Poetry Competitions

Please read below for details of our 2026 poetry competitions.

Theme: Open (eg. no restriction on topic) – 1st of May, 2026 – 30th of June, 2026.

Theme: Future – 1st of September, 2026 – 31st of October, 2026

Details for our open themed competition: The theme is open, so anything goes. There is no restriction on the topic. Be creative. Entertain us!

We are hoping to announce the winning poems by mid August, 2026.

Length: We have decided not to impose a page or line limit, although 30 page epics probably won’t make the cut (unless they are absolutely mind blowing!).

Entry fee: $5 per poem. Multiple entries are allowed but will also require a $5 fee. Members of our mailing list may submit three poems for a single $5 entry fee (eg 3 for the price of 1). To sign up to our mailing list click here. Please note all entry fees are listed in Australian dollars. While we are Australian based, we do welcome international entries. You can find the payment portal here. PLEASE NOTE, THE PAYMENT PORTAL WILL NOT OPEN UNTIL THE 1ST OF MAY, 2026.

Prize money: 1st prize – $100 + publication. 2nd prize – $50 + publication. 3rd prize – $25. Highly commended (two only) – $10 + publication. Commended (unlimited number) – publication only. The prize-winning entries will be published in an end of competition anthology with the writers receiving a free copy of the ebook. We estimate that the anthology will be released late December, 2025. Please note, payments are listed in Australian dollars.

How to submit: Submission is via email to shortstories.unlimited@gmail.com

To make it as easy for us as possible, please follow these instructions –

Submit entry fee via the payment portal

  1. Write ‘Open Poetry’ in the subject line of your email.
  2. In the body of the email please list your full name, the country you come from (complete address is not necessary), the name of your poem, and a pen name if you don’t want to publish under your own name.
  3. Attach a separate file for each poem you are submitting. IMPORTANT: The file name must contain your poem’s name plus the date it was sent. For example – The Salty Sea Sept 5. As it is a blind reading process this will help us identify who wrote what at the conclusion of the judging.
  4. An RTF, Word, Open Office or similar file is preferred (please no PDF files). As judging is done by a ‘blind’ reading process, your name or address should not appear anywhere in your poem’s file.
  5. If you are submitting multiple entries, each submission will cost an additional $5 (except mailing list members who may submit up to three poems for their single $5 entry fee).

Poems must be previously unpublished and be your own work. This would encompass any form of self publication including personal blogs and webpages. If your poem is selected for inclusion in the end of competition anthology we ask that you do not submit it elsewhere until after our anthology has been released.

Winners will be announced mid August, 2026, and prize money distributed soon after. Please note, in competitions of this nature the judging is subjective. Missing out on a prize is not an indication that your writing is poor so do not be disheartened. Keep writing!

The judge’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. If insufficient entries are received to run a viable competition, all entry fees will be refunded in full.