. This new prize aims to support emerging poets, and at the same time honour the publishers who have shown confidence in these new poets.
Information about the history of Five Islands Press can be found at https://www.fiveislandspress.com.au.
Emeritus Professor Kevin Brophy AM
Administrator for the Five Islands Prize
Prizes
- The winning poet will receive $2750.
- The publisher will receive $1100.
- These prizes will be offered annually, following a financial-year calendar.
- The third year of the Prize will be for books published between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.
Key dates
- Eligibility for 2023-2024 Prize: Books published between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024
- Entries close: 15 July 2024
- Winner announced: 30 November 2024
Contact
Email: kevinjb@unimelb.edu.au
Postal address:
Five Islands Prize
PO Box 68
Brunswick Victoria 3056
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, the Kulin Nation and Ngunnawal people, and express our respect for their elders, past, present and future.
2022–23
The 2022-23 Five Islands Prize was awarded to:
Dan Hogan and Cordite Books for Secret Third Thing
2021–22
Emilie Collyer and Vagabond Press for Do You Have Anything Less Domestic?
The Five Islands Press Prize aims to support and celebrate emerging poets, and honour publishers of new poetry.
This is an annual prize for a first already-published book-length collection of poetry by an Australian poet or a poet living and writing in Australia
The author of the prize-winning book will receive $2750 and the publisher will receive $1100.
Advisory Board
Professor Dan Disney
Sogang University, Seoul, South Korea
Dr Jennifer Harrison
Dax Poetry Collection Manager and Psychiatry Fellow, University of Melbourne
Dr Nadia Niaz
Founder and Editor Australian Multilingual Writing Project and Creative Writing Program, School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne
Distinguished Professor Jen Webb
Administration
Emeritus Professor Kevin Brophy AM
Katie Hayne, University of Canberra
Libby Austen, Technology, design and admin assistant
Partners
University of Canberra
Website host and administration support
Australian Poetry
Communications Partner
3CR Community Radio
Spoken Word Program
2023–2024 Judges
Amanda Anastasi
Amanda Anastasi is the convener of La Mama Poetica and author of The Inheritors (Black Pepper, 2021). Her work has been featured in Australian Poetry Journal, Griffith Review, Cordite, The Massachusetts Review and Best Australian Science Writing 2021 and 2022. Amanda is a two-time recipient of the Ada Cambridge Poetry Prize and was awarded a Wheeler Centre Hot Desk Fellowship to write a series of poems set in the year 2042. In 2020, she was a digital Artist in Residence with Assembly of the Future’s The Things We Did Next, exploring imagined futures through poetry. Amanda was Poet in Residence at the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub (Monash CliComm) from 2019-2022 and also received a Nielma Sidney Literary Travel Grant to write at the Great Barrier Reef. She will be releasing a new book of poems in 2024 through Recent Work Press.
Emilie Collyer
Emilie Collyer lives on unceded Wurundjeri land. Her writing is widely published in Australia and internationally. Her poetry collection Do you have anything less domestic? (Vagabond Press 2022) won the inaugural Five Islands Poetry Prize and she came runner-up in the 2024 Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize. Emilie’s plays, including Dream Home, Contest and the multi-internationally produced The Good Girl, have won and been nominated for multiple awards. Emilie is currently under commission with Red Stitch Actors Theatre (Melbourne) and The Street Theatre (Canberra). She has just completed a PhD at RMIT researching feminist creative practice.
Andy Jackson
Andy Jackson is a poet, creative writing teacher at the University of Melbourne, and a Patron of Writers Victoria. He was the inaugural Writing the Future of Health Fellow, has co-edited disability-themed issues of Southerly and Australian Poetry Journal, and is on the editorial team for disability poetry journal Sunder. He has featured at literary events and arts festivals across Australia, and on ABC's Radio National and the 7.30 Report. Andy's latest poetry collection is Human Looking, which won the ALS Gold Medal and the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Poetry. He lives and works on Dja Dja Wurrung country.
Step 1
Post four (4) copies of the submitted poetry book to:
Five Islands Prize
PO Box 68
Brunswick Victoria 3056
Posted books should be received on or before 15 July 2024.
Step 2
Email Kevin Brophy at: kevinjb@unimelb.edu.au (Subject: FIVE ISLANDS PRIZE ENTRY) attesting that this is the poet’s first published book of poetry, and provide contact details for the poet and the publisher.
Terms & Conditions
- This is an annual prize for a first already-published book-length collection of poetry by an Australian poet or a poet living and writing in Australia.
- The author of the prize-winning book will receive $2750 and the publisher will receive $1100.
- A book can be entered by the author or publisher.
- The book must contain at least thirty pages of poetry, have an ISBN, and be available through retail sales outlets.
- Self-published books are eligible as long as they meet the above criteria.
- For the 2023-2024 Prize, books published between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 are eligible.
- Note: the prize aims to support professional publishers, in particular small-press, independent publishers.
- Submissions will open all year until 15 July 2024.
- There will be three judges, whose decision will be final.
- The Prize will be announced in late November, and presented shortly afterwards.
- Four copies of the submitted book are to be posted to PO Box 68 Brunswick Victoria 3056.
- Books submitted will not be returned.
- An email must be sent to Kevin Brophy at: kevinjb@unimelb.edu.au attesting that this is the poet’s first published book of poetry, and providing the book's publishing date, and contact details for the poet and the publisher.