Frequently asked questions

Entries close at 5:00pm EST on Monday 6th July 2020.

Multiple entries are permitted online. Simply follow the prompts online to enter as many poems as you wish.

It costs $25 for each poem you wish to enter. You must pay a separate entry fee for each poem but you may pay for multiple entries in one credit card transaction.

No. Poems must be unpublished (including on any website or blog).

You can, as long as the poem has not won any other competition, be under consideration by any publisher, literary journal or any other prize for the duration of the competition.

Yes, entries are to be submitted in Arial or Times New Roman font size 12 and in Word format only.

No, as all judging is blind, only page numbers and poem title should appear on each page of your poem. Your name must not appear on any page of the work, and the only place your name should appear is on the entry form.

Yes, entry is only possible online via the webpage. Entries will not be accepted by email or fax or post.

No, in fact anyone who is an Australian resident or New Zealander residing in Australia, over the age of 18, or any international student currently studying at an Australian university, is eligible to enter. ACU staff members (except the panel of judges) and ACU students are eligible to enter.

Once you have completed the online entry process, you will receive two emails from ACU. The first will confirm you’ve uploaded your poem/s correctly and we have received them. The second email confirms your payment has been processed and provides you with a tax receipt.

Postal Entry: All entries for the 2020 ACU Prize for Poetry must be submitted electronically.

Each poem must not exceed 80 lines.

Upon receipt of each entry, it is checked to ensure it meets the prize guidelines by a member of the Prize for Poetry admin team who are based in Sydney. Each poem receives a unique identifying number (UIN).

When the competition closes on 6th July 2020, all entries with their UIN and poem name are sent to the judges for shortlisting in Melbourne. The successful shortlisted poems are then returned back to the admin team, to be sent to the Final Judge for final judging.

At no stage do any of the shortlisted or final judges communicate with each other. The two-tiered process ensures that the poems are shortlisted and judged without knowing the identity of the author, and the poems are judged solely on their merit.

The Final Judge notifies the administrators of the winners by the UIN and title, and the Prize for Poetry admin team refer to the database for details of the authors.

Rest assured all personal information you provide to us (name, address, email and phone) is kept secure and separate, managed by the Prize for Poetry admin team in Sydney.

Shortlisted entrants will be notified by email by the end of July 2020.

The winning, highly-commended and shortlisted poems will be announced on 22nd September 2020 at the Prize for Poetry Awards night to be held in Melbourne. Results will be published on the ACU website and may be published in external publications including newspapers, magazines etc.

Shortlisted poems are published in the ACU Chapbook and on the ACU website. All shortlisted poets will receive a complimentary copy of the Chapbook. Copies for 2020 will be available for purchase after the Awards Ceremony. Previous years’ copies are also available for purchase.

You are unable to enter via post this year.

Yes, you are welcome to contact us either via email on: prizeforpoetry@acu.edu.au or via phone at: 02 9739 2801