Poetry Competitions

Our 2023 poetry competitions will run as follows:

Open theme: opens April 1st, 2023 – closes May 15th, 2023.

Urban theme: opens June 1st, 2023 – closes July 31st, 2023.

Rural theme: opens September 1st, 2023 – closes October 31st, 2023.

Details for our open themed poetry competition are listed below. As the name suggests, there are no restrictions on topic or content for this competition. Amaze us with your creativity! We are hoping to announce the winning poems May 31st.

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 singular $5 entry. 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 payment for this competition will not open until April 1st, 2023.

Prize money: 1st prize – $50 + publication. Highly commended (two only)- $25 + 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. Estimated release date for the anthology will be mid-June 2023. 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 Flower Blooms 20 August. 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. 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 singular $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 May 31st, 2023, 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.